Ms. Martha May
Director, The Geneva Conservatory of Music
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B.M. in Piano Performance, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
M.M. in Collaborative Piano, The Juilliard School
Pianist Martha May has performed at numerous venues throughout New York, including Carnegie Hall’s Stern and Weill Recital Halls, Steinway Hall, and Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. A graduate of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and The Juilliard School, she has performed concerti with three different orchestral groups and her subsequent interest in artistic collaboration has led her to work in a variety of settings, including serving as accompanist at Accademia Perosi’s Singing Workshop in Biella, Italy and the G. Gershwin International Music Competition in New York City. Along with her classical work, Martha has been active as pianist in pit orchestras and rehearsal accompanist for various theatrical and singing groups. Martha served as Music Director at her church, Christ Church NYC, for six years, and currently directs The Geneva Conservatory of Music. Martha lives in New York City with her husband and frequent collaborator, tenor Robert May, and their two sons.
Ms. Eileen Buck
Piano
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B.M. in Piano Performance, Curtis Institute of Music
B.M. in Piano Performance, Mannes College of Music
Pianist Eileen Buck has performed as a recitalist, chamber musician, and concerto soloist in North America, Europe, and Scandinavia. She has won several competitions, including taking First Prize at the Josef Hofmann Piano Competition in 1996. She has appeared as soloist with the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra, Etherridge Chamber Orchestra, Collegium Westchester Orchestra, and the Mannes Orchestra. Ms. Buck is a frequent chamber music collaborator with other instrumentalists, including cellist Wendy Warner, with whom she recorded Paul Hindemith’s complete works for cello and piano for Bridge Records and Popper and Piatigorsky’s works for cello and piano for Cedille Records, to universally high critical acclaim. She has also performed with members from the Guarneri and Brentano Quartets, the MET Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic, among others. Ms. Buck received her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music and the Mannes College of Music, where her teachers were Eleanor and Vladimir Sokoloff and Edward Aldwell, respectively. She also studied with Carl Schachter at the City University of New York Graduate Center, Adolph Baller and Maria Curcio. She studied chamber music with Felix Galimir, Karen Tuttle, Julius Levine and Robert McDonald. Ms. Buck has taught piano at Vassar College and chamber music at Queens College. Currently, she serves on the faculty at the Mannes School of Music Preparatory Division and Geneva Conservatory of Music, teaching piano and chamber music. She also coaches chamber music for the New York Youth Symphony Chamber Program and the Mannes Summer Chamber Intensive.
Dr. Patricia Davis
Violin
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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. Dr. 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. Dr. 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. Hoi-Young Jang
Piano
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B.M. in Piano Performance, Peabody Conservatory of Music
M.M. in Piano Performance, The Juilliard School
A native of South Korea, Hoi-Young Jang, made her orchestral debut at the age of 14 with Busan Philharmonic Orchestra. She came to the United States at the age of 16 to further her studies after she had given recitals and won competitions in Korea. She was a prize winner for numerous competitions, such as Mary Graham Lesley Scholarship Competition, Lily Chiang International Young Artist Piano Competition, Wideman Competition, etc. Winning competitions gave her opportunities to perform in Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Nicolas Music Hall, and Banff Centre. She was invited to give a solo Recital at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall as the recipient of a Special Presentation Award of International Young Artists Piano Competition in 2006. She was also invited to play at Permanent Mission of the Republic Korea to the United Nations in 2006 and 2007.Hoi-Young Jang received her Bachelor’s degree from Peabody Conservatory of Music, her Master’s degree from The Juilliard School, as a student of Julian Martin, and her Doctorate degree at Rutgers University as a student of Susan Starr and Min Kwon. Dr. Jang served as a lecturer and as a pianist of Helix contemporary ensemble at the Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University. She regularly appeared as a chamber musician in Sunday Concert Series at Metropolitan Koryo United Methodist Church. She currently serves as a faculty member at The Geneva Conservatory of Music, and operates her private piano studio in New York City.
Ms. Michelle Jennings
Voice
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B.Mus.Ed., Virginia Commonwealth University
Michelle Jennings has been called “a commanding and attractive presence on stage with an expressive voice of great beauty and power.” Michelle has originated many roles of newly-created theatrical works, including Kathy in My Father’s Play and Rose in The Journey Home. Off-Broadway performances include Donatella in Mike and Mindy’s Wild Weekend Jam, The Diva in A Sketch of New York, and Roxanne in Figaro, 90210! in New York City. Last season, she originated the role of Thjodhild in the world premier of Freydis and Gudrid, a Viking Opera, which completed filming in 2021. As the pandemic brought about more virtual performances, she sang in a virtual jazz Christmas concert with Steve Sacks, which streamed in Tokyo, Japan; she performed in the Storefront Concerts produced by The Kaufman Center 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 (SweeneyTodd), Marian (The Music Man), Rosalinda (Die Fledermaus), Musetta (La Boheme), and Nellie (South Pacific). She is also a member of the comedic opera duo, Divas Unleashed, who wrote and continue to perform their operatic comedy show, The Benefit, around the U.S. Enjoying a variety of genres on recordings, Michelle recently released an album of her husband Tom’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 giving private voice lessons, 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 Dr. Tom Jennings and their two kids.
Dr. Tom Jennings
Piano
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B.M. in Classical Performance, Virginia Commonwealth University
M.M. in Classical Performance, Virginia Commonwealth University
D.M.A. in Piano Performance, Manhattan School of Music
Hailed by the Boston Globe as a “highly attuned pianist,” Tom Jennings has performed with artists from a wide array of genres. He has appeared as concerto soloist with orchestras, accompanied opera luminaries Ben Heppner and Jerome Hines, cabaret stars Steve Ross and Leslie Uggams, chamber music with New York’s top instrumentalists, and jazz at venues throughout the US and abroad. His latest album, Closing Prayers (Sunday Jazz, Vol. 4) was released in September of 2022. In addition to four other solo releases, Tom has appeared on numerous artist recordings, including those by DeShannon Higa, Terry Silverlight, Gary Haase, Steve Sacks, Emily Drennan, Soo Bae, and many others. Tom holds the Doctor of Musical Arts in piano from Manhattan School of Music. He is married to soprano Michelle Jennings and has two grown children.
Dr. Julie Lawrence
Violin
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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
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B.M. in Violin Performance, Han Yang University
M.M. in Violin Performance, 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.
Dr. Kyle Werner
Music Theory, Ear Training, and Composition
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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 NYC-based composer whose works have been featured by The Washington Ballet, MarqueeTV, Guggenheim Works & Process Digital Commissions, Windscape, the Chicago Chamber Musicians, Grand Rapids Symphony, guitarist Jordan Dodson, members of Eighth Blackbird, the Colburn School, Manhattan School of Music, University of Cincinnati, University of Michigan, University of Colorado-Boulder, Southern Methodist University, Rutgers University, The King’s College, Hindemith Music Centre, Midwest Composers’ Symposium, MusicX Festival, Strings on Hudson, Opera on Tap, Palais de Fontainebleau, Society for American Music Annual Conference, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Tenth Presbyterian Church, Emmanuel Presbyterian Church, Marble Collegiate Church, Geneva School of Manhattan, New York-Presbyterian’s Allen Hospital, 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 completed the Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees in Composition at Manhattan School of Music, where he received the Lloyd Gelassen Fellowship Fund Scholarship and the Nicholas Flagello Award; he previously completed a Bachelor of Music in Composition, at the 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 is currently a member of the faculty at Manhattan School of Music Precollege and The Geneva Conservatory of Music, and also serves as Music Director of Christ Church Anglican NYC on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. In his spare time he enjoys cooking, hiking, birding, sailing, and exploring NYC. www.kylewerner.com