Success Stories

Two Manhattan School of Music alumni recently joined the faculty of The Hartt School, the performing arts conservatory at the University of Hartford in Connecticut: Classical pianist Dr. Carolina Flores (BM ’93, MM ’96) is Associate Professor of Choral Music and Director of Choral Activities, and operatic and musical theatre vocalist Kyle Pfortmiller (MM ’94) is a voice department faculty member.

Dr. Flores is a DMA alumna of The Hartt School and has held multiple college teaching positions, has served as music director of internationally touring choirs, and is an active concert and collaborative pianist. Kyle Pfortmiller has performed many roles at The Metropolitan Opera and other opera companies in the United States, as well in high-profile musical theatre productions.

Learn more about both alumni and their appointments here.

Above: Dr. Carolina Flores (on left); Kyle Pfortmiller

Jeffrey Langford, MSM Associate Dean of the Doctoral program at MSM, is the author of a new textbook, Opera: A History of the Impossible Genre, an accessible and chronological survey of opera, published by Routledge Co.

“I’m happy to announce that my departure from teaching at MSM has been recently marked by the publication of my new textbook,” says Dr. Langford. “ It feels like a nice culmination to my work over all these years.”

Dr. Langford retired from teaching music history at MSM in 2022. He presently serves as a MSM faculty member, advisor, and associate dean of doctoral studies.

Dr. Langford’s previous publication is A History of the Symphony: The Grand Genre. He is also the author of an annotated bibliography of research materials on Berlioz titled Hector Berlioz: A Guide to Research.  His book Evenings at the Opera is a collection of essays addressing the question of the relationship of music to drama in opera from Mozart to Britten.

Learn more about Dr. Langford’s new publication here.

Manhattan School of Music Orchestral Performance alumnus Taylor Smith (MM ’14) was recently appointed to the Alabama Symphony Orchestra (ASO) as Assistant Principal Bassoon.

Smith is currently Principal Bassoon of the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra (Alabama) while freelancing in New York City; he will relocate to Birmingham for his upcoming full-time position with ASO.

Click here to watch an HSO interview with Taylor from this past summer.

Baritone and musicologist Derek Greten-Harrison (BM ’04) restored 41 original orchestral film arrangements from 20th Century-Fox films of the 1940s-50s—including the complete score to Rodgers & Hammerstein’s State Fair—and subsequently recorded world-premiere stereo recordings of them with conductor David Charles Abell and the BBC Concert Orchestra.

The resulting 2-CD album, State Fair and the 20th Century-Fox Songbook was released this year on the Dutton Epoch label to rave reviews from BBC Music Magazine, Gramophone, and MusicWeb International. It features solo vocals by Derek and luminaries such as Broadway and West End star Scarlett Strallen, British jazz vocalist Clare Teal, American tenor James Taylor, and “Ambassador of the American Songbook” Michael Feinstein.

Derek also wrote the album’s extensive liner notes, and will give a presentation at the international music conference, “Editing Film Music: Challenges of Multimediality” being held Nov 22 and 23 in Frankfurt, Germany.

Click here to learn more about Derek and his film music restoration projects.

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation has appointed Blake-Anthony Johnson (’16) as its new CEO starting January of 2025. With extensive experience as CEO of the Chicago Sinfonietta, Johnson is known for his innovative approach in music and cultural advocacy.

His focus will include expanding local partnerships, securing sustainable funding, and advancing programs that celebrate the heritage of New Orleans. Johnson succeeds Don Marshall, who led the Foundation for over 20 years, enriching the community through various festivals and educational programs. Johnson’s leadership is expected to drive the Foundation’s mission forward with a focus on inclusivity and cultural preservation.

Click here to read the full press release.

At the Nobel festivities in 1993, Swedish-born soprano saxophonist and composer Anders Paulsson (MM ‘86) performed for Nelson Mandela when he received the Nobel Peace Prize; Anders consequently composed the 22-minute-long Celebration Suite to celebrate 20 years of democracy in South Africa. The composition, which had its world premiere in 2013, was a commission for the MIAGI (Music is a Great Investment) Orchestra, a non-profit educational youth orchestra based in South Africa, where Anders was Composer-in-Residence.

This past summer, MIAGI performed Celebration Suite to mark the 30-year anniversary of democracy in South Africa, in a series of concerts in Germany with Anders Paulsson featured on solo soprano saxophone. The concerts took place at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, and the Konzerthaus Berlin, with Chevonne Plaatjies conducting.

Click here to learn more about Anders.
Click here to learn more about the MIAGI Orchestra.

Vocal Arts alumnus Cameron Johnson (MM ’14) is part of the ensemble cast of the new musical, Swept Away, featuring music by the folk-rock band The Avett Brothers, with a book by playwright and screenwriter John David Logan. The story is loosely based on an 1884 shipwreck off the coast of New Bedford, Massachusetts. The production is currently in previews on Broadway at the Longacre Theatrer; opening night is November 19.

Johnson is one of several cast members who performed in the show in its run from November 2023 to January 2024 at the Arena Stage Theatre in Washington, D.C. He was a part of the 2022 Broadway revival of Into the Woods as well as Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish and The Golden Bride.

Click here to learn more about Swept Away.

An online course by MSM faculty member and alumna Lisa Yui (DMA ‘05) on J.S. Bach’s Italian Concerto launched recently on Tonebase Piano, a popular platform for classical music education with over 25,000 active members worldwide.

In the series, Dr. Yui delves into the history and style of this immensely popular piece, offering technical guidance on ornamentation, pedalling, and more.

Watch an excerpt of the course on YouTube shorts here.
Find the full course here.

MSM alumnus and trustee, the Grammy Award-winning countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo (MM ‘08), will discuss his meteoric rise from singer to general director of Opera Philadelphia in person at the National Opera Center in New York on November 4 from 7 PM to 8 PM. The event will also be livestreamed.

From his early career start at age 11 to his acclaimed performances across opera, film, and Broadway, Costanzo will talk about his exceptional journey with Marc A. Scorca, president/CEO of OPERA America.

The National Opera Center is located at 330 Seventh Avenue (at 29th Street) in Manhattan.

In-Person Tickets:$5 Members, $10 Non-Members, Free for Students
Livestream: Free, registration required

Register here.

A finalist of the 2024 Susan Wadsworth International Auditions is current MSM violin student Koshiro Takeuchi (BM ’28) who studies at MSM with Lucie Robert and Koichiro Harada. Semi finalists from MSM are current flute student Blue Shelton (BM ‘25) who studies with Marya Martin, and Shelén Hughes (BM ‘18, MM ‘20) who studied with Ashley Putnam at MSM.

Anchored by Young Concert Artists founder Susan Wadsworth and YCA President Daniel Kellogg, the jury (in photo above) for the semi-final and final rounds included pianists Inon Barnatan and Angela Cheng, violist Nokuthula Ngwenyama, violinists Barry Shiffman and Pamela Frank, flutist Marya Martin, soprano and MSM alumna Dawn Upshaw, and conductor Constantine Orbelian; along with Cristina Rocca, VP of Artistic Planning at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Donald Palumbo, Chorus Master at the Metropolitan Opera; and Abhijit Sengupta, Director of Artistic Planning at Carnegie Hall.

The finals took place on October 27 at Merkin Hall; a winner’s concert will be held October 28 at 7PM at Gilder Lehrman Hall at The Morgan Library & Museum in New York.

MSM Trustee and classical piano alumnus Dr. Scott Dunn (MM ’97) will perform two concerts in 2025 at The Wallis Annenberg Centre for the Performing Arts (known as The Wallis) in Beverly Hills, California.

On January 18, he is conducting the inaugural concert of his ensemble, the Scott Dunn Orchestra, in a program called The Hollywood Modernists —the Second Golden Age of Film Scoring, celebrating the influence of American and European modernism on composers such as Bernard Herrmann, Elmer Bernstein, Alex North, and  Leonard Rosenman, and featuring music from the iconic films Psycho, Jaws, A Streetcar Named Desire To Kill A Mockingbird, and more; most of the arrangements are by Scott Dunn.

The Scott Dunn Orchestra will perform a second program at The Wallis in May 2025 called Henry Mancini at 100—a Celebration of the Man and his Music.

Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.

Alumna jazz trumpeter Kellin Hanas (BM ’24) performed at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center in Appleton, Wisconsin with the Carnegie Hall Ensemble as part of Michael Feinstein’s performance on Oct. 17.

The concert honored the history of big band and jazz music, Carnegie Hall, and the legacy of Tony Bennett, with a performance of Bennett’s iconic songs interpreted by Feinstein and the Carnegie Hall Ensemble.

In photo above: After the concert, Kellin met with MSM President James Gandre and another alumna, Nadje Noordhuis—who was recently appointed to the faculty at Lawrence University in Appleton— along with members of her trumpet studio.

Kellin Hanas was the student speaker at MSM Commencement 2024.

Read our interview with Kellin Hanas here.

Contemporary Performance Program alumna Nicole Brancato (MM ’22) recently became a Yamaha Piano Artist. This year, she has also received awards from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, the Puffin Foundation, and Flushing Town Hall.

In partnership with a team of Georgia Tech engineers, her recent interdisciplinary project bringing together music, STEM, and interactive creativity, received an IPaT Research and Engagement Grant award.

Nicole Brancato currently serves as a 2024–25 Artist in Residence with the New York City Department of Education. She also served as an artist-in-residence for the Pure.Art Circle program in Italy, which commissioned her to compose a new chamber opera (titled Infinitesimal).

Click here to learn more about Nicole.

MSM alumna Melissa Westgate (MM ’98) is the Principal Cello in the Tony Award-winning production of Hell’s Kitchen on Broadway. Her previous Broadway credits include Mrs. Doubtfire, New York New York, Pal Joey, and How to Dance in Ohio.

She joined the Greenwich Symphony in 2019 and was previously the Principal Cellist of the Ridgefield Symphony and Assistant Principal of the Springfield Symphony (MA). Melissa has been a member of the New Haven Symphony and Radio City Christmas Spectacular Orchestra, as well as the Principal Cellist of the Radio City Music Hall Spring Spectacular.

Another MSM alumna, Alexa Smith (MM ’10), is a producer on Hell’s Kitchen through her work on the production at The Public Theater

Learn more about Melissa Westgate here.
Learn more about Hell’s Kitchen here.

Minnesota Public Radio recently aired a 30-minute interview with David Leisner, Chair of the Guitar Program at MSM. In the interview he speaks about his new album Charms to Soothe, his book and he talks at length about the Guitar Program at MSM. David also discusses his interest in visual art.

Charms to Soothe was released in late May on Azica Records and has been receiving positive attention from classical music press.

Listen to the interview here.
Learn more about the album here.

Eugenia Cho (MM ‘25) has played the violin since she was 6 years old. She has been seated in leadership positions for numerous orchestras, including the Manhattan Symphony Orchestra, University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra and Campus Symphony Orchestra, as well as 4 consecutive seasons of the Michigan All State & Honors Orchestras.

She has worked with musicians, such as Wynton Marsalis & The Jazz Lincoln Center, Oriol Sans, and Dr. Larry Livingston.

Read our interview with Eugenia when she began her studies at MSM here.

Violinist Robert Zubrycki (MM ’86) is the concertmaster for  Once Upon a Mattress which opened on Aug 12, 2024.

Robert Zubrycki is also the concertmaster of the New York City Chamber Orchestra, a member of the Stamford Symphony Orchestra, the American Symphony Orchestra, Assistant Concertmaster of Orchestra Moderne NYC, and principal violin and frequent soloist with the Amici New York Orchestra.

A veteran of dozens of Broadway shows, Bob performs in the orchestra of Carousel, and formerly in She Loves Me and A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. He can be heard on the recent cast recordings of She Loves Me, An American in Paris, and Paint Your Wagon (violin and mandolin). He has won an Emmy Award for his musical contribution to the documentary The Curse of the Bambino.

He is currently the director for Concerts Around the Corner and the Cultural Arts Coalition in Brewster, NY.

Kianna Kelly-Futch (BM ‘24) will play the role of Janelle Woods and one of the singers in the musical group the Shirelles in the musical Beautiful: The Carole King Musical during its scheduled run at the Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, Florida, from November 16 to January 5.

The Asolo Reperatory Theatre is the largest Equity theatre in Florida, and the largest Repertory theatre in the Southeastern United States.

Read our MSM Spotlight on Kianna when she studied at MSM, here.
More about the Asolo Reperatory Theatre production here.

Of the current 87 Fellows in the New World Symphony (NWS) this year, six of them are MSM college alumni, and one a former Precollege student. The New World Symphony is is an American orchestral academy based in Miami, Florida. Established in 1987, the organization is a training ensemble for young musicians in preparation for professional careers in classical music.

The MSM alumni and Precollege former student who are NWS Fellows are:

Deurim Jung, Violin (MSM Precollege from 2013-2014)
Wing Yan Alison Kwok, Violin (BM ’20)
Yuna Jo, Violin (BM ’20)
Toby Winarto, Viola (BM ’19, MM ’21)
Marcie Kolacki, Orchestral Cello (MM ’21, PS ’22)
Logan May, Double Bass (BM ’20)
Leo Simon, Orchestral Percussion (MM ’23)

Meet all the NWS fellows here. (viewable on Safari but not Chrome).

Jazz trumpeter and rising star, MSM alumnus Jonathan Dely (MM ‘17) recently completed a feature tour in the American northwest where he headlined Alberta Bair Theater in Billings, Montana and The Argyros in Sun Valley, Idaho.

Jonathan formed his band while a student at Manhattan School of Music; his recent credits include performing at Lincoln Center, SFJAZZ, and having starring role in the 2023 film Goodbye Jonathan’s Soul directed by legendary filmmaker Bob Giraldi who captured the story that has animated Dely’s career: turning down a lucrative career on Wall Street to become a musical artist.

Learn more about Jonathan Dely here.

Robert Sirota and Sheree Clement, two New York based composers,  are combining forces to present Sacred and Profane at Symphony Space on October 15.

The concert also features a line up of some of NYC’s finest contemporary players including: soprano Ariadne Greif, baritone Paul Pinto, the Momenta Quartet, cellist Benjamin Larsen, pianist Hyungjin Choi, flutist Roberta Michel, violists Jonah Sirota and Nadia Sirota, and percussionist Katherine Fortunato.

More information about the concert here.

Jazz trumpeter and MSM alumna Nadje Noordhuis (MM ’05) has been appointed Assistant Professor of Trumpet at Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, a tenure-track position. She regularly tours with the Maria Schneider Orchestra, Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, Anat Cohen Tentet, and Matt Wilson’s Honey and Salt, among other acclaimed ensembles.

Prior to her appointment at Lawrence University, Noordhuis taught at Manhattan School of Music Precollege, along with Hunter College, Berklee College of Music, and Sydney Conservatorium. She also manages both the Laurie Frink Career Grant and the Laurie Frink Brass Summit, whose namesake mentored Noordhuis as a student at MSM and into her career.

Learn more about Nadje here.

Megan Torti, flute (MM OP ’23) has been named Principal Flute with the North Carolina Symphony in the Mr. And Mrs. George M. Stephens Chair. Prior to winning her position, she performed as a regular substitute with the New York Philharmonic.

Minjoo Moon, violin (PS ‘24) has been appointed to a one-year first violin position with the orchestra for the 2024-25 season in the Harvey At-Large Chair. Prior to joining the North Carolina Symphony, Minjoo was a violinist with The Syracuse Orchestra.

Read an interview with Megan Torti here.
More about Minjoo Moon and her appointment here.
More about the North Carolina Symphony here.

Ayanna Nicole Thomas (in photo on bottom left) is joining the cast of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on November 12 at the Lyric Theatre, playing the role of Rose Granger-Weasley as one of 9 new cast members. Ayanna studied Musical Theatre at MSM from 2020 to 2023, when she took a leave of absence to join the Broadway cast of How to Dance in Ohio.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child first opened on Broadway as a two-part experience April 22, 2018. The production would go on to be nominated for 10 Tony Awards, winning five, including Best Play.

The condensed, one-part production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child opened December 7, 2021, at the Lyric Theatre following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Learn more about the new casting here.

Baritone Justin Austin has been named Rising Star at the 2024 International Opera Awards. The prestigious honour was announced at the gala ceremony held at Munich’s Bayerische Staatsoper on October 2.

Possessing a “mighty lyric voice” (The New York Times) “with a burly, burnished tone capable of striking nuance and color” (Washington Post), he is also the recipient of the 2024 Marian Anderson Vocal Award. Deemed “a natural performer – a star awaiting a galaxy to form around him” (Washington Post), he has been praised for his “intensity and charisma” (Opera), “rich, pointed expressiveness” (Parterre), and “immaculate musicianship” (Seen and Heard International).

Born in Stuttgart, Germany, Justin Austin is an alumnus of the Choir Academy of Harlem, Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, Heidelberg Lied Akademie, and Manhattan School of Music (M.M. and B.M.). He studied for his bachelor’s degree at MSM with Catherine Malfitano.

More information about Justin’s win here.
More information about the 2024 International Opera Awards here.

Three MSM alumni are featured in the cast of the Met Opera’s production of Rigoletto, on stage now through January 24, 2025:  Soloman Howard (MM ‘10) as Sparafucile, J’Nai Bridges (BM ‘09) as Maddalena, and Eve Gigliotti (BM ‘97) as ​Giovanna.

In addition, three MSM alumni are part of the production’s artistic staff: Thomas Lausmann (PS ‘99) is Director of Music Administration at the Met Opera, Israel Gursky (PS ‘98), Musical Preparation for Rigoletto, and Joseph Lawson (DMA ’02), Stage Band Conductor for Rigoletto.

In the photo above, taken after opening night on September 30, from left to right: Thomas Lausmann, Israel Gursky, J’Nai Bridges, Eve Gigliotti, and MSM President Jim Gandre.

Learn more about the production here.

MSM doctoral violin student William Lee was the featured violinist with the Senior Concert Orchestra of New York at Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall on September 29, performing the Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1.

The concert was conducted by MSM former faculty member David Gilbert.

William has performed as soloist with Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra and Tianjin Symphony Orchestra under the direction of maestro Muhai Tang. He has also been featured on Shanghai Television Station, Qingdao TV Station and Taiwan National Education Radio.

William is in his first year of doctoral studies at MSM, studying with Koichiro Harada and Nicholas Mann.

Learn more about William Lee here.

MSM Jazz voice alumna Motswedi Modiba (MM ’24) is performing with Academy Award- and Grammy-winning composer Hans Zimmer during his Hans Zimmer Live tour across the United States and Canada in September and October 2024.

Motswedi is part of this 20-stop tour, which features works from Zimmer’s most well-known scores, including Gladiator, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Dark Knight, Interstellar, The Lion King, The Last Samurai, Dune, and more!

While at MSM, Motswedi studied with Jean Baylor and was a Hugh Masekela Scholar.

More about the tour here.

Violinist Xuan Yao (PPD ’25) is currently pursuing a Professional Performance Diploma at the Manhattan School of Music, studying under Koichiro Harada and Lucie Robert. Born in Changsha, China, she began violin at age five and later studied at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing.

She  is an active soloist and chamber musician, performing with the Bay-Atlantic Symphony, Capital Philharmonic of New Jersey, and Symphony in C. Xuan has been playing on a regular basis with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Princeton Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, and New Jersey Festival Orchestra.

Xuan has also participated in international festivals such as Mozarteum Salzburg, Summit Music Festival, and iPalpiti Music Festival.

Critically acclaimed jazz pianist and composer Ted Rosenthal  presents “Rhapsody in Gershwin” with his trio on Sept 26, at 7:30 PM at Birdland Jazz Club in NYC, celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Rhapsody in Blue on Gershwin’s birthday.

The Ted Rosenthal Trio is:
Ted Rosenthal – Piano
Martin Wind – Bass
Tim Horner – Drums

More information and tickets here.
More about Ted Rosenthal here.