Excellence - Wyoming Seminary
Excellence - Wyoming Seminary
Excellence - Wyoming Seminary
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2011 Faculty continued20he studied clarinet with Anthony Gigliotti andRonald Reuben and conducted with Luis Biavaand Arthur Chodoroff. He has studied conductingwith some of today’s most prominent instructorsincluding Mark Davis Scatterday, Timothy Reynishand Larry Rachleff. Presently, he is working tocomplete his M.M. in Orchestral Conducting withBruce Hangen at The Boston Conservatory.Ellie Mooney enjoys adistinguished career as anactor, choreographer, directorand teacher. She has servedas the director/choreographerfor three national tours andcountless regional theatercompanies. In addition, heracting has earned her a Barrymore Nominationfor “Best Leading Actress in a Musical” and again,for “Best Leading Actress in a Musical.” She issought after as a teacher for popular classesaddressing topics such as Audition Technique,Song and Scene Study, Dance for Musical Theaterand Musical Theater Master Classes.Dr. Michael W. Nickens joinedthe George Mason UniversityDepartment of Music faculty inAugust of 2006, where he codirectsthe Symphonic Band,directs the GMU pep bandand teaches Sight-Singing andEar Training. His backgroundhas been based in tuba performance, and hehas been a member of Michigan’s renownedCreative Arts Orchestra as well as other musicalensembles that focus on improvisation such ashis trio t.l.a.o.o. and Everyone a Pope. He receivedhis B.M. from the Manhattan School of Music; hisM.M. from Yale University and his D.M.A. fromUniversity of Michigan.Christiane Oppenheimer-Vaida(cello) completed her musicalstudies at the Hochschule fuerMusik in Frankfurt, Germany,under the tutelage of ProfessorSusanne Mueller-Hornbachand has undertaken additionalstudies with Gerhard Mantel,Siegfried Palm, Hubert Buchberger, Ulrich Vossand Menachem Pressler (Beaux Arts Trio). Shetaught at Justus-Liebig-University, Giessen andheaded the string department for the BuseckMusic School while performing regularly bothas soloist and chamber musician throughoutGermany. Currently a member of MarywoodUniversity’s string faculty, Oppenheimer-Vaidaalso serves as an artist-in-residence at <strong>Wyoming</strong><strong>Seminary</strong>. She is an active freelance performerwith various chamber ensembles and orchestrasthroughout the region.James Orfanella (jazz band conductor) has beena professional musician and music educator forover 20 years with a B.M.E from the Universityof North Texas. Currently teaching at Valley ViewHigh School in Archbald, Pa.,he performs in a wide varietyof styles from jazz to rock toclassical. He is currently studyingtraditional Japanese shakuhachiflute under Ronnie NyogetsuReishin Seldin at the Ki Sui Andojo. Orfanella is also half ofTribal Waves, a duo which combines a variety ofworld wind instruments, including didgeridoos,flutes and jaw harps, with percussion rangingfrom drum set to Tibetian singing bowls to createan improvisational ambient trance experience.Enid Blount Press (clarinetist)has performed at many of themajor performance venuesin New York, including SternAuditorium and Weill Recital Hallat Carnegie Hall, Avery FisherHall at Lincoln Center, MerkinRecital Hall, and the KnittingFactory, as well as at numerous other nationalvenues. Press has been a concerto soloist withvarious orchestras and plays regularly in newmusic concerts. She has performed extensivelyas a chamber musician while touring in the U.S.,Germany and Italy. Press holds an M.M. in clarinetperformance from the University of SouthernCalifornia and a B.M. from Oberlin Conservatory.She is very pleased to teach at PAI for hersecond season in the summer of 2012.Dr. Amanda Quist is a facultymember of the WestminsterChoir College, where sheconducts the Chapel Choirand is co-conductor ofthe Symphonic Choir. Shepreviously was Director ofChoral Activities at San JoséState University. Quist earned her D.M.A. in choralconducting from the University of North Texas,and received her B.M. and M.M. in music educationand choral conducting, summa cum laude,from Western Michigan University. Shehas received numerous awards, includingthe prestigious James Mulholland NationalChoral Fellowship, the Texas Choral DirectorsAssociation Professional Scholarship and theAudrey Davidson Early Music Award. An activeadjudicator and performer, Quist is frequently aguest clinician and conductor, and has recentlyperformed as a mezzo-soprano soloist withthe Santa Clara Chorale and Symphony SiliconValley, as well as the Westminster Choral Festivaland Festival Orchestra.Christa Robinson (oboe)recently moved to NYC fromCanada, where she performedas Principal Oboe with theSaskatoon Symphony Orchestra.She now is a member of theColonial Symphony Orchestra,the Canadian ChamberOrchestra of NYC and the Double EntendreMusic Ensemble. She also can frequently beheard performing with the Harrisburg Symphony,The Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas,the DiCapo Opera and new music ensemblesSequitur, Argento, Alarm Will Sound, the S.E.M.Orchestra and Signal. In addition to a vibrantfreelance career, Robinson is a faculty memberof the Third Street Music School Settlement.She studied with Richard Killmer at the EastmanSchool of Music, where she earned her B.M. inboth Oboe Performance and Music Education.Other teachers have included Dr. Neil Tatmanat the University of Arizona and Jim Mason inKitchenor, Ontario.William Roudebush (Directorof PAI’s Musical TheaterProgram) has directed wellover 275 productions at suchtheaters as Actors Theater ofLouisville, Cleveland Play House,The Hanna Theater, SyracuseStage Company, Walnut StreetTheater, Mint Theater Company, Ensemble StudioTheater and the John Houseman Theater in NewYork City. He is nationally known as an educator,having taught at the American Academy ofDramatic Arts in New York, Temple University,Virginia Commonwealth University and TheUniversity of the Arts. In 1995, he developedan innovative curriculum for the Walnut StreetTheater School, for which he earned an awardfrom the Pennsylvania Council of the Artshonoring the unique outreach program. Author ofActing by Mistake, Roudebush brings more than40 years of teaching and directing experience toPAI where he collaborates with his students andprofessional staff.Christina Roytz (music theoryfaculty/head music librarian) is acellist in the Amman SymphonyOrchestra and a faculty memberof the Department of Fineand Performing Arts at King’sAcademy, Amman, Jordan. As aguest soloist, she has performednumerous works with orchestra includingTchaikovsky’s “Rococo Variations”, Bruch’s “KolNidrei” and Faure’s “Elegie.” In 2010, she wasalso the featured soloist in the premiere ofCharles Loos’ “In C (Minor)” for cello and piano.Formerly the cellist in the New Century StringQuartet and the Amphion String Quartet, shewas featured live on National Public Radio. Priorto moving to Amman, Roytz was a member of theAshland, Mansfield and Lima symphonies and wasa substitute cellist in the Toledo Symphony. Shecompleted her B.M. at Cleveland State Universityand is currently on a temporary hiatus fromher master’s coursework at Carnegie MellonUniversity, where she is the recipient of a fulltuitionfellowship.Dr. Martin H. Seggelke (wind ensembleconductor) teaches at the University ofMinnesota, Morris, where he conducts the U.M.M.Wind Ensembles and serves as professor of