Faculty

Elizabeth Aldridge (bassoon) received her bachelor’s of music degree from Northwestern University, where she studied with Robert Barris and later pursued graduate studies at the University of Houston, where she studied with Karen Piersen. She has participated in numerous summer festivals including the Texas Music Festival in Houston and Symphonic Orchestra of Mineria in Mexico City.

She is currently co-principal bassoon in the Symphonic Orchestra Carlos Chavez and is an active freelancer and chamber musician in Mexico City. She has performed with The National Symphony of Mexico, The Chamber Orchestra of Bellas Artes, Symphonic Orchestra of the State of Mexico, and the Philharmonic of Mexico City.

Christiane Appenheimer Vaida (cello faculty) completed her musical studies at the Hochschule fuer Musik in Frankfurt, Germany, under the tutelage of Professor Susanne Mueller-Hornbach and has undertaken additional studies with Gerhard Mantel, Siegfried Palm, Hubert Buchberger, Ulrich Voss and Menachem Pressler (Beaux Arts Trio).

Before moving to Northeastern Pennsylvania, she taught at Justus-Liebig-University, Giessen, and headed the string department for the Buseck Music School while performing regularly both as soloist and chamber musician throughout Germany.

Currently a member of Marywood University’s string faculty, Christiane also serves as an artist-in-residence at Wyoming Seminary. In addition, she is an active free-lance performer with various chamber ensembles and orchestras throughout the region.

Tim Broscious (percussion faculty) has been praised for having performances that are “incredibly varied,” “musically expressive,” and “playing of the highest degree.” Currently serving as professor of western percussion at the National Conservatory in Amman, Jordan, he also is Principal Percussion for the Amman Symphony Orchestra.

Tim has studied percussion with Benjamin Toth, Dave Samuels, Tracy Wiggins, Alexander Lepak, Shane Shanahan, Joe Galeota, John Amira, Rogerio Bocatto, and Grant Dalton. He holds degrees from The Hartt School of Music, University of Hartford (MM and GPD) in percussion performance and from Samford University (BA) in music education. He is currently enrolled in the Doctoral Program (DMA) program at The Hartt School, where he is a member of Hartt’s “Performance 20/20” honors chamber music program.

In August 2004, Tim was a semifinalist in the prestigious Universal Marimba Competition in Sint-Truiden, Belgium with his partner Gene Koshinski. They were the last American duo to remain in the competition. In 2002, Tim won the Concerto/Aria competition at Samford University in Birmingham, AL and in 2005 he was a winner of the Band Concerto Competition a The Hartt School.

An active free-lance performer, Tim has performed with organizations including Quey Percussion Duo, The Taubl Family (national touring music ministry), New Britain Symphony, Dawson Memorial Baptist Church Orchestra, Birmingham Boys Choir, Celebration Winds touring wind ensemble.

A percussion ensemble composer and arranger, he is endorsed by Sabian Cymbals, Innovative Percussion and HoneyRock publications.

Dr. Lisa Burrell (violin faculty) received her doctorate in violin performance from the University of Houston in 2002. She is currently on the faculty of Sam Houston State University and has an active private studio in Houston. Her students have participated regularly in all-city, regional and all-state orchestras.

Formerly a faculty member of the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, she is a current and founding member of the Key West Symphony and the Burrell-Blondel Duo.

Lisa's former teachers include Mark Rush, Mathias Tacke, Shmuel Ashkenasi and Lawrence Wheeler.

Jerome Campbell (wind ensemble conductor), a conductor of university wind ensembles as well as district, regional, and all-state festivals throughout the Northeast, conducted the Wind Ensemble at PAI. A former university professor of music and department chair, he received the Citation of Excellence award from Pennsylvania Music Educator’s Association in 1990 and the Distinguished Service award in 1998. He is currently the conductor of the PAI/Wyoming Seminary Civic Symphony and is immediate Past President of PMEA, District 9.

Scott Cranston (wind ensemble conductor) is director of bands at New Canaan High School, Connecticut. His ensembles have earned top honors at competitions in Quebec City, Orlando and New Orleans and have been invited to perform both at Avery Fisher Hall and Carnegie Hall. They also have performed with distinction at festivals in Paris and London. Cranston, along with three PAI alumni, formed the NCHS Woodwind Quintet in 2005. The quintet was named an All-Connecticut Honor Ensemble in 2006 as well as an MENC All-Eastern Honor Ensemble. Scott performs as principal trombonist with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Greater Bridgeport Symphony Orchestra, Waterbury Symphony Orchestra and in Broadway National Tours in Hartford and New Haven. He received a bachelor of music degree from the Hartt School of Music and master of music degree from Yale University.

Elizabeth Duhr (voice faculty), Iowa born mezzo-soprano, is a recent graduate of the Resident Artist Training Program with the Tri-Cities Opera Company. With the company, Ms. Duhr undertook the roles of The Mother in Menotti’s “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” Third Lady in Mozart’s “Die Zauberflöte,” Suzuki in Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly,” and Alisa in Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lammermoor.” This past summer, Elizabeth’s portrayal of Mrs. Ott in the Cedar Rapids Opera production of Carlisle Floyd’s “Susannah,” was “…A masterpiece of detail, honesty, and conviction.” A versatile performer, her other credits include Rossini’s “La Cenerentola” (Tisbe), Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Mikado” (Katisha), and Britten’s “The Rape of Lucretia” (Bianca), as well as alto soloist in both Handel’s “Messiah” and Mozart’s “Requiem.”

Her numerous awards and scholarships include both Second Place and Honorable Mention awards at the City Opera Company of the Quad Cities Young Singer Competition. Also a Finalist in the Iowa state division of the NATS Competition, she possesses “…An important voice in the 21st century.” Elizabeth was the first-ever Undergraduate Scholar in the University of Iowa’s Martha Ellen Tye Opera Theatre. She won the Marine Corps Semper Fidelis Award in Music, the Herald Stark Memorial Award in Opera, and a full-term undergraduate scholarship to the University of Iowa School of Music. Known for her unique cross-over abilities,Elizabeth regularly performs music of the cabaret and musical theatre
repertoire.

Recent engagements include Saint-Saëns’ “Christmas Oratorio” as well as
selections from Wagner’s “Wesendonck Lieder” with the Wyoming Seminary-Performing Arts Institute Orchestra. She was also the alto soloist in the Binghamton University’s 2007 performance of Bach’s B-Minor Mass.

Elizabeth earned a BM in Vocal Performance from the University of Iowa,
and graduated from SUNY-Binghamton in May 2007 with a Master of Music
degree in Opera.

Kristina Early (dance faculty) is a member of the well-known Opus 1 Contemporary Dance Company. In addition, she teaches at the Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet and the Steppin’ Out Academy of Dance. Former teaching positions include West Chester University and the Radomile Academy of Dance.

Tim Early (head of the dance program) serves as co-director of the Philadelphia based modern dance company Opus 1 Contemporary. In addition to working with many independent choreographers, he continues to perform with Philadelphia companies including Brandywine Ballet and Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet. Currently on staff at Mount Holyoke College as a visiting artist, he also has choreographed for Lafayette College, Moravian College and West Chester University. He trained with master teacher Jonathan White in the Vaganova method and is also trained in the techniques of Limon, Graham, Horton and Wigman.

Carrie Ellmore-Tallitsch (dance faculty) is from Hamilton Virginia, where she began her early dance training.  A Cum Laude graduate of the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music, Carrie has danced with Dayton Contemporary Dance’s second company, Philadanco, and Pascal Rioult Dance Theatre, to name a few.  Currently she is in her sixth season dancing with the Martha Graham Dance Company. In addition, she conducts masterclasses and workshops at various dance schools throughout New Jersey.

Steve Fidyk (jazz band conductor) is an accomplished percussionist, clinician, educator, and studio musician with over thirty recordings to his credit, including one Grammy Award. He is currently the drummer with the Army Blues Jazz Ensemble of Washington, D.C. and has toured and recorded with Maureen McGovern, New York Voices, Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer, The Capitol Bones, Michael Abene, and The Taylor/Fidyk Big Band, an ensemble he co-leads with Stan Kenton Alumnus Mark Taylor.

An active educator, he has authored “The Drum Set SMART Book” and an instructional DVD entitled “Set Up and Play!” – available through the Mel Bay Corporation. He has recorded over 60 jazz play-along volumes for the Hal Leonard Corporation and has contributed drum transcriptions to “Drum Standards” and Peter Erskine’s “The Drum Perspective.” In January 2003, his new Zildjian Drum Stick “Big Band Jazz” was premiered at the National Association of Musical Merchandisers Trade Show. Steve has served on the faculty at Wilkes University, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, George Mason University and The University of Maryland.

Zane Forshee (guitar faculty) received his bachelor of music degree from Webster University, where he studied with John McClellan and later received his master of music degree from Peabody Conservatory, where he studied with Julian Gray. He was the first-prize winner of the solo guitar competition at Peabody and a National Guitar Workshop fellowship recipient. He has appeared in solo and chamber performances in Chicago, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Boston, St. Louis and Baltimore. Currently in the DMA program at the Peabody Conservatory, Forshee is on the faculty of the Peabody Preparatory Conservatory.

At PAI, he teaches guitar lessons and music history and coaches chamber music.

Schyler Fung (clarinet faculty) is an active teacher and freelance artist in the New York and New Jersey area. He holds a master of music degree from the Juilliard School and a bachelor of music degree from the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with Charles Neidich and Ayako Oshima. He served as principal clarinet of the Juilliard Orchestra, Juilliard Opera Orchestra, MSM Symphony, Philharmonia, and Chamber Sinfonia and he has played under the batons of Sir Colin Davis, Kurt Masur, Anne Manson, and Joanne Falletta. In addition, Schyler participated in the Sarasota Music Festival and the Astoria Music Festival. In the summer of 2007, he toured Seoul, Korea with members of a Juilliard woodwind quintet, giving solo and chamber recitals.

Currently, Schyler serves on faculty at the Monmouth Music Academy, and Zen Music Center.

Allyss Haecker (voice faculty), soprano, is currently a doctoral candidate in Choral Conducting and Literature at the University of Iowa. She received her bachelor’s degree in choral music education from Converse College (Spartanburg, SC) and a master’s degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Illinois. While pursuing her graduate degrees, Mrs. Haecker directed the Illini Women’s Chorale, The University Choir (Iowa) and Kantorei (Iowa). She served as a choral director with the Fenton Area Schools (Fenton, MI) and as the Artistic Director of the Saginaw Youth Chorale (Saginaw, MI).

Mrs. Haecker is also an active soloist having performed Mozart’s “Requiem” (Spartanburg Festival Chorus), Handel’s “Israel in Egypt” (BACH Society of Champaign-Urbana, Illinois), Britten’s “Rejoice in the Lamb” (Performing Arts Institute), Bach’s “Magnificat” and “St. Matthew Passion” (Ann Arbor Cantata Singers), Haydn’s “Creation” and Mozart’s “Coronation Mass” (Performing Arts Institute), and Charpentier’s “Te Deum” (Iowa City Chamber Singers). Her operatic roles include the Witch in Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel” and Poppea in Monteverdi’s “L’incornacion di Poppea.”

Presently, Mrs. Haecker is a member of the voice faculty at the Marion Music Academy (Cedar Rapids, IA).

Arthur Haecker (trombone faculty) received a master of music degree from the University of Michigan and a bachelor of music degree from the Eastman School of Music. He has served as low brass instructor at Hillsdale College, Millikin University, and Converse College. He has performed with such groups as Opera Illinois, the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, the Atlanta Pops, and the Greenville Symphony (SC). Haecker is currently pursuing his doctorate degree at the University of Iowa.

Dr. Mark Hardy (choral conductor) currently serves as the director of choral activities at the Baltimore School for the Arts. In addition, he is the choral director at Johns Hopkins University and the music director of the Baltimore Masterworks Chorale. Also active as a composer of choral, chamber and orchestral works, Dr. Hardy has had works premiered by the Indianapolis Symphony Choir, The Lehigh festival singers, and the Indiana University Oratorio Chorus. He holds a BM degree in Composition from the University of Massachusetts and MM and DM degrees in Choral Conducting from Indiana University.

Thomas Heinze (jazz band director) is a music specialist in the Palmerton Area School District (Pa.) and studio professor of oboe and saxophone at Wilkes and Marywood Universities. He holds a bachelor’s in music education and master of music in oboe performance from West Chester University and has served as principal oboist with the Allentown Band for 37 years. Formerly the principal oboist with the Allentown Symphony Orchestra, Heinze is active as a solo recitalist and chamber musician in the Mid-Atlantic area and performs with numerous ensembles in Northeastern Pennsylvania. In addition, he is musical director and saxophone soloist with the Big Band Ambassadors.

John Hornung (director, Young Artists program) teaches English and directs theater productions at Wyoming Seminary. While at his former teaching post at Moravian Academy, he directed their summer programs and co-founded the Moravian Academy Faculty Players. He also co-founded the Open Door Theater Company (Philadelphia) and presented workshops on creative dramatics, Shakespeare, scene study and improvisation, writing, directing and acting in the company’s shows. Hornung earned a bachelor’s degree from Yale University and a master’s degree from Bucknell University.

Paul Hostetter (orchestral conductor) is currently the music director and conductor of the Colonial Symphony, artistic director of the Winter Sun Music Festival, Director of Orchestral Studies at Montclair State University and the former musical director of the New Jersey Youth Symphony. He has appeared as a guest conductor with the New York City Opera, New Jersey Symphony, American Composers Orchestra, Delaware Symphony and Philharmonic Virtuosi, among others. On Broadway he has conducted productions of “Candide” and “Gershwins’ Fascinating Rhythm.” A graduate of the Juilliard School, he has recorded for the Telarc, CRI, Albany, Centaur, Milken Archive and Koch labels, and his CD of the music of Pulitzer Prize winner Lewis Spratlan was named by Anthony Tommasini, chief critic of “The New York Times,” as one of the top five of 2005.

Kenneth Jernigan (orchestral conductor), is often sought to conduct all-state festivals because of his high musical standards and his ability to inspire young musicians to winning performances. Jernigan earned his degree from the Aaron Copland School of Music. At PAI he conducted the symphony orchestra and chamber orchestra and served as co-director of PAI’s Junior Division.

Leslie Jernigan (Junior PAI) is a graduate of the Aaron Copland School of Music. She has many years of experience at the Encore Music Camp of Pennsylvania. While at PAI, Jernigan co-directed the Junior Division.

Gene Koshinski (director of percussion) has received international acclaim as a percussionist, extended success as a published composer (ASCAP), and is currently instructor of percussion at the University of Minnesota Duluth. He performs and teaches in an array of musical mediums including solo, chamber, orchestral, jazz (drum set and vibraphone), studio recording, African drumming, Brazilian percussion, Cuban and Haitian drumming, Caribbean steelband, and other types of world music. He has studied percussion with Benjamin Toth, David Samuels, Chris Hanning, Alexander Lepak, Rogerio Boccato, Shane Shanahan, Joe Galeota, and John Amira.

In 2002, Koshinski won the National MTNA Collegiate Artist Percussion Competition in Cincinnati, OH and in August 2004 finished 3rd in the prestigious Universal Marimba Duo Competition in Sint-Truiden, Belgium. He is active as a performer and freelance percussionist having worked with numerous performing organizations and artists including NFL (National Football League) Films, Late Show with David Letterman, NASCAR, Mary Wilson (the Supremes), David Samuels, Wycliffe Gordon, Nebojsa Zivkovic, Philadelphia Boys Choir, Lehigh Valley Choral Arts, Brandywine Ballet, Pottstown Symphony, and the Waterbury Symphony to name a few. For his work with NFL Films, he can be heard on the Emmy award winning soundtrack "A Century of NFL."

Koshinski is a member of the Quey Percussion Duo, a project established to generate new works for percussion while also bringing standard repertoire to a broad audience. Koshinski has commissioned and premiered works by renowned composers including Stuart Saunders Smith, David Macbride, Dave Hollinden, Alejandro Vinao, Robert Maggio, Bruce Reiprich, Mathew Herman, and Alphonse Izzo. Gene holds degrees from West Chester University (BA), The Hartt School (MM) and is currently a Doctoral candidate (DMA) at the Hartt School. Koshinski is endorsed by Sabian Cymbals, Innovative Percussion, and HoneyRock Publications.

He is director of percussion at PAI.

Mark Andrew Kratz (vocal faculty), tenor, has recently been featured as Tamino in The Arctic Magic Flute (Opera To Go!,Juneau,AK) and as the beast in Disney’s musical Beauty and the Beast (Juneau Lyric Opera, Juneau, AK), and most recently, at the Capital Playhouse in Olympia, WA. Kratz is a 2006 graduate from the Tri-Cities Opera young artist training program and a 2003 young artist for the Tacoma Opera. He holds a master’s degree in opera from Binghamton University and a bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from the Eastman School of Music.
His roles include Tamino in Die Zauberflöte (Tri-Cities Opera), Yamadori in Madame Butterfly (Tri-Cities Opera), Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor (Tri-Cities Opera), Peter Quint in Turn of the Screw (Eastman School of Music), Gherardo in Gianni Schicchi (Intermezzo Opera), and Alfred in Die Fledermaus (Wilkes University).

Kratz’s other performances include Mozart’s Requiem and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony (Northeast Philharmonic), Britten’s Serenade for tenor and horn (Eastman School of Music), Schubert’s Mass in E-flat (Eastman-Rochester Chorale), Mozart’s Requiem (Northeastern Philharmonic), Bach’s Magnificat (Binghamton University), and Mendelssohn’s Die Erste Waldpurgisnacht (Binghamton University). Mr. Kratz is also the youngest person to have sung at the Newport Music Festival (RI).

Kratz is currently in service with AmeriCorps. He resides in Santa Rosa, CA, where he is serving as a mentor to elementary aged children.

Jens Larsen (trumpet faculty) holds a bachelor of music degree from Old Dominion University and a master of music degree from Rice University. Larsen has also studied at the School of Music at Indiana University, and has performed in Europe as part of the North Carolina School for the Arts Summer Tour. His teachers include such master teachers as Charles Gorham, Dr. William Bartolata, and Armando Ghitalla. He is the third trumpet in the Greenville Symphony Orchestra, and is also the trumpet professor at North Greenville University. Past teaching positions include Georgia Perimeter College and Southern Polytechnic State University.

Mark Laubach is regarded among the finest organists of his generation in the US. Since winning first prize in the 1984 American Guild of Organists (AGO) National Young Artists' Competition in Organ Performance, he has concertized throughout the USA and Great Britain in some of the most notable concert venues, and continues to be in high demand for solo performances throughout the US and abroad. He has played and lectured for national and regional gatherings of the AGO in Charleston WV, Louisville KY, New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Richmond VA, and San Francisco, and of the Association of Anglican Musicians (AAM) in Lancaster PA, Washington, D.C., and Wilmington DE. In the USA, he has concertized in major venues including the Kennedy Center, the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, and the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.; St. Thomas’ Church, St. Bartholomew’s Church, Riverside Church, and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City; the Cadet Chapel at West Point Military Academy; the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California; Trinity Church in Boston; Grace Cathedral in San Francisco; St. John’s Cathedral in Denver; St. Philip’s Cathedral in Atlanta; Methuen Memorial Music Hall in Methuen MA; and other churches, chapels, and concert halls in Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus OH, Hartford, Houston, Jackson MS, Kansas City, Lincoln NE, Memphis, Oklahoma City, Richmond, and San Antonio. In Great Britain, he has performed in the cathedrals of Bristol, Chichester, Gloucester, Lincoln, London (Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s Cathedral), Norwich, Wells, and at the famed Chapel of King’s College in Cambridge.

Laubach's first recorded compact disc, Teutonic Titanics, released in 1995 on the Pro Organo label, features works by Wagner, Reubke, and Liszt. A critique by Paul Hale in Organists' Review magazine (UK) evaluates Laubach's playing as "beyond reproach...his depth of feeling and passionate (yet controlled) declamation is completely satisfying". William Maddox, in Organ Alternatives (Canada), writes, "...Only a performer of great musicality, insight and conviction (coupled with a fair degree of daring) can not only bring off a performance such as this, but also still do justice to the composer's intentions." Mr. Laubach’s second Pro Organo disc, French Fest, was recorded in 1997 on the Berghaus organ at Grace Lutheran Church in River Forest, Illinois, featuring works of Tournemire, Franck, Dupré, Duruflé, Alain, and Vierne. In a review in the January 1998 edition of The Journal of the Association of Anglican Musicians, G. Donald Kaye writes that Laubach’s recording of Dupré’s Variations sur un Noël, Op. 20 “has to stand with the best - breathtaking!” He continues, “Throughout this disc we are confronted with playing which ‘dares’ comparison for its sheer brilliance and understanding of the muse.” In another review of French Fest appearing in the April 1998 Diapason magazine, critic Bernard Durman writes, “This new CD should serve as a reference of high standards for measuring all recordings of this repertoire, and should also serve as a fine introduction to the romantic and early 20th-century French school. Highly recommended.”  Mark has also appeared as a guest performer on the syndicated television series, Midnight Pipes.

Laubach’s earliest musical training, begun at age six, included piano study with Earl Bryan Seip of Palmerton, PA, and organ study with Clinton Miller of Allentown, PA. In 1982, he received a bachelor's degree in Church Music, magna cum laude, from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ, studying organ with George Markey and Donald McDonald and harpsichord with Mark Brombaugh. In 1984, he received a master's degree in Organ Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY, where he studied organ with David Craighead and harpsichord with Arthur Haas. Laubach has also performed in masterclasses and coached with Robert Carwithen, Wilma Jensen, Joan Lippincott, Thomas Murray, Arthur Poister, Eugene Roan, Russell Saunders, Fred Swann, and Harald Vogel. In 1984, Mr. Laubach was the recipient of a one-year appointment as Fellow in Church Music at Washington National Cathedral, serving as an apprentice to Richard Wayne Dirksen and Douglas Major.

Since January 1986, Lauback has served as Minister of Music at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Wilkes-Barre PA, where he administers a busy liturgical, choral, concert, and broadcasting schedule. In 2002, under Mr. Laubach’s leadership, St. Stephen’s large pipe organ was rebuilt by the Berghaus Organ Company of Chicago. This instrument now stands among the finest of its type in the Mid-Atlantic region, having won high praise from organists and audiences. In 1996 at St. Stephen’s, Laubach served as Music Director for the Consecration of the Right Reverend Paul Marshall as Bishop of Bethlehem. In 2000, Bishop Marshall designated St. Stephen’s the Pro-Cathedral for the diocese. Mr. Laubach continues to be active in music and liturgy endeavors within the Diocese of Bethlehem, and served as a diocesan deputy to the Episcopal Church’s General Convention in Minneapolis in 2003.

Laubach also continues a busy schedule of teaching and coaching private organ students and organ and church music students enrolled at Marywood University in Scranton, PA. Several of his students have distinguished themselves in competitions, continuing studies, and as church musicians. He has served as a faculty member for Pipe Organ Encounters sponsored by the AGO, and as an adjudicator for numerous organ competitions. He has presented masterclasses for AGO chapters, and is in frequent demand as a lecturer for workshops in church music, focusing on such topics as liturgical planning, hymnody, basic improvisation, pastoral skills, and service playing skills.

Laubach is a past regional chairman of AAM, a past dean and executive board member of the PA Northeast Chapter of the AGO, and a member of the Organ Historical Society. He is active in the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) in America, having participated as an organist for its summer training courses at Valley Forge in 1993 and 1994. In 1995, this same course was moved to St. Stephen's, Wilkes-Barre, and was managed by Laubach from 1996 through 1998. He continues to serve as host and organist for this annual course, which attracts nearly 200 children and adults from across the country each year.

Wen-Chi Cathy Liu (piano faculty) is currently pursuing her doctorate degree majoring in piano performance and minoring in piano pedagogy at Temple University. She holds a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from the Curtis Institute of Music as well as a master’s degree and professional study degree from Temple University.

At age 16, Cathy gave her debut concert with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Symphony Hall performing Chopin Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor. She has also toured in the United States and Asia many times, appearing in major concert halls such as Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in NY, Jordan Hall and Symphony Hall in Boston, Academy of Music in Philadelphia, Kimmel Center in Philadelphia and the National Concert Hall in Taipei.

Cathy is also an active solo and chamber performer in the tri-state area, where she performs with various artists, ensembles and organizations. She is now a part-time piano faculty member at Temple University and also at Chestnut Hill Academy.

Dr. Victor Liva (orchestral conductor) is currently Associate Professor at Cleveland State University, where he is the Orchestra Director and Coordinator of String Studies. In addition, he was recently named music director and conductor of the Cleveland Philharmonic. He holds degrees from Temple University and the University of South Carolina, where he earned the Dr. of Musical Arts Degree in Conducting under the tutelage of Donald Portnoy.

Formerly the director of orchestral studies at the University of Northern Arizona, Victor studied violin under world re-known master teachers such as Dr. Min Soo Chang, Helen Kwalwasser, Odin Rathnam, and Ryan Kho.

Recently promoted to Resident Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra starting in the 2007-2008 season and entering his third season as Music Director of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, Lawrence Loh is one of the most exciting young talents on the classical music scene today. He was brought to national attention in February 2004 when he substituted last-minute for an ailing Charles Dutoit with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Conducting Stravinsky’s Petrouchka and Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, Loh received enthusiastic acclaim from orchestra players, audience members and critics, alike.

Since his appointment as Music Director of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic in 2005, the orchestra has flourished artistically, defining its reputation as one of the finest regional orchestras in the country. His leadership has attracted such artists as André Watts, Anne Akiko Meyers, Jon Nakamatsu, Zuill Bailey and Sharon Isbin. A champion of early childhood exposure to music, Loh created a family concert series that is dedicated to the youngest of audiences. He is very active in the region as an arts leader and music advocate, and is constantly in demand as a guest speaker and clinician.

As Resident Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Lawrence Loh conducts a wide range of concerts including classical, educational and pops. He is active in the PSO’s Community Engagement and Partnership Concerts, extending the PSO’s reach into other communities. Recent notable concerts with the Pittsburgh Symphony include performances of Beethoven’s 3rd Symphony, Mendelssohn’s 4th Symphony and Beethoven’s 7th Symphony on a concert featuring violinist Sarah Chang. Next season, he makes his debut on the main season conducting Handel’s Messiah in December 2008. As the conductor of the enormously popular Fiddlesticks Family Series “Bringing Music to the Lives of Children,” Lawrence Loh plays the part of host and conductor. He works closely with incoming Music Director Manfred Honeck as well as frequent guest conductors Yan Pascal Tortellier, Rafael Frübeck de Burgos and Marek Janowski, among others. In addition to his duties on the podium, Lawrence Loh is an audience favorite in the PSO’s Concert Preludes lecture series, edits radio broadcasts, and makes many public appearances. His association with the PSO began as Assistant Conductor in 2005-2006, and he was quickly promoted to Associate Conductor in 2006-2007.

Following a guest conducting appearance at the Detroit Symphony in 2007, Loh was immediately invited to conduct several concerts in the 2007-2008 season. Other recent guest conducting engagements include the Malaysian Philharmonic and the symphony orchestras of Portland, Cedar Rapids, Colorado Springs, East Texas, Fort Collins, Fort Worth, Lubbock, Plano, Shreveport, Sioux City, Spokane and Tallahassee. He’s also led Korea’s Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra, the Binghamton Philharmonic, the Yale Philharmonia, Omaha Area Youth Orchestra, Ottawa’s National Arts Centre Orchestra and the Dallas Chamber Orchestra. His summer appearances include the festivals of Bravo Vail Valley, Breckenridge, Las Vegas and Hot Springs, the Kinhaven Music Academy, the Performing Arts Institute (PA) and the Carnegie Mellon Summer Strings Camp.

Lawrence Loh held the positions of Assistant and Associate Conductor of the Dallas Symphony from 2001-2005. He led the Dallas Symphony in a variety of classical and educational programs throughout each season including classical subscription. Highlights include impassioned performances of Brahms’ Requiem, Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances and Brahms’ 2nd Symphony.

Prior to his Dallas appointment, Lawrence Loh was appointed by Music Director Marin Alsop to be Associate Conductor of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. From 1998-2001, he conducted more than 50 concerts annually, including classical subscription, pops, education, family and outreach programs. While in Denver, he was also Music Director of the Denver Young Artists Orchestra, the premiere youth orchestra in the Colorado Rocky Mountain Region. Additionally, Mr. Loh served as the Interim Director of Orchestras and Head of the Orchestral Conducting Program at Denver University’s Lamont School of Music in 2000-2001.

In May 1998, Lawrence Loh received his Artist Diploma in Orchestral Conducting from Yale University, also earning the Eleazar de Carvalho Prize, given to the most outstanding conductor in the Yale graduating class. During his years at Yale, he was chosen to be the Assistant Conductor of the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra and Apprentice Conductor of the Hot Springs Music Festival. He received further training at the world-renowned Aspen Music Festival and School and has additional degrees from Indiana University and the University of Rochester. A dedicated teacher, Mr. Loh held the position of Associate Instructor in Music Theory at Indiana University and, later, that of Teaching Assistant at Yale University in Advanced Hearing, Conducting and Orchestration. He was also the Guest Curator at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science for “What Makes Music?,” an interactive exhibit, offering the opportunity to explore the science of music and sound, as well as the role of music in culture.

Lawrence Loh was born in southern California of Korean parentage and raised in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He and his wife Jennifer have a son, Charlie, and a daughter, Hilary.

An active conductor and clarinetist, Matthew M. Marsit (Summer Dean of Students) has lead ensembles and performed as a solo, chamber, and orchestral musician throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. Currently serves as the Wind Ensemble Director at Dartmouth College. In addition to his duties at Dartmouth, he is an active free-lance clarinetist. Prior to his appointment at Dartmouth, Matt served as assistant director of wind ensembles at Cornell University.”. In his young career, he has served as a guest conductor or clinician for several institutions and festivals including the Delaware County Youth Orchestra, the Temple University Symphony Orchestra Brass and Percussion, the Western Burlington County Honors String Orchestra, the Altoona Tri-County Honors Orchestra, and the Hatboro-Horsham and Harriton High School Symphonic Orchestras. At Wyoming Seminary, Matthew serves as Dean of Students for the Sem Summer Programs and a staff conductor for PAI.

As a clarinetist, Matthew has played with many ensembles including the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, the Fairmont Chamber Orchestra, and has made solo appearances with the Cornell University Jazz Ensemble, the Drexel University Symphony Orchestra and the Chestnut Hill Orchestra.

A native of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, Matthew moved first to Philadelphia to complete his studies in music at Temple University, graduating Summa Cum Laude in 2003, where he studied clarinet with Anthony Gigliotti and Ronald Reuben and conducting with Luis Biava and Arthur Chodoroff. In addition to his degree from Temple University, Matthew has continued to advance his study of conducting by working with such well-known instructors as Larry Rachleff and Mark Davis Scatterday.

James Orfanella (jazz faculty) has been a professional musician and music educator for over 20 years with a bachelors degree in music education for the University of North Texas. He is currently teaching at Valley View High School in Archbald, PA. As an active freelance trumpet player, he performs in a wide variety of styles from jazz to rock to classical. He is currently studying traditional Japanese shakuhachi flute under Ronnie Nyogetsu Reishin Seldin at the Ki Sui An dojo. Jamie is also half of  "Tribal Waves" a duo which combines a variety of world wind instruments- including didgeridoos, flutes and jaw harps, with percussion ranging from drum set to Tibetian singing bowls to create an improvisational ambient trance experience."

Perry Orfanella (string bass faculty) graduated from the Hartt School of Music, where he was a double bass student of Gary Karr and went on to receive his Masters of Music at the University of South Florida. He formerly served as Director of Orchestras at the Osceola County School for the Arts in Kissimmee Florida, a free-lance bass player and studio musician.

Bringing fourteen years of experience with him from the Encore Music Camp of Pennsylvania, he has served as the director of jazz activities, Jazz Band conductor, jazz combos coach and string bass teacher.

In 1999, he received a bachelor of music degree from Northwestern University where he studied with Rex Martin. A graduate student at the University of Missouri-Columbia, Parker studied under the tutelage of Dr. David Kutz. He has performed with the Washington National Opera, Elmhurst Symphony, Kenosha Symphony, Missouri Brass Consortium, The University of Missouri Faculty Brass Quintet, and the Mount Vernon Brass Consort.

As a soloist, Michael has appeared on numerous recital series in the Metro-Washington, D.C. region, including performances at the Strathmore Mansion, The State Department, Martin Luther King Jr. Public Library and the University of Washington as a guest artist. He is also very active as a teacher and maintains a large studio in Howard and Montgomery Counties, Maryland.

Dr. William Payn (choral conductor) currently serves as director of choral studies at Bucknell University. His choirs have performed all over the world and have repeatedly been televised nationally by PBS since 1988. Dr. Payn also serves as the Music Director and Conductor of the Susquehanna Valley Chorale and Orchestra. Payn has over 30 compositions which are published, including two new works: Heart Melodies, distributed by Paradigm Press and performed by the Phoenix Symphony and With What Shall I Come Before The Lord?, distributed by GIA Publications. Payn received his Bachelor of Music degree from Westminster Choir College and his Doctor of Musical Arts in organ and harpsichord literature from West Virginia University. As a member of the American Choral Directors Association, Payn has served as Pennsylvania state president. In 1996, Westminster Choir College presented him with the Distinguished Alumni Merit Award.

Stephen's teachers have included Roberto Diaz, Paul Neubauer, Eugene Becker, Joseph DePasquale and Paul Doktor. He has participated in many music festivals, including Tanglewood, Spoleto (Italy), Bowdoin Chamber Music Festival, Kinhaven, and the National Repertory Orchestra.

Stephen currently teaches viola and violin at Virginia Commonwealth University and is the director of their Mary Anne Rennolds Chamber Concerts Series.

Joey Tartell (jazz band director) currently is a trumpet professor at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music and an active performer. The lead trumpeter for the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, he also plays lead in the Buselli/Wallarab Jazz Orchestra and the Steve Allee Big Band. In addition, he has performed as lead trumpeter/featured soloist in Pops concerts with the Cincinnati, Detroit, Indianapolis, and Baltimore Symphony Orchestras. Tartell has toured and recorded with Maynard Ferguson, the Woody Herman Orchestra, and the U.S. Army's Jazz Ambassadors, to name a few.

Joey completed his Bachelor's Degree in Trumpet Performance at the Eastman School of Music, studying with Barbara Butler, and was awarded a Performer's Certificate. Joey received a Master's Degree in Jazz Studies from the University of Miami, where he was Gil Johnson's Teaching Assistant. He has also studied with Mel Broiles and Vince DiMartino.

An active free-lance violinist throughout Europe and Eastern United States, she formerly taught at both Eton College and the Royal College of Music, Junior Department. She was recently named the recipient of the F. Lammot Belin Arts Award and is currently recording the complete Beethoven violin and piano sonatas.  She serves on the music faculty of Marywood University, where she is the director of the string division. 

At PAI, Sophie taught violin lessons, coached chamber music, presented masterclasses and performed with the resident string quartet.

Dr. Kelly Vaneman (oboe faculty) holds a D.M.A. degree at Yale University. She received a bachelor of music degree, summa cum laude, from Baylor University and holds a certificate in performance from the Koninklijk Konservatorium in Brussels. She has performed with such ensembles as the National Orchestral Institute, the American Wind Symphony and the Reigate Festival Orchestra in England. She currently serves as assistant professor of oboe and music history at Converse College (S.C.). At PAI, she taught oboe, coached chamber music and presented masterclasses.