Music

Avi Amon is a Brooklyn-based composer, pianist, and sound artist. His works include The White City with Julia Gytri (Yale Institute, O’Neill National Music Theater Conference, Richard Rogers Award Finalist), Jeune Terre with Gabrielle Reisman (Barnard), Lulu is Hungry with Claire Kiechel (Ars Nova), The Children with Phillip Howze (Yale, BRIC), and several sound installations in a 100-year old grain silo in Buffalo, New York. As a lead artist in Target Margin Theater's Sinbad Lab, Avi created Inshallah/Mashallah which sonically dismantles and rebuilds all seven voyages from the classic Sindbad tales from The Thousand and One Nights. His original scores for theater, film, dance, and experiential art have been developed or presented by the Actors Theatre of Louisville (2017 Humana Opera Commission), Spoleto Festival USA (with tap dancer, Ayodele Casel), Prospect Theater, BAM, Lincoln Center, La Mama, NYFA, and HERE Arts, among others. Residencies and awards: Ground Floor at Berkeley REP, Exploring the Metropolis at JCAL, Judson Arts, Yale REP, Anna Sosenko Assist Trust Grant, Target Margin Theater, New Dramatists, Weston Playhouse. Avi is the resident composer at the 52nd Street Project. He received his MFA from NYU’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program, where currently teaches. aviamon.com.

Dance

Justin Bass is from East Cleveland, Ohio and attended Kent State University and majored in Dance Education in 2009. In 2011 he transferred to SUNY Brockport and graduated in 2013 with his BFA in Dance. During his time at SUNY Brockport he was a touring and performing intern with Garth Fagan Dance, performing at renowned stages including The Joyce Theater. Justin is a versatile performer with a technical background in "Cecchetti ballet" and has studied a variety of modern dance techniques including those of Paul Taylor, Limón, and May O’Donnell. He is also trained in Contemporary, Release, Hip-Hop, and Jazz, (Fosse, Luigi, and Broadway Jazz). He enjoys teaching and is interested in developing his choreographic skill. Justin has recently finished five seasons with Salt Lake City’s premiere modern dance company Repertory Dance Theatre.

Music

Annie Beliveau is a pianist, vocalist, and composer from northern Vermont. While she studies and performs many genres, she is especially interested in early and contemporary vocal music. A recent graduate of Middlebury College with a Music major and a French minor, she is in New York to pursue musical collaboration. She currently sings with the choir of St. Thomas More’s Church in Manhattan, Choral Chameleon, and Yasna Voices, as well as offering lessons in music theory, composition, and musicianship. Her compositions have been heard on VPR Classical radio and on the Middlebury College Choir’s international tour of the Baltics. Annie’s educational experience includes directing music for several school musical productions and serving as a reading mentor at local libraries and elementary schools, and she’s happy to be bringing music to more students’ lives with 92Y.

Music

Alicia Bennett has lived in New York since 2001 and is active as a clarinetist and private music teacher in the New York area. In addition to a private studio, Alicia teaches at the 92nd Street Y and the Music Academy of Long Island; she has also taught for Stony Brook University's Pre-College Music Program and Suffolk Community College; in summers she contributes her teaching skills to the Hummingbird Music Camp in Jemez Springs, New Mexico. Alicia plays with New York City-based orchestra Camerata Notturna and the clarinet quartet Utopia Winds. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of New Mexico, and her M.M. and D.M.A. degrees in clarinet performance from Stony Brook University. Past notable engagements include an Artist Residency at the Banff Center for Performing Arts; Bang-On-A-Can's 20th Anniversary Concert; and a Merkin Hall performance with the Contemporary Chamber Players of Stony Brook.

Music

Chris Bergson was inducted into the New York Blues Hall of Fame in February 2015. With MOJO Magazine's #1 Blues Album of 2008, Fall Changes (recorded at Levon Helm's studio in Woodstock, NY), #2 Blues Album of 2011, Imitate the Sun, #3 Blues Album of 2014, Live at Jazz Standard and #3 Blues Album of 2017, Bitter Midnight, New York guitarist/singer Chris Bergson has established himself as "one of the most inventive songwriters in modern blues music" (All Music Guide), creating his own blend of blues, roots and soul. Chris Bergson has performed with Levon Helm, Hubert Sumlin, Norah Jones and John Hammond as well as jazz legends Annie Ross and drummer Al Foster (Miles Davis) and opened for B.B. King, Etta James and Bettye LaVette, to name just a few. The Chris Bergson Band's virtuosic musicianship seamlessly marries inventive songwriting with electrifying improvisation, creating unforgettable live shows. The Chris Bergson Band has sold out renowned venues such as NYC's Jazz Standard and become an international festival favorite.

Born in New York City but raised in Somerville, Massachusetts, Chris Bergson returned to Manhattan in 1995. While backing jazz singers Annie Ross, Dena DeRose, Sasha Dobson and Norah Jones, he released Blues for Some Friends of Mine and Wait for Spring on Juniper Records in 1997 and 2000, respectively. In 2002, Bergson was appointed a Jazz Ambassador of the USA by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and he toured Africa with his trio. Evolving to further embrace the blues while also adding pop influences, he followed up with Blues (2003), Another Day (2005) and his triumphant artistic breakthrough, the widely acclaimed Fall Changes (2007)—MOJO’s #1 Blues Album of 2008—that established him as an eloquent, evocative and lyrical songwriter with a sharp urban vision. Recorded at Levon Helm’s Woodstock studio, it led to Bergson being personally invited to perform at the famed drummer’s Midnight Rambles while opening the way for more stateside festivals and subsequent tours of Europe. The Chris Bergson Band's next studio album Imitate the Sun (2011) was named MOJO’s #2 Blues Album of 2011 followed by Live at Jazz Standard (2014) which was named MOJO’s #3 Blues Album of 2014. Bitter Midnight (Continental Record Services), the band's fourth consecutive critically acclaimed release was ranked MOJO's #3 Blues Album of 2017.

Dance

Kalena Brown was born in Bronx, NY and raised in New Jersey. She is an Alumni from Penn State University with a dual degree in Dance and Psychology (BA). She began dancing at the age of 5 years old. She has studied various genres of dance such as West African Dance, ballet, jazz, hip-hop, and modern dance. She trained and studied at many programs such as Dancemaker, the NYU Tisch Dance Program, the Martha Graham School, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre Professional Division Summer Intensive Program where she studied with some of the most prestigious choreographers and teachers such as Keith Alexander and Quenia Ribeiro. She was a part of the Repertory Company at Center for Modern Dance Education (CMDE) in Hackensack, New Jersey. While at Penn State Kalena was a part of the Afi-Mojah Dance Company and attended the American College Dance Festival Association (ACDFA). Kalena danced and choreographed for Forza Malizia Dance Company. Recently danced for VatishDance Theatre. She has choreographed many musicals including Footloose, Lion King Jr., and The Wiz, and FAME Jr. Kalena is now a teaching artist for 92Y’s Center For Arts Learning and Leadership, and continues to teach and choreograph throughout the New York/New Jersey Area.

Dance

Kim N. Brown (Baltimore, MD) began her formal dance training at the age of 14, earning a full scholarship to Dance Theatre of Harlem. She has worked with many acclaimed artists, including Kelvin Rotardier and Carmen de Lavallade from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Frank Hatchett, Maurice Hines, Michael Peters, and Otis Sallad. Ms. Brown has been featured in both Broadway and Off-Broadway productions during her career, performing in Your Arms Too Short to Box with God and Yes, God is Real, along with a solo role in Black Nativity as the angel Gabriel. She has performed with Chambers Contemporary Dance Company, Kinetic Energy Dance Company, and Joyce Harrigan Dance Company, and recently choreographed Pieces of Me for the Genesis Dance Company. Ms. Brown holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Maryland-College Park and teaches master dance classes in both national and international locales. She has been an Ailey Arts-In-Education & Community Programs teaching artist for twelve years. A teaching artist and Facilitator for Dance Theatre of Harlem Dancing Thru Barriers Arts in Education Program since 1998 and a teaching artist for Wingspan Arts teaching students from elementary to high school.

Visual Art

Celia is an artist and arts educator with an extensive background working with public schools, universities, non-profit institutions and community organizations. She has wide experience in fostering inventive and motivating approaches to art education through teaching artist residencies, professional development workshops and ongoing research into the theory and practice of art education.

Celia’s broad-based pedagogical skills were gained through positions as a Teaching Artist for Lehman College Art Gallery and BRIC Media Arts Brooklyn, as a Professor of Art Education at Pratt Institute, and as a Professional Development Facilitator in arts integration for New York City Department of Education teachers and principals, as well as librarians for both the New York and Brooklyn Public Libraries.

Passionate about providing high quality art education to all students and committed to raising the standards of integrated learning through the arts, Celia has a Masters Degree in Art and Design Education from Pratt Institute, and has presented to the National Art Education Association. In addition, she is currently a visiting lecturer for the Department of Art and Design Education at Pratt Institute, and is a contributing writer to Teaching Artist Journal's Craft Anthology.

https://celiacaroarteducation.com

Visual Art

Sage Cotignola is a Brooklyn-based Illustrator with a BFA from Pratt Institute. Her intricate gouache paintings combine stylized elements of the natural world, folkloric imaginings, and personal observations that suggest emotional narratives. After working in Graphic Design for a time, Sage discovered her passion for teaching and now assists with and teaches courses in visual art with specialties in drawing, painting, illustration, and cartooning. Her educational approach encourages imaginative thought and free expression paired with an exploration of fundamentals. Sage’s illustrations have been featured on album covers, on event posters, in publications, and more. She exhibits her paintings throughout NYC and Long Island.

Dance

Diana Crum is a choreographer, dancer, teacher, administrator and advocate. The roles overlap and inform one another. In addition to teaching with 92Y, she currently works with Brooklyn Arts Exchange, Brooklyn Arts Council, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Abrons Art Center and The Leadership Program. Since 2010, she has overseen Movement Research Dance Makers in the Schools. She has served as Adjunct Faculty/Visiting Artist at Washington & Lee University (Lexington, VA), University of the Arts (Philadelphia, PA) and Hollins University (Roanoke, VA). Her teaching practices and community work inform her choreography, which has been presented in NYC; across the country; and throughout Western Europe. She holds an MFA from Hollins University and a BA from Columbia University, both in Dance.

Dance

Of Haitian origin, born and raised in Switzerland, Tatiana Desardouin is a professional dancer, dance instructor, choreographer, and event organizer. She holds a Master’s Degree as an Adult Educator. Tatiana won several competitions in Switzerland and abroad (Italy, Denmark, Canada, France), had the opportunity to dance in Bercy in Paris for the world finals of Juste Debout in the House category in 2010, and be a finalist in hip-hop and house categories in 2016. She has been sought been sought out to give workshops and judge competitions in Switzerland and overseas (USA, Canada, Italy, Austria, Canada, Italy, France, Peru, Japan, Sweden, Denmark, Slovakia, and Germany).

Tatiana has been very involved in the growth and development of the Swiss Hip-Hop scene. She has been a dance instructor and mentor since 2005.

She opened her own dance school in Geneva, “Le Centre Hip-Hop” and is a member of the “JAIA” non-profit, with which she organizes dance camps, the JAIA Battle, House, Hip-Hop, and Dancehall dance). In 2012, she was one of the four dancers and creators of the “Continuum” Hip-Hop dance company, the first Hip-Hop dance company in Geneva.

Tatiana moved to New York in 2016, and teaches Hip-Hop and House at “EXPG New York.” She has her dance company Passion Fruit Dance Company with which she performed at Jacob’s Pillow for the Inside/Out festival and the legendary Apollo Theater for the “Breakin’ Convention” festival, Harlem Stage “E-moves Festival,” Joe’s Pub “ Dance Now,” Alvin Ailey for Ladies of Hip-Hop festival etc ...

Amongst others, she specializes in Hip-Hop and House Dance.

Dance

Leah Dowdy is a vivacious actress, singer and classically trained dancer. Born and raised in West Chester, Pennsylvania, her passion for performance began at a young age when she first started taking dance lessons at The Rock School West where she studied the art of ballet, jazz and hip-hop for a total of twelve years. Leah went on to further study her craft at the University of Pittsburgh where she served as an executive board member and student choreographer for the Pitt Dance Ensemble, attended and competed in multiple ACDFA (American College Dance Festival Association) competitions and first began teaching dance with the Healthy Program in Pittsburgh public schools. A proud panther, Leah graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh with a BA in Film Studies, a BA in Communication & Rhetoric and a minor in Dance in the spring of 2011. Leah has also studied at Broadway Dance Center as well as the Imperial College of London. Since relocating to New York City, Leah has danced for various commercials, including Canon Cameras and Gillette, and landed roles in such films and television shows as Audition (2014), "Person of Interest" (CBS) and "How to Get Away With Murder" (ABC). Teaching is truly one of Leah’s greatest passions, and she enjoys working with students of all ages and abilities.

Music

Carrie Erving is a performer, recording artist, composer, producer and music educator. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Classical Vocal Performance from Ithaca College and a Master’s Degree in Irish Traditional Song from the University of Limerick, Ireland. Carrie’s love of travel and music has led her to live in Germany, Ireland, New Mexico and New York. She has taught voice at universities in Ireland and New Mexico, and has worked as a music instructor for adults and children in both private and public school settings. Carrie believes that singing is an important tool of self-expression that can be utilized by everyone, and is fascinated with the use of singing in various traditional folk cultures. Her eclectic background in opera, rock and folk music influences both her work with students and her current compositions. She also writes and produces music and sings for various rock bands and enjoys playing guitar and synthesizers. She has toured widely in the US and Europe, and has performed on "Late Night with David Letterman," PitchforkTV and NPR’s "Radiolab." She has collaborated with a diverse array of artists, including Yo-Yo Ma and Will Butler of Arcade Fire. Carrie currently lives in Brooklyn and performs with her band Ponyhof.

Music

Liz Faure is a guitarist and composer exploring the new music world, fresh out of her master’s degree from the Yale School of Music. Though her education is primarily in solo classical guitar performance, Liz plays electric guitar in several groups including her band, SugarCave, her guitar and percussion duo, Party of One, and young and emerging composer, Tanner Porter. She has studied with renowned names in the new music and guitar communities such as Ben Verdery, Fred Hand, Molly Joyce, and David Lang.

Though Liz primarily focuses on new music, she still celebrates the intimacy and vulnerability of the classical guitar, performing as a soloist and accompanist. Ever seeking to expand the guitar repertoire, she is always on the lookout for lesser known guitar works, and composing and arranging pieces for herself.

Blending classical technique with electronic possibilities, Liz hopes to help break the barriers between classical and more widely accepted styles of music, avoiding genre labels and reaching new audiences. Liz loves hiking, Maine blueberry pie, and her cat Petunia.

Visual Art

Victoria Febrer is a fine artist based in New York City. Her artwork has been exhibited in the United States, Spain, Belgium, Italy, Ireland and Japan, with solo exhibitions in New York, Valencia and Madrid. Her interest in visual images centers around the relationship of the universal and the personal, and the way that repeated images and icons have influenced our understandings of our place in the world. She works in a variety of media including paint, film projection and red wine (through a process of her own invention called vinography).

As an educator, Victoria is committed to the vital role of visual art education as a force for lasting positive social change. She believes that a critical arts practice empowers us by helping us not only to explore and appreciate the world we live in, but also to share our unique discoveries and points of view with our communities. Victoria has taught courses and workshops for youth, children and families through various non-profit organizations in NYC, including the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, Free Arts NYC, the Cooper Union Saturday Program, the Center for Arts Education, and the 92Y Art Center. Victoria Febrer holds an MFA from SUNY at Stony Brook and is a proud graduate of the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. She is also a recipient of the K. Patricia Cross Future Leaders of Higher Education Award.

Music

Reneé Flemings is originally from Louisville, Kentucky, and currently resides in New York, by way of Lansing, Michigan. Reneé spent the summers of her childhood in the small southern towns that populate her plays and live in her memory. She has been the writer for ZINC, a private organization that specializes in utilizing drama as part of their life skills programs. Her plays have been produced in New York City and various regional theatre festivals, and her work has been seen and featured on several national sports programs, as they focus on the NFL, NBA and other professional development programs for athletes. Reneé is also an educator, working with several arts in education programs in New York City public Schools, including 92nd Street Y’s Musical Introduction Series. In addition to her work as an actor and writer, Reneé is a singer/director and co-producer of SoReel Productions, whose latest project is entitled Wine Noir.

Musical Theater

Chris Giordano been a teaching artist for over eight years. He’s currently on the Acting faculty at AMDA and the Producing Director of Theatre Now New York. He has worked with: Inside Broadway, AMDA’s High School Summer Conservatory, Camp Broadway, Kidville, The Boys and Girls Club, The Putney School Summer Programs. He’s directed Disney’s The Little Mermaid Jr. at TexARTS and Seussical Jr. at Brooklyn Acting Lab. As lyricist, and member of BMI, he wrote the jazzy, musical theatre song, "Kristy's Lament (Another Awful Day with the MTA)”, sung by Broadway’s Kristy Cates, which is available on iTunes. As an actor, some of his credits include the national tours of Broadway Christmas Wonderland and The Berenstain Bears Live! Other selected TYA credits include: The Polar Express Train Ride, Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka as Willy Wonka, Seussical, Disney's High School Musical, and The Commedia Pinocchio. He's also a member of New York City Arts in Education Roundtable and the Educational Theatre Association. He holds a M.S.Ed. in Educational Theatre from The City College of New York and a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre and B.A. in Theatre Arts Directing from Pace University. www.chrisgiordano.net

Music

Montreal native Gabriel Globus-Hoenich's career reflects forays into the worlds of jazz, classical music and world music as a drummer, percussionist, composer and teaching artist. Currently based in New York City, Gabriel performs frequently with some of the top players in Latin music, including John Benitez, Axel Laugart and Luisito Quintero. A busy jazz drummer, Mr. Globus-Hoenich has performed with a multitude of jazz greats, and has been featured on drum-set with the Philly Pops and orchestras of Detroit, Louisville, Illinois and Curtis Institute. He collaborates frequently with Teddy Abrams and the Sixth Floor Trio, serving as principal percussionist and education director at the trio’s chamber music festival, GardenMusic, in South Miami. An active composer and arranger, Gabriel has written for Achilles Liarmakopolous of the Canadian Brass, grammy nominated Tiempo Libre and the Louisville Orchestra.

Music

Jesse Greenberg is a Queens-based percussionist, composer and arts educator. He has toured internationally as the glockenspiel player for Zamler-Carhart/Rauh/Greenberg, an improvised chamber trio that sets poetic texts both ancient and modern. He is the vibraphonist and composer-in-residence with the new music ensemble, ShoutHouse, collaborating with classical, hip-hop, jazz and world musicians. As a performer and composer, he has been featured in Festival Les Troubadours chantent l’art roman, Composers Now, Harlem Arts Festival, the 44 Charlton Series at the Greene Space, WNYC, WBAI and ModFest. Jesse’s composition and performance practices are largely grounded in his work as an educator, working as a teaching artist through 92Y’s Musical Introduction Series, as a lead teacher at an early childhood school and as a private piano, percussion and theory instructor.

Music

Everton Isidoro was born and raised in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. He began studying percussion in 1999, and he has completed his Bachelors degree in Percussion at the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA) in 2012. His work has consisted of 10 years as a percussion teacher and musician at Neojibá project, percussion teacher at Espaço Cultural Pierre Verger, musician at Orchestra Afro-Sinfônica, the Orchestra Soteropolifônica, Leitieres Leite & the Afro Latin Jazz Orquestra, as well as teacher and coordinator of the percussion group Tom de Percussão. He has played with artists such as Maria Bethânia, Ivete Sangalo, Caetano Veloso, Susana Baca, Carlinhos Brown, Mercedes Sosa, Cecília Todd, Ramiro Musotto, Camila Cabello, and others. Everton has completed many tours with Neojibá in Europe, the US, and South America.

Everton has built his career around his love for the rhythms native to his country, specifically those from Northeastern Brazil. Despite his young age, he is already well respected as both a master player and teacher by musicians world wide. Now in New York, Everton teaches in public schools around the city, in summer camps, gives workshops, and participates in many music festivals, recordings, and weekly shows.

Dance

Jamia Nicole Jordan received her BA in English from the University of Mary Washington in 2012 and most recently received her Masters of Arts and Certification in Dance Education K-12 at New York University as a 21st-century scholarship awardee. Originally from northern Virginia, Jamia has studied dance with LillyVonn Dance and the Creative & Performing Arts Center (CAPAC). Since relocating to New York, Jamia has joined TeekVision Dance company, NYC Dance Arts, Elliot Dance, SKIN and has most recently become the newest member of the Rod Rodgers Dance company. Although she loves performing, one of her greatest joys is teaching. Jamia is the proud founder and artistic director of JNJ Dance Expressions, a Virginia based performing arts youth organization geared towards inspiring and educating the community through the arts with various outreach events and summer workshop programs. Currently serving as one of the 9th-12th grade dance teachers at KIPP NYC College Prep, Jamia has explored various dance genres with her students while providing them with an array of dance opportunities around the city. Jamia loves to create and help others find what they are passionate about so that they too can create! Jamia plans to continue spreading her love for the arts with young people in hopes that everyone lives a purpose driven life.

Jamia Nicole has been blessed to perform in both small and large venues around New York City, including but not limited to Rockefeller Center and Madison Square Garden. Most recently Jamia was blessed with the opportunity of performing at the Apollo Theatre as a contestant on the show. She was overjoyed with this opportunity as she performed in front of a sold out arena.

After releasing her first book, Woke, Jamia has been fortunate to tour around the DMV and tristate area spreading her words of truth! Jamia is delighted about life, tremendously loved and supported by her family and friends and looks forward to all of what God has planned for her in this lifetime.

Dance

Eli Kababa is the co-founder of the Garden State Dance Project, a company devoted to cultivating the art of dance in New Jersey through their performance and education programs. Eli is a certified Functional Movement Screen Trainer. He is also a Teaching Artist for the New York City Ballet, 92Y, Center for Arts Education, Brant Lake Dance Camp and Souljerz break dance crew.

Music

Bonita Labossiere has been a teaching artist for almost 40 years. During the 1970s, Bonita was one of a small group of performers exploring the impact of academic integration through the arts, in Virginia and Massachusetts. Since that time, the field has opened and expanded to such a degree that it has afforded Bonita wonderful opportunities which have included travel and academic work not only in the United States, but also in Canada and Finland as the Program Director in New York City for Learning Through the Arts, out of The Royal Conservatory of Music, in Toronto.

As a professional singer, writer, coach, director and producer, Bonita has built an umbrella organization called The Visualized Voice which creates original theatrical productions that have been seen at The Duplex and The Producer’s Club, as well as other New York City theaters, over the last 3 decades. She also sits on the Board of Directors of Art/No Art Productions which has produced the comedic short film Naked Boy, which Bonita directed.

Currently, Ms. Labossiere is working as a teaching artist with a focus on integrating academics through Choral Music and Musical Theatre, and is thrilled to have been given this opportunity by 92Y.

Visual Art

Carol Grocki Lewis studied ceramics at Buffalo State College while earning a Bachelor of Science in Art Education. She furthered her study of ceramics at 92Y with Polly Ann Martin, Frank Martin and various visiting ceramic artists. Grocki Lewis taught ceramics at Marymount Manhattan College and has been teaching ceramics and art at 92nd Street YM-YWHA since 1995 and at Earthworks Pottery in New York City. Before coming to NYC in 1980 she taught art in the public schools in Rochester NY.

While working from 1982-1992 as a registrar and collections manager for various private art collectors she earned a Master of Arts degree from New York University in the Gallatin Division, an independent study program. She focused on Museum Studies and Art History. Graduate thesis: Caring For Cultural Property: A Guide for the Private Art Collector. (1992)

Carol has been teaching through the Educational Outreach Program at the 92Y at River East, a K-5 school in Harlem. Using clay, glazes and the kiln at the school the students have had an opportunity to express their creative ideas in a new medium.

Music

Yan is a New York-based composer, lyricist, music director, and writer. He loves working with artists of all disciplines and his work has been performed in Asia, Europe, Africa, and across North America. As a music director and educator, Yan has worked with many institutions including Marymount College, Brown University, Fordham, NYU, New York Film Academy, the Chautauqua Institute, Barrington Stage Company, and Stella Adler Studios. He enjoys a good joke and is always ready to talk about dinosaurs.

Music

Jenny Lin is one of the most respected young pianists today, admired for her adventurous programming and charismatic stage presence. She has been acclaimed for her “remarkable technical command” and “a gift for melodic flow” by The New York Times. The Washington Post praises “Lin’s confident fingers… spectacular technique… “, “…surely one of the most interesting pianists in America right now…” and Gramophone Magazine has hailed her as “an exceptionally sensitive pianist”. Her orchestral engagements have included the American Symphony Orchestra, NDR and SWR German Radio orchestras, and Orchestra Sinfonica Nationale della RAI. Her concerts have taken her to Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Kennedy Center, MoMA, Stanford LIVE, and National Gallery of Art, appearing at Festivals such as Mostly Mozart, BAM’s Next Wave, Spoleto/USA, Kings Place London, Chopin Festival Austria, and Schleswig-Holstein Festival Germany.

Dance

Grace Lopata-Linn is a dancer, dance educator, and all around lover of the arts. She received her Bachelors of Fine Arts in dance from The College at Brockport in 2017 and is currently pursuing her Masters of Arts in Dance Education at Hunter College. Grace has the pleasure of teaching and assisting in classes in the 92nd St. Y’s Harkness Dance Center. During her time at Brockport she studied Modern, Ballet, Jazz, and African dance and was involved in departmental concerts as a choreographer and performer. Grace has worked with students in before and after school programs, day camps, classrooms, and dance studios. She has found her calling for spreading her love of dance education with as many children as possible and is so thankful to love every minute of it.

Architectural Design

Lee is an architectural designer, a design educator and an English language teacher. Lee received his Master of Architecture degree from Wentworth Institute of Technology in 2009. Lee has designed at various scales, from small objects to large building projects. What he loves most with architecture, is to design following the concept, less is more and to use architecture to direct us towards harmony with nature and mindful lifestyle. He believes the process of design can be a very informative tool and provides a way of thinking that can be applied to all art forms and can even help us improve the way we live. He has interests in exploring various modes of expression simultaneously, as one medium is not ideal for all people. He is a musician, practices theatre/improve, makes short films, draws and water color paints. Lee wishes to explore ideas and art with students to encourage a perspective of life that reminds us why learning and knowledge is fun and is something to cherish.

Music

“Among the best young American jazz pianists”—NPR

Luke Marantz is a New York City based pianist and composer from Texas. Born to a musical family, his studies began at an early age with piano, voice, saxophone, and visual art. A graduate of the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, Marantz was awarded multiple national jazz awards during his time there including seventeen Downbeat SMA awards which led to him being featured in the publication three times.

His studies were continued at the New England Conservatory of Music from which he graduated in 2013. During his time there Marantz had the opportunity to work with, among others, Fred Hersch, Jason Moran, and Veronica Jochum.

During his young career, Luke has performed with the likes of Jeff “Tain” Watts, Dave Liebman, George Garzone, Tierney Sutton, Ingrid Jensen, Antonio Hart, and many others. He has been featured as a sideman on the recordings of trumpeters Jason Palmer and Billy Buss, saxophonists Matt Marantz and Gianni Gagliardi as well as guitarist Olli Hirvonen alongside musicians such as Dayna Stephens, Gilad Hekselman, and Walter Smith III. He has also co-led multiple recordings including joint projects with his brother, Matt Marantz, and their band The Primary Colors. His debut solo piano record Embers is scheduled for release in the spring of 2018.

Marantz has performed across the country and internationally at such venues as the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, New England’s Jordan Hall, the Panama Jazz Festival, the Montreux Jazz Festival, the Pori Jazz Festival, the Copenhagen Jazz Festival, the Monterey Next Generation Jazz Festival, and the Vail Jazz Festival.

For more information visit www.lukemarantz.com.

Visual Art

Erin Morris an interdisciplinary artist and educator residing in Queens, NY. Originally from Raleigh, North Carolina, she moved to New York to attend The Cooper Union School For the Advancement of Science and Art and graduated with a BFA from the School of Art. In addition to teaching through the Center for Arts Learning and Leadership, Erin is apart of the teaching assistant program at the 92Y Art Center and has also worked with the Y’s Camp Yomi and the Cooper Union Outreach Program. Erin works in painting and sculpture with a heavy emphasis on ceramics. She is passionate about the intersection of arts and education as well as the importance of free, public arts programming.

Music

Maurizio Najt graduated from the "Conservatorio Nacional de Música de Buenos Aires", Argentina.

Visual Art

Cheryl Paswater holds her Master of Fine Arts in painting and Masters in Art History from the Pratt Institute. Her work is largely comprised of paintings, prints, works on paper, as well as works in book making, sculpture, and installation art.

Her work has been exhibited at various galleries including the Pratt Institute, Artists Space, IPCNY, Cannonball Press,, St. Josephs College, The Painting Center, Nurture Art, and the Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art. She has also been an Artist in Residence at the Vermont Studio Center, Chashama Studio Residency in New York, Cooper Union, Women’s Studio Workshop, and has been various publications including Studio Visit Magazine & Whitefish Review.

She works and lives in Brooklyn, New York

Music

Artemisz Polonyi is a singer and composer, originally from Hungary, currently living in New York City.

Her musical training includes classical, jazz, improvisation, and folk and early music. She gets a kick out of bringing all these styles together in her performing and teaching.

Currently she can be seen singing and playing percussion with her world music group: Asaran Earth Trio. She also performs with the professional chorus of Brick Presbyterian Church of NYC and the progressive-indie-jazz orchestra, The Delegation.

She has been pursuing her passion for teaching by leading her voice studio for more than a decade, teaching private voice lessons and helping students find their own, unique, beautifully fearless voices.

She considers herself very lucky to be able to bring music and the joy of singing to the public schools of New York City through the Musical Introduction program of 92Y, and the Students Compose Opera program of the Metropolitan Opera Guild.

Visual Art

Stina Puotinen is an artist, educator and occasional curator from New York City. Her work explores questions of communication & relationships, the (mis)interpretation of objects, actions of spontaneous collaboration and the creation of social space through sculpture, installation and sometimes performance. She holds an MFA in Collaborative Practice from Manchester School of Art 2015-2017.

Visual Art

Bethany Robertson is a Brooklyn-based illustrator, hand-lettering artist, and educator. She is passionate about art and teaching, and pursued advanced degrees in both at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Rutgers University. Bethany currently teaches her own hand-lettering workshop and has authored a 200-page book on lettering (The Botanical Hand-Lettering Workbook, Ulysses Press, 2014). Bethany’s illustration clients include Apartment Therapy, Pinterest x WorkingNotWorking, Toby’s Estate Coffee, The Williamsburg Hotel, Northside Festival, and Papyrus Greeting Cards.

Digital Design

Casey Alexander Smith is a native New Yorker and advocate of the arts. As an artist and designer he has worked with clients of varying sizes, from Viacom Networks to independent sole proprietors. As an arts educator he has spent over a decade trying to encourage the naturally collaborative and interdisciplinary spirit of arts in education. The arts have been a means for change, an avenue of therapy and uplifting celebration for the joys that surround us. Casey is extremely happy to be working with 92Y and looks forward to many more creative projects.

Music

guitarist, visiting artist

Pete Smith is a New York City-based guitarist who performs and teaches in a wide range of musical settings. As a founding member of Grupo los Santos, a vanguard Afro-Cuban and Brazilian-style quartet, he has played New York’s Town Hall and concerts throughout the U.S., Cuba & Europe. With Hazmat Modine he has performed at the Berlin Jazz Festival and Montreal Jazz Festival, as well as concerts in thirty countries throughout Europe, Eastern Europe and Asia. He has worked and/or recorded with Norah Jones, trumpeter Donald Byrd, Cuban trombone master Juan Pablo Torres, Michael Feinstein, Andrew Hill, Kat Edmonson, Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks, the Moonlighters, Madeline Peyroux, Natalie Merchant and Huun-Huur-Tu. Pete has a great deal of experience as an educator, having presented workshops in guitar and improvisation in Russia, Austria, Denmark, as well as the U.S. For over ten years, he has been a regular participant in the Music Introduction Series at 92nd Street Y, which brings music from all over the world to NYC public school children. In addition to private teaching, he was three years a classroom instructor of guitar at 92nd Street Y, as well as a teaching assistant to Donald Byrd in New York’s Jazzmobile program.

Dance

Susan Thomasson, dancer/choreographer, holds a BFA degree from the University of Utah, where she served an apprenticeship with Repertory Dance Theatre. She has performed a wide variety of modern dance styles, dancing and touring with the companies of Kathryn Posin, Raymond Johnson, Bill T. Jones, Bill Evans and Rosalind Newman. Since 1983 she has been a soloist with Anna Sokolow’s Players’ Project, performing nationally and internationally with the company, and assisting in reconstruction of Ms. Sokolow’s repertory. Susan also tours a solo/duet concert of Pilobolus Dance Theatre’s work, originally created for Lincoln Center Institute. In addition to her own work, she performs with Claire Porter, Elissaveta Iordanova and Mark DeGarmo.

A teaching artist for the Lincoln Center Institute since 1980, she has been involved in the development of many of the Institute’s national affiliates as a performer, teaching artist and consultant. She has been a faculty member of Brooklyn College, the Rutgers University system, Hofstra University, Manhattanville College, Fairleigh Dickinson University, the University of Northern Iowa and Brooklyn’s Berkeley Carroll School. In addition to Lincoln Center and many independent teaching residencies, she is an artist-in-residence and teaching artist for 92nd Street Y, NY City Center, the Joyce Theater, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and the Theater Development Fund. Currently Susan is a researcher and mentor for Arts Achieve, an educational innovation grant administered by the NYC and US Departments of Education.

She received a Choreography Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts for 2011. Her work has been presented at DanceNow, NY’s 40Up Series, Dance Theater Workshop, the 92nd Street Y’s Harkness Dance Series, the American Dance Guild, NY International Fringe Festival, Flea Theater, New York’s Riverside Dance Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, Hopkins Theatre at Dartmouth College and Iowa’s Cedar Arts Forum.

She was a contributing writer to a biography of Ms. Sokolow, which won the 1992 Torre del Bueno literature prize. A frequent master teacher and panelist, she writes arts and arts education materials for Lincoln Center, New Jersey Performing Arts Center and music publisher Silver Burdett. In 2006 Susan received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Teaching Artists and the New York State Council on the Arts and a Governor’s Award in the Arts from the State of New Jersey. She received a Choreography Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts for 2011-12.

Digital Design

Zennie Trieu was born and raised in northern New Jersey. She attended New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and originally studied in the Meisner Studio, then at Stonestreet Studios for film and television. She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama in 2017, having also written an undergraduate honors thesis focused on film, live theatre, academia, sociological studies, economic theory, and twentieth-century American history. Since then, Zennie has been a freelance writer for a post-college lifestyle blog (The Post Graduate), as well as for an arts review website based in the United Kingdom (The 730 Review). She has written fiction (plays, films, stories, a novel-in-progress; her short film opened an NYU film festival) and nonfiction (Q&A interviews, profiles, personal essays, cultural critiques, and reviews for live theatre in NYC, music, film, and TV). She is an actor, movement artist, and performer currently signed with Stewart Talent. She was also a student in the October-December 2018 session of the CRIT Fiction Writing Workshop in Crown Heights. In addition to the 92nd Street Y, Zennie is also a teaching artist/assistant with the arts-in-education nonprofit Marquis Studios. She currently lives in Bushwick, Brooklyn, and lives her life as a Jimmy Stewart character would in a Frank Capra film.

Visual Art

Udondian’s work is driven by her interest in textiles and the potential for clothing to shape identity, informed by the histories and tacit meanings embedded in everyday materials. Her works have been exhibited internationally in Lagos, Venice, New York, UK etc. This includes, The Inaugural Nigerian Pavilion at the 56th Venice Biennial-An Excerpt, Fisher Landau Centre for the Arts, New York; The Children Museum of Manhattan, New York; National Museum, Lagos; Whitworth Gallery in Manchester etc. Some of her Artist Residencies include, Instituto Sacatar, Bahia, Brazil; Mass Moca, Massachusetts, USA; Fine Arts Work Centre (FAWC), Provincetown; USA; Fondazione di Venezia, Venice and Bag Factory Studios, Johannesburg. Udondian received an MFA in Sculpture and New Genres from Columbia University, New York and a BA in painting from the University of Uyo, Nigeria.

Music

Pianist Kyle P. Walker has been featured on WQXR radio, NPR, and UNC-TV. Recent performances include his 2013 debut solo recital at Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Great Hall at Cooper Union, The Tantaloona Cave of Australia, and innovative multimedia venue, Spectrum NYC.

As an advocate of social justice, Kyle is a member of The Dream Unfinished, an activist orchestra which supports NYC-based civil rights and community organizations through concerts and presentations.

Kyle performs with the group Sanctuary Project NYC. The ensemble composed of classically trained musicians and dancers, creates original productions through a collaborative rehearsal process, centered around structured improvisation.

He is currently touring a solo performance project entitled Bach to BlackNotes, which features the music of J.S. Bach juxtaposed with music of neglected composers, who speak to issues of oppression and inequality. To follow Kyle’s journey, visit: www.kylewalkerpiano.com.

Music

Ashley Renée Watkins is an accomplished performing artist and teaching artist, currently a part of the prestigious faculty for Lincoln Center Education and the 92nd Street Y Center for Education Outreach. Ashley Renée is a classically trained vocalist who has often ventured into other styles of music but is taking it to the next level with the release of her debut R&B single “Red Wine.”

The New Orleans native has been based in New York City since 2014—the year she appeared on NBC’s America’s Got Talent live at Radio City Music Hall with her opera and multi-genre duo ACTE II. The duo has been making their own way creating exciting concerts for audiences around the U.S. and internationally. They took their show Music Our Way on tour in 2017 thrilling their crowds with opera, jazz, broadway, and gospel tunes. Ashley Renée has always been in love with these styles and is adding R&B to her vocal arsenal.

Past credits include performing as a guest of the Brooklyn Nets at the Atlantic Barclay’s Center of Brooklyn, NY, appearing with the American Spiritual Ensemble at the formerly named Avery Fisher Hall of Lincoln Center, being presented in concert at the National Christmas Tree of Washington D.C., and the Apollo Theater of Syros Greece.

Ashley Renée has glistened in roles such as Bloody Mary in South Pacific, Lady Thiang in The King and I, Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus, La Contessa in Le Nozze di Figaro, Mimì in La Bohème, the Foreign Princess in Rusalka and Donna Anna in Don Giovanni. She attended Dillard University in her hometown of New Orleans and completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in voice and opera studies at the University of Oklahoma.

Music

Maya Webne-Behrman is a Brooklyn-based violinist and vocalist. She has toured and taught internationally in many styles of music. Originally from Wisconsin, Maya moved to New York to pursue studies in early music and is performing regularly as a soloist, chamber musician, and large ensemble member. Maya believes that being a well-rounded performer and learner greatly lends itself to quality teaching and relishes incorporating music theory, composition, and improvisation into her lessons. Maya enjoys teaching all levels and has experience in various settings, some of which include the Silver Music Suzuki School, La Escuela de Música Sirinx in Burgos, Spain, and summer music clinics. Maya received a B.M. in Violin Performance with an additional emphasis in Vocal Performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. There, she co-founded a 5-voice early music ensemble dedicated to performing Renaissance polyphony called the Mendota Consort. Mendota migrated to New York City with Maya and is now discovering new voices and venues on the East Coast.

Dance

Ebony Webster, born and raised in Queens, NY, received her BFA in dance choreography and performance from Temple University. After graduation, Ebony moved back to NY to then perform for Lauryn Hill, as apart of Forces of Nature Dance Theater, KayCruddenCo, and Coleman Collective to name a few. Ebony is also a certified personal trainer.

Music

Hailed by the New York Times for her “magnificently sweet tone,” oboist Keve Wilson would skip music theory and history as a kid to practice Irish jigs and reels instead. Recently oboist with the Broadway revival Carousel, Keve inspires high school band and orchestra students from around the country with her original show Believe NYC—from the Band Room to Broadway. A past winner of Concert Artists Guild and former dancer, she danced in the European Tour of Bernstein’s On the Town after studying Broadway dance with Phil Black. Keve lived in Los Angeles for six years where she played piano for the Henry Mancini and Heart of Los Angeles outreach programs and oboe in Opera Pacific as well as for film and television scores. Keve left Los Angeles for the mountains of Breckenridge for two years where she taught piano privately and hosted a radio show, A Couple of Musicians with her husband. Upon returning to NYC, Keve became oboist with the Tony Award winning show A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, subbed on 12 Broadway shows, and has performed everywhere from Carnegie Hall to Feinstein’s/54Below. From Hyde Park, NY and a graduate of Eastman School of Music, Keve studied oboe with Richard Killmer, piano with Judith Handman, and dance with Elizabeth Clark. She lives in New York City with her husband Kerry Farrell.

Music

Lynne is an accomplished singer-actress-writer-director, having directed numerous ensembles aged 5 to 85 in musical theatre productions, choruses, cabarets and benefits. She was lead singer for the jazz vocal group, ZAZ, heard on CDBaby, and has written/performed for USA network.  She is a member of AEA, AFTRA, and SAG. 

Lynne is a teaching artist for 92Y’s Discover Music Series, Chorus and the CASA after school program. Honored with the 2007 'Founding Teacher' Award at City Lights Youth Theatre in New York, her passion for music and theatre is enthusiastically shared with her students.  Lynne received her BA in Music Ed from Millsaps College in Jackson, MS. and MEd from Columbus University in Columbus, GA. She is currently working on a novel and resides in NYC with her daughter, Alexandra.