Excellence - Wyoming Seminary

2011 Faculty continued16received the Citation of Excellence award fromPennsylvania Music Educator’s Association in1990 and the Distinguished Service award in1998. He is the founder and former conductor ofthe PAI/Wyoming Seminary Civic Symphony andis immediate Past President of PMEA, District 9.Youming Chen (viola)has performed on manyinternationally-acclaimed stages,including Carnegie, Alice Tully,Royal Albert, Avery Fisher,Luncern, Konzerthaus-Berlin,De Montfort and NationalTaiwan Concert Hall. Winnerof the Rutgers Symphony Orchestra concertocompetition, he was also featured on WQXR onthe “Young Artist Showcase” and televised onBBC with Sir Colin Davis. Chen has participatedin Pacific Music Festival (Japan), Aspen MusicFestival, Prussia Cove (England) and Music@Menlo. Formerly a violist of the Gustave RosseelsQuartet, he was also a founding member ofthe Fader Piano Quartet, which received theprestigious Saunderson Award at the ColemanChamber Ensemble Competition. He receivedhis M.M. from the Juilliard School, B.M. fromUniversity of Michigan and is pursuing his D.M.A.at University of Missouri-Kansas City. Chen’steachers include Paul Neubauer, Toby Appel,Hsin-Yun Huang, Yizhak Schotten, Victoria Chiang,Alan de Veritch and Ben Lin. His chamber coachesinclude members of Brentano, Chester, Cleveland,Concord, Emerson, Guaneri, Juilliard, Mendelssohnand Orion quartets. He serves as a chambermusic faculty for Heartland Music Academy’sStringendo and Chamber Music Festival.S. Todd Christopher (voicefaculty), Music Director for PAI’sproduction of Cabaret, Kiss MeKate, The Threepenny Opera,Oliver!, Fiddler on the Roof, TwoGentleman of Verona and AFunny Thing Happened on theWay to the Forum, receivedhis B.M. from The Ohio State University inmusic education and his M.M. from NorthernArizona University in vocal performance. Whileat NAU, Todd served as a graduate assistantwhere he conducted the men’s chorale andopera orchestra. Currently, he holds theposition of vocal music director of WapakonetaHigh School (Ohio).Amanda Cook (flute) is currentlypursuing a master’s degree influte performance at Kent StateUniversity. There, she servesas the graduate flute assistant,principal flutist of the KSUOrchestra and principal flutistof the KSU Wind Ensemble. Shegraduated summa cum laude from George MasonUniversity with a B.M. in Flute Performance. Cookhas maintained private flute studios in Connecticutand Virginia and has served on the staff of theJudith Lapple Summer Woodwind Camp. Shehas placed in several competitions includingthe MTNA Senior Woodwinds Competition, theHampton Roads Flute Faire and the GeorgeMason University Concerto Competition. Shehas performed with the American Festival PopsOrchestra as piccolo/3rd flute. She has alsoperformed on masterclasses for Bonita Boyd andGary Schocker. Her principal teachers includeJudith Lapple and Diane McCloskey.Scott Cranston (wind ensembleconductor) is director ofbands at New Canaan HighSchool (Conn.). His ensembleshave earned top honors atcompetitions in Quebec City,Orlando and New Orleans, andhave been invited to performboth at Avery Fisher Hall and Carnegie Hall. Theyalso have performed with distinction at festivalsin Paris and London. Cranston, along withthree PAI alumni, formed the NCHS WoodwindQuintet in 2005. The quintet was named an All-Connecticut Honor Ensemble in 2006 as wellas an MENC All-Eastern Honor Ensemble. Scottperforms as principal trombonist with the NewHaven Symphony Orchestra, Greater BridgeportSymphony Orchestra, Waterbury SymphonyOrchestra and in Broadway National Tours inHartford and New Haven. He received his B.M.from the Hartt School of Music and his M.M.degree from Yale University.Elizabeth Duhr (mezzo) is agraduate of the Resident ArtistTraining Program with the Tri-Cities Opera Company. Sheundertook the roles of TheMother in Menotti’s “Amahl andthe Night Visitors,” Third Ladyin Mozart’s “Die Zauberflöte,”Suzuki in Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly,” andAlisa in Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lammermoor.”Her portrayal of Mrs. Ott in the Cedar RapidsOpera production of Carlisle Floyd’s “Susannah,”was “...A masterpiece of detail, honesty andconviction.” Her other credits include Rossini’s“La Cenerentola” (Tisbe), Gilbert and Sullivan’s“The Mikado” (Katisha) and Britten’s “The Rapeof Lucretia” (Bianca). Her numerous awardsinclude Second Place and Honorable Mentionawards at the City Opera of the Quad Cities’Young Singer Competition, a finalist in the NATSCompetition (Iowa), an Undergraduate Scholar inthe University of Iowa’s Martha Ellen Tye OperaTheater, where she also won the Semper FidelisAward, the Herald Stark Memorial Award inOpera and a full-term undergraduate scholarship.She has a B.M. in Vocal Performance from theUniversity of Iowa and her M.M. in Opera fromSUNY-Binghamton.Tim Early (head of the PAI Dance Program)serves as co-director of the Philadelphia-basedmodern dance company Opus 1 Contemporary.In addition to working with many independentchoreographers, he continuesto perform with Philadelphiacompanies including BrandywineBallet and PennsylvaniaAcademy of Ballet. Currently onstaff at Temple University, hehas served at Mount HolyokeCollege as a visiting artistand has choreographed for Lafayette College,Moravian College and West Chester University.He trained with master teacher Jonathan Whitein the Vaganova method, and is also trained in thetechniques of Limon, Graham, Horton and Wigman.Carrie Ellmore-Tallitsch(Assistant Director of thePAI Dance Program) is fromHamilton, Va., where shebegan her early dance training.A cum laude graduate of theUniversity of Cincinnati’s CollegeConservatory of Music, Carriehas danced with Dayton Contemporary Dance’ssecond company, Philadanco and Pascal RioultDance Theater, to name a few. Currently she is inher seventh season as principal dancer with theMartha Graham Dance Company. She conductsmasterclasses and workshops at various danceschools throughout New Jersey.Stephen Fine (viola) is currentlyon faculty at the Universityof Florida’s School of Music.An avid chamber musician, hehas performed throughout theUnited States, Canada, China,Finland, France, Italy andSwitzerland. He studied underKaren Ritscher, Jodi Levita, Kathryn Murdock andDaniel Palmer.Dr. Zane Forshee (guitar)is a faculty member of thePeabody Conservatory,Peabody Preparatory School,as well as the University ofMaryland-Baltimore County.In 2009, he was named asa Fulbright Scholar to Spain.While there, he worked closely with IgnacioRodes, professor of guitar at the Oscar EspláConservatorio in Alicante. Forshee chose towork with Professor Rodes due to his artisticrelationship with renowned composer, VicenteAscencio, as well as guitarist José Tomás, one ofthe most influential Spanish guitar pedagoguesof the 20th century. Tomás studied under ReginoSainz de la Maza, Alirio Diaz and Andrés Segovia,the guitarists who commissioned, edited andpremiered these works. He completed his D.M.A.from The Peabody Institute of MusicDr. Michelle Gott (harp) began her studiesat the age of four under the tutelage of hermother, Caryn Wunderlich Gott. As a winner ofthe Juilliard Concerto Competition, Gott debutedin Alice Tully Hall in 2009. She appeared assoloist with ART Symphony Orchestra, the String