Ms. Amber Ward
Director
Read More
B.M.E (Bachelor of Music Education), Baylor University
Amber Ward (P'30, '31, '33) is a professional actor, singer, worship leader, teacher, and wife. Some of her favorite musical theater roles include Beth in Little Women (Engeman Theater), Dorothy in Wizard of Oz (Jenny Wiley), and Belle in Beauty and the Beast (Houston, TX). Other New York credits include Nancy in Sail Away (Musicals Tonight!), Bet in Oliver (Engeman Theater), and A Wonderful Life (Engeman Theater). Amber was honored to perform as the featured soloist at The Harvard's Club Hits from the Blitz, as well as the Ziegfeld Club's memorial service honoring distinguished Ziegfeld Folly performer Doris Eaton. Amber has also enjoyed playing roles such as Maria in West Side Story, Liesl in The Sound of Music, Diana in A Chorus Line, and Darlene in Honky Tonk Angels. Having taught high school choir in Houston (Taylor HS, Carver HS) before moving to New York City, Amber joined the Geneva School music faculty in 2018. She is a soprano with the Central Church Chorale under the direction of her husband, Dr. Seth Ward, having sung in more than 10 annual Messiahs with the choir, as well as other major works such as Mendelssohn's Elijah, Bach's Magnificat, and Faure's Requiem. Amber and Seth have led worship at Central Presbyterian Church on the Upper East Side for the past twelve years, and before that toured as Christian music artists with their record, Bitter Kiss. Amber holds a Bachelor of Music Education in choral music and voice from Baylor University and is a proud member of the Actors Equity Association.
Ms. Hannah Cen
Piano, Suzuki violin group class accompanist
Read More
B.M. in piano performance, Manhattan School of Music
M.M. in piano performance, Manhattan School of Music
M.M. candidate in organ performance, Manhattan School of Music
Pianist and organist Hannah Lingen Cen, born in Tianjin, China, has delighted audiences in solo appearances at NYC’s Steinway Hall, St. Paul’s Chapel of Trinity Church, Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church and New Paltzin upstate New York. Her collaborative performances include chamber music recitals at the National Opera Center and Manhattan School of Music (MSM), where she serves as an accompanist in the collegiate and precollege divisions. Ms. Cen attended the PianoSummer Festival at SUNY New Paltz for four consecutive summers. She has played in masterclasses for world-renowned pianists Vladimir Ovchinnikov, Jereme Rose and Hui-Ying Liu. Ms. Cen won the third prize of 2019 AGO Brooklyn chapter scholarship organ competition and a scholarship recipient of the Oregon Bach festival organ institute and E. Power Biggs Fellowship. Ms. Cen currently serves as organ scholar and pianist at Grace Episcopal Church, NYC. She previously served as pianist at Redeemer Presbyterian Church and as organist at Calvary United Methodist, both in NYC. Ms. Cen earned Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in piano performance from Manhattan School of Music, studying with Phillip Kawin. She is pursuing a Master’s degree in Organ performance at MSM with Andrew Henderson. As a dedicated teacher, Ms. Cen has taught students from beginner to intermediate levels in the New York and New Jersey area. To maximize student learning, she works with students to connect their music making with their other interests and pursuits.
Dr. Patricia Davis
Violin
Read More
Suzuki Teacher Certification, School for Strings (NYC)
B.M. in Violin Performance, Eastman School of Music
ARCM (Performer’s Certificate), Royal College of Music (London)
M.M. & D.M.A. in Violin Performance, Stony Brook University
Violinist Patricia Davis is based in New York City where she performs with American Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke’s and in several Broadway show orchestras. She has participated in music festivals throughout the U.S., Europe and Canada and has collaborated with such artists as Montserrat Caballe, Diana Ross, Gladys Knight, Andrea Bocelli, The Smashing Pumpkins and rock star legend, Peter Gabriel. Recent performances include at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center and the White House. Ms. Davis has also performed with various ensembles on NPR’s Performance Today, MTV, A&E, CNN, PBS’s Great Performances, The MacNeil-Lehrer Report and on Good Morning America. She was recently featured as solo violinist on WQXR (NYC) with pianist/composer Beata Moon. Ms. Davis graduated from the Eastman School of Music, London’s Royal College of Music and SUNY Stony Brook where she received a Doctorate of Musical Arts in violin performance as a student of Joyce Robbins. Ms Davis has served as jurist for The Juilliard School Pre College Concerto Competition, The New York String Orchestra Seminar and Columbia University’s Concerto Competition. She is on the faculty of the Geneva Conservatory (NYC) where she trains young violinists in the Suzuki Method.
Ms. Michelle Jennings
Voice
Read More
B.M.E. Virginia Commonwealth University
Michelle Jennings has been called “a commanding and attractive presence on stage with an expressive voice of great beauty and power.” Last season, Michelle performed the role of Kathy in the staged reading of My Father’s Play in New York City, and she originated the role of Thjodhild in the world premier of Freydis and Gudrid, a Viking Opera, which completed filming in January 2021. In December 2020, she performed in a virtual jazz Christmas concert with Steve Sacks, which streamed in Tokyo, Japan, and she sang for the Marie Antoinette inspired fashion film of designer Tia Adeola, which premiered on Vogue Magazine online. Her favorite lead roles in opera and musical theater performances across the US include Johanna (Sweeney Todd), Marian (The Music Man), Rosalinda (Die Fledermaus), Musetta (La Boheme), and Nellie (South Pacific). Enjoying a variety of genres of work on recordings, Michelle recently released an album of her husband’s compositions for voice, string quartet, and piano, titled Viewed from Above. She has performed and recorded concerts of jazz, oratorio, musical revues, gospel, and pop for television shows, commercials, studio recordings, and movie underscoring, heard in the US, Great Britain, Japan, and Italy. Having been a school music teacher for nine years, Michelle has stayed connected with teaching children by raising money for New York City public schools music programs and teaching music classes to underserved children in the city. Michelle lives in Manhattan with her husband, pianist-composer and Music Director of Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Dr. Tom Jennings, and their two children.
Mr. Carter Johnson
Piano
Read More
B.Mus., University of British Columbia
M.M. candidate, The Juilliard School
Praised for his sensitivity and his artistic depth, 24-year-old Carter Johnson has established himself as one of Canada’s most promising young pianists. In 2018, Johnson won the top prize in two of Canada’s most important competitions, winning both Grand Prize in the OSM Manulife Competition as well as First Prize (along with the prize for the best performance of the test piece) in the CMC Stepping Stone competition. He also recently won first prize in the Valsesia International Competition. He has performed with orchestras including l’Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, l’Orchestre Métropolitain, the Orchestra of the Americas, the Victoria Symphony Orchestra, and the Orchestra of Northern New York, and his playing has been broadcasted by Medici TV and Radio-Canada. Johnson has collaborated with artists including Paolo Bortolameolli, Fredrika Brillembourg, Haik Kazazyan, Tania Miller, Carlos Miguel Prieto, David Robertson, and Arianna Zukerman—he has also performed with the string members of the Gryphon Trio. Johnson’s extensive competition experience also includes competitions such as in the Shenzhen International Piano Concerto Competition (Guangdong, China), the Hilton Head International Piano Competition (South Carolina, USA), the International J.S. Bach Competition (Leipzig, Germany) and the Julia Crane International Piano Competition (New York, USA), where he won second prize at age 16. Johnson’s other competition prize winnings include second prize in the ensemble round of the New York International Piano Competition, first place in the Art Song Competition of Vancouver (with Marie Civitarese, soprano), Second Place (along with the Baroque and chamber music prizes) in the CFMTA National Piano Competition (Regina) at age 14, the award for the best interpretation of the imposed work at the 2015 OSM Manulife Competition (Montréal), third prize in the Shean Piano Competition (Edmonton), and many awards at Performing Arts B.C., including First Prize in all four Canadian divisions. In addition to an ARCT in piano performance with Distinction, Johnson also holds an ARCT in piano pedagogy, for which he won the national gold medal at age 18 for the highest marks in Canada. He began the study of piano at age five with Shelley Roberts (with whom he studied for twelve years), continued studies with Michelle Mares, and then with Mark Anderson at the University of British Columbia, where he received a Bachelor of Music in piano performance. His areas of special interest include the music of J.S. Bach, Brahms, Schumann, contemporary music, and art song (recently, he performed the complete song repertoire of Duparc). In addition to his musical career, Johnson is an accomplished actor and speaker: he holds his ATCL with Distinction in Speech and Drama from Trinity College London and has won many awards for his performances of Shakespeare—combining this experience with his passion for educating audiences, his discussions on music have become a highlight of his recitals for many concertgoers. Johnson lives with his wife Hannah and their sons Preston and Ambrose in New York City where he is active as a soloist, collaborator, and teacher.
Ms. Bora Kim
Violin, Piano
Read More
B.M., Violin Performance and Piano Performance, Colburn Conservatory of Music
M.M.A., Yale School of Music
D.M.A. candidate, Yale School of Music
Violinist Bora Kim is from Toronto, Canada, where she made her soloist debut with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 2009, performing 7 concerts at Roy Thomson Hall. She has also appeared as soloist with the Canadian Sinfonietta, Oakville Chamber Orchestra, Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra, Vermont Mozart Festival Orchestra, and Niagara Chamber Orchestra. She has given solo recitals and performances at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, the Toronto Centre for the Arts, the Carlu, Canadian Broadcasting Center’s “Glenn Gould Studio,” and was featured for a live performance interview on both violin and piano for Toronto’s Classical 96.3 FM. Bora's recent highlights include performances with Sejong Soloists at Carnegie Hall, concerts in Merkin Hall and Steinway Hall in New York, solo recitals in Australia and the Netherlands as part of the Holland Music Sessions, chamber collaboration with pianist Emanuel Ax at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, and a masterclass for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. She also serves as concertmaster of the Parlando Ensemble in New York City. As a winner of the Canada Council’s 2018 Instrument Bank Competition, Bora was awarded the three-year loan of a 1747 Januarius Gagliano violin. She has won First Prize from various national competitions, including the Canadian Music Competitions, and represented Ontario at the National Music Festival. An avid chamber musician, Bora was the winner of the Yale School of Music Chamber Music Competition, and the recipient of the school’s Alumni Association Prize. Bora is currently a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate at the Yale School of Music, where she also completed Master of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees. She holds double Bachelor of Music degrees in both Violin Performance and Piano Performance from the Colburn Conservatory of Music, as the first double-major graduate in the school's history. Her primary teachers include Hyo Kang, Arnold Steinhardt, Robert Lipsett, Atis Bankas, John Perry, and Marina Geringas. Bora is an alumni of numerous summer festivals including Sarasota, Aspen, Norfolk, Banff, Orford, and Lake George.
Dr. Julie Lawrence
Violin, Music Theory, and Chamber Music
Read More
Suzuki Teacher Certification
B.M. in Violin Performance, Manhattan School of Music
M.M. in Violin Performance, Manhattan School of Music
D.M.A. in Violin Performance, Rutgers University
New York City-based violinist Julie Lawrence has performed throughout the United States and Europe. Ms. Lawrence is passionate about bringing music into non-traditional concert spaces such as psychiatric hospitals, libraries, and neighborhood centers to interact with community members around the shared experience and joy of music. She has appeared as soloist with the Ashland Symphony alongside renowned violinist Aaron Berofsky, with the Hudson Symphony, and has given solo and chamber music recitals in Steinway Hall, InterChurch Center, Columbia University, United Nations Chapel, Spanish Cultural Institute of New York, Fort Lee Library Series, Union Theological Seminary, Ashland University, The University of Akron, Rutgers University, Manhattan School of Music, and Battery Park City’s “Strings on Hudson” series. As an orchestral musician, Julie Lawrence has performed in New York’s most prestigious concert halls, including Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, Zankel Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and Symphony Space and with orchestras like the Chappaqua Symphony, Binghamton Philharmonic, Chelsea Symphony, Garden State Philharmonic, Bellayre Opera, and Dell’Arte Opera. She has been a fellow with the National Repertory Orchestra, guest artist and concertmaster for the Calvin College String Summit, and concertmaster of the MasterWorks Festival Orchestra. Julie is a member of Leadlights, a collective of string players who are passionate about sharing both contemporary and classical music with diverse communities through interactive performances and workshops. Committed to promoting the works of living composers, Julie commissioned and premiered the Sonata for Violin and Piano by Kyle Werner and a piano trio entitled Zaire at Steinway Hall in New York City by Nick Marsella in 2016, and commissioned a string quartet by the latter as well. Her playing can be heard on Juan Pablo Contreras’ album Silencio en Juárez (Albany Records) and David Chesky’s Joy and Sorrow (Chesky Records). Her interest in early music has led Ms. Lawrence to collaborate with singers to program works like “Semelé” by Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, as well as instrumental works by Albinoni, Telemann, and Vivaldi on period instruments. Her performances as a guest artist with Mango Baroque have been presented at Columbia University and Rutgers University, and her article “An In-Depth Look at the Vibrato Practices of the 17th and 18th Centuries According to Primary Sources” was published in the ASTA Journal. She recently completed her dissertation thesis on “The International Style of Georg Muffat.” A dedicated educator, Julie Lawrence is on faculty at The Geneva Conservatory of Music in Manhattan, where she was the director for six years. She has been violin faculty for the Rutgers University Extension Division and Harmony Program, working with at-risk youth, and cultivates a private violin studio in Washington Heights. Ms. Lawrence earned a B.M. and M.M. from Manhattan School of Music studying with Laurie Smukler and Isaac Malkin, and a Doctor of Musical Arts at Rutgers University, working with Carmit Zori. Other teachers and mentors include Amy Barlowe, Alan Bodman, Martha Caplin, the American String Quartet, and Lawrence Dutton of the Emerson Quartet. Ms. Lawrence plays a violin crafted in 2014 by Boston violin maker Benjamin Ruth.
Ms. E.J. Lee
Violin
Read More
B.M., Han Yang University
M.M., Manhattan School of Music
Violinist E.J. Lee joined The Chelsea Symphony in 2010. Two years later, in 2012, she became the acting Second Principal. She began playing the violin in Seoul, Korea at the age of four and graduated from the Manhattan School of Music with a master’s degree in 2004. At the age of seven E.J. made her first appearance as a soloist, playing the Vivaldi Violin Concerto with a full orchestra. As a teenager she won a national violin competition in Korea, which lead her to perform Bruch Violin Concerto with the Seoul Symphony. Throughout the years, E.J. has performed in various prestigious concert venues such as Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center and Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, home of the Philadelphia Orchestra. The depth of her practice has lead to intersections with conductors, such as Charles Dutoit and Kurt Masur, and composers that include Pierre Boulez. She performed Boulez’s “Notation III” under his baton. E.J. has taught students privately and in schools for over twenty years. E. J. is committed to service, which she demonstrates through her role as a board member at The Chelsea Symphony, and as an advocate for musical outreach. As an advocate, she actively seeks to address a larger philanthropic goal of bringing music to audiences for whom access to music and concerts is often challenging.
Ms. Alina Lim
Cello, Chamber Music
Read More
B.M. in Cello Performance, The Juilliard School
M.M. in Cello Performance, The Juilliard School
Alina Lim, cellist of the Allant Trio, is as versatile a chamber musician as she is a performer in solo and orchestral music. Ms. Lim has appeared in various venues across North America including Carnegie Hall and Rolston Recital Hall in Banff, Canada. Her career has also brought her to halls in Australia, Germany, Korea, Norway, Poland, and the U.K., including the Royal Albert Hall and the Seoul Arts Centre. The Allant Trio was selected as a winner at the Beverly Hills Auditions in 2013, as well as being the recipient of the Jonathan Madrigal Entrepreneurship Grant from The Juilliard School. An advocate of chamber music, Ms. Lim has performed in community settings for people who have limited access to classical concerts, giving performances at the James Lenox House for Senior and the soup kitchen of Calvary-St. George’s Episcopal Church. Ms. Lim won various awards and scholarships through The Kiwanis Music Festival of the Greater Toronto Area and The Ontario Music Festivals Association. She was also a two-time winner at the national finals of The Canadian Music Competition.Recipient of the Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award, she has performed on the NPR show From the Top, and has been featured on ABC Classic FM in Australia and on the MBC Network in South Korea. She has been principal cellist of various orchestras throughout her career, such as the Mannes Orchestra, National Repertory Orchestra and the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra. As an orchestral musician, she has performed in venues of international recognition, including the BBC Proms in London and the Lincoln Center Festival as part of the Juilliard Orchestra Tour in the summer of 2012. Ms. Lim was an orchestral fellow at the Aspen Music Festival and School for two summers, in addition to a participant in other music festivals such as ENCORE School for Strings, Meadowmount School of Music, the Chamber Music Residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts, and the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. Ms. Lim began her cello studies with Joowon Kim at The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Canada and went on to continue her studies with David Hetherington. She is a graduate of The Juilliard School, where she studied with Richard Aaron in the accelerated Bachelor of Music/ Masters of Music program. Ms. Lim also continued her studies with Marcy Rosen at the Mannes College, The New School for Music.
Dr. Kyle Werner
Advanced Music Theory and Ear Training, Music History, and Composition
Read More
B.M. in Composition, University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music
M.M. in Composition, Manhattan School of Music
D.M.A. in Composition, Manhattan School of Music
Kyle Werner is a composer whose interest in showcasing performers’ expressive capabilities has led to collaborations with world-class musicians and ensembles, such as the Chicago Chamber Musicians, Grand Rapids Symphony, Axiom Brass, Windscape, guitarist Jordan Dodson, and members of Eighth Blackbird. His works have been performed at the Colburn School, Hindemith Music Centre, Manhattan School of Music, Midwest Composers’ Symposium, MusicX Festival, Opera on Tap, Palais de Fontainebleau, Society for American Music Annual Conference, University of Cincinnati, University of Michigan, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Tenth Presbyterian Church, the Yamaha Piano Salon, and Greenwich House Music School. Dr. Werner has also been composer-in-residence at Chamber Music Campania in Varano, Italy. He has completed Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees at Manhattan School of Music, and a Bachelor of Music degree at University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, in addition to summer study at the American Conservatory in Fontainebleau, France. His primary teachers have included Joel Hoffman, Michael Fiday, Susan Botti, and J. Mark Stambaugh. A passionate music educator, Dr. Werner has taught students from middle school through graduate level and currently teaches music theory at Geneva Conservatory of Music. He previously held a doctoral teaching fellowship at Manhattan School of Music, where he coordinated the tutoring program and taught aural skills, instrumentation, and music theory to students ranging from freshman to graduate students. Also an avid sailor, he holds certifications from US Sailing and the American Sailing Association, and has sailed in the Bahamas, Cyclades (Greece), Florida Keys, Great Lakes, New York Harbor, and the San Juan Islands.