Music Faculty
Nadine Herman, Soprano (Music Director, Voice)
Received her B.M. from Temple University and her M.M. from the Juilliard School. She has performed throughout the US and Europe, including recitals at The Abbaye de Royaumont, Festival di Trieste, and the BKA in Berlin. Miss Herman has sung premiers of many prominent composers, including the great French composer Olivier Messiaen. She has performed under the auspices of the New York Philharmonic of Contemporary Music directed by the renowned conductor Pierre Boulez. Nadine is proud to be part of the Grammy Award-winning recording of Utrenja, written by Penderecki and recorded with the Philadelphia Orchestra. As a voice teacher and mentor many of Nadine's students have gone on to leading conservatories such as Juilliard, The Manhattan School of Music Oberlin, and The New England Conservatory. She has also been highly praised by the New York Times: the New Yorker, Der Spiegel, and many more. Starting in 2014 Nadine will open The Nadine Herman School for Vocal Studies in NYC.
Artie Bressler (Woodwinds, Clarinet, Saxophone)
Composer and saxophonist, has performed and recorded extensively throughout the United States and around the world. As a featured soloist with the United States Air Force Band, he traveled throughout Europe and North Africa for the State Department during the Vietnam War. Since his return, he has worked with major artists and producers including The O’Jays, Bruce Springsteen, Bonnie Raitt, John Hammond, Milt Jackson, The Four Tops, and many others.
Artie’s recent success as a composer came from the score for the new musical comedy, "The First Family of Second Avenue", presented at Fairleigh Dickinson University. In addition to receiving outstanding reviews, The Newark Star-Ledger awarded Artie and his lyricist, Michael Colby, a “Tony”( “Jersey style”)for best score of that year. Earlier in his career, Artie also wrote the music for the Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Crimes of the Heart”. In 1987, he was elected to be a judge for the prestigious Cleo Awards because of his outstanding work in commercial music.
Artie was a founding faculty member of The New School of Jazz and Contemporary Music in NYC and has taught at the Stevens Institute of Technology and Monmouth University, as well as several private music schools.
Artie dedicates this performance to his children, Sarah and David, and to all his family and friends both near and far.
Michael Costantino (Piano, Jazz Piano, Jazz Studies)
Attended Berklee School of Music in Boston as a recipient of the "DOWN BEAT" magazine scholarship. He has studied with such prominent musicians as Keith Jarrett, Charlie Banacous, Madame Chaloff, and Jesse Green. Mr. Costantino has performed in the United States and abroad as both sideman and a conductor. He has done numerous television and live shows. Among them are: "The Mike Douglas Show," "The Don Ho Show," "The Al Harrington Show" (from Hawaii Five-O fame), "The Dick Jensen Show" and the off-Broadway musicals "Oh! Calcutta" and "Hair" as a pianist, arranger and conductor. He and the Ralph Graham and Easy Pieces Band opened for such notable artists as Earth, Wind and Fire, Richard Pryor Coasters, Robert Kline, Esther Phillips, Etta James, Martha Reeves, Sha Na Na, and the Persuasions. Since 1996, Mr. Costantino has been on the faculty of Newark School of the Arts, maintained a private studio in Hackettstown, NJ and performs regularly at Cortinas in Paterson, New Jersey.
Pablo Concha, Early Childhood Music, Piano
Pablo is a Chilean teacher, musician, composer, and playwright, with experience in acting. He has graduated from Universidad Mayor (Santiago, Chile), where he earned a Bachelor’s in Music Education, and NYU Tisch with an MFA in Musical Theater Writing. Some of the musicals he’s co-written include “Quillén”, “Change of Season” and “No es Gratis el Amor” (Love is not free). He has composed music for plays like “8 women” and Shakespeare’s “King Lear”. Pablo’s heart lies in work for young audiences: he has more than 10 years of experience working and writing for children in Chile, and the United States. During this crazy pandemic, he wrote “lncoming Call”, a full-length play about life in Covid19 times. The play was released through digital platforms, featuring a cast from Canada, the United States, and Chile. When not teaching or writing, Pablo practices and facilitates Biodanza, being a certified Biodanza facilitator.
Beatriz de Mello (Voice, Piano, Chorus)
Beatriz de Mello is a college educator, composer, voice and keyboard performer. She comes from a diverse musical background and has been mentored by some of the greatest icons in the musical world, including composers David del Tredici and Thea Musgrave as well as Jazz pianist Herbie Hancock. A Cum Laude graduate from the internationally acclaimed Berklee College of Music, she did her doctoral studies at CUNY Graduate Center, and there was awarded various prizes for excellence in vocal and instrumental composition. Her Kodály studies were completed at New York University. She has also studied conducting with Dr. Harold Rosembaum in New York as well as Gary Graden and Sabine Hortsmann at Westminster Choir School in Princeton, New Jersey. An avid performer, Beatriz is a frequent guest at the area’s most emblematic venues, including Carnegie Hall, NJPAC, The Bitter End, Birdland, and many others. She is very passionate about choral music and in this capacity has appeared with organizations such as Grace Choral Society, Coro Lirico, Canterbury Choral Society, Taconic Opera, Troupers Light Opera, Utopia Opera, and more recently Trilogy – An Opera Company; in the latter performing side by side with NSA board member and bass extraordinaire Kevin Maynor. As part of the newly formed group Newark Voices, Beatriz regularly collaborates with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Xian Zhang. Possessing a natural charisma towards the younger generation, Ms. De Mello is the Kodály Musicianship instructor for Level 1 Junior and Level 2 Senior at the National Children’s Chorus. This is her third year as choir director at Newark School of the Arts. In her very first year she conducted our young singers at Carnegie Hall. Since then their repertoire has expanded and new opportunities are being created for beginning singers to join in the excitement of representing our school as shining stars in the community.
Eugene Feigin (Piano)
Eugene is M.M. in piano solo, ensemble and accompaniment. Mr. Feigin was a founding member of the Rachmaninoff Trio and the Feigin Duo. He performed extensively in his native Russia, Israel, Europe and the United States. He recorded with Centour Records and Moscow Radio. He has 40 years of teaching experience and was a former faculty member of the Gnessin Institute of Music and Ippolitov-Ivanov College of Music in Moscow. For the last 22 years he has been a piano and ensemble teacher (last 10 years as director of the music).
Daryl Hester (Guitar, Lute, Recorder)
Daryl is a local resident of Linden, New Jersey, Mr. Hester began his guitar studies at the age of 10 and performed in master classes with guitarists Alice Artz, Raymond Burley, Eliot Fisk, Jorge Morel and lutist Paul Odette. Upon graduating a B.A. from Kean College, he began and is currently a student of Patrick O'Brien, studying guitar and lute. Mr. Hester has appeared on radio and television and is a prolific recitalist throughout the United States. He made his Carnegie Recital Debut in 1988 at Weill Recital Hall (Carnegie Hall). He has appeared with St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble, Ars Musica Antiqua and is a member of Rutger's Collegium Musician. Mr. Hester is also on staff at the Fred W. Martin Center for the Arts in Jersey City, NJ.
Dr. Grace Hackett Faroul (Voice)
Is on the faculty of Newark School of the Arts, the New York City Department of Education, and The Assisi Performing Summer Arts Festival in Italy, where she performs in opera and concerts. She received her Ph.D. from Trident University International, a Master of Science degree in Supervision and Administration from Mercy College, and Bachelors and Masters degrees in Voice and Music Education from Manhattan School of Music. She has toured Holland, Swizerland, Germany and Basle under Schweizer Tournee, performing the role of Frankie in its production of Carmen Jones. Dr. Hackett has also performed in the New York and New Jersey metropolitan area, Mexico and the Caribbean in opera, oratorio and recital. She is a frequent soloist with various groups, including the United Choral Society under the baton of David Randolph and the Essex Chorale with the esteemed conductor, Dr. DeCosta Dawson. Dr. Hackett made her professional debut at Carnegie Recital Hall. The New York Times and The Amsterdam News respectively stated: "Ms. Hackett has a regal stage presence, and her low register has a lovely timbre." She was also part of the cast that performed Porgy & Bess on the Lake Stage in Bregenz, Austria, and also at the Metropolitan and New York State Theaters in New York City, where the "Live From Lincoln Center" telecast of that opera was nominated for an Emmy as the Outstanding Classical Music/Dance program of the 2001-2002 season. Dr. Hackett was also part of the cast at New York's City Opera that premiered the opera Margaret Gardner by Richard Danielpour, based on Toni Morrison's Pulitzer prizewinning novel, Beloved. Dr. Hackett shares the spotlight as one-third of the musical/dramatic aggregation known as Talent-In-Triplicate. Her discography includes two seasonal CDs -Birthday Of A King and Because This Child Was Born - A Riverside Labor Of Love and A Black Heritage Concert with the Bel-Canto Quartet. She can also be heard on CD and Video in Spirituals In Concert and A Carnegie Hall Christmas with sopranos Kathleen Battle, Jessye Norman and Frederica Von Stade, under the direction of Andre Previn and James Levine.
Esma Pasic-Filipovic (Head of Piano)
Esma Pasic-Filipovic, a gifted, experienced and cultivated pianist from e Bosnia and herzegovina (the former Yugoslavia) has built a distinguished career as a soloist, chamber musician, and Radio Sarajevo recording artist. A University of Novi Sad graduate, she completed her BMA and MMA under Prof. Arbo Valdma, Academy of Music, University of Novi Sad, Serbia, then pursued post-graduate studies in musicology at the Leopold-Franzens University of Innsbruck, Austria. Her background includes being an accompanist at various academic institutions, at University of Sarajevo, Musikhochschule of Vienne, Austria, and Westminster Choir College, Rider University, NJ. She was also on the piano faculty at Westminster Conservatory of Music, Rider University, serving as Director of the Honors Music Program. Esma is actively engaged as an adjudicator for NJMTA, AAFAA, SMEA, and Rising talent Music-Fest and is a member of board of the NJMTA. She is a member of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian American Academy of Arts and Sciences and received the 2022 Top Teacher Award from Steinway and Sons. In 2023 Newark School of the Arts welcomed her as a piano faculty and the Piano Department head. As a soloist, soloist with orchestra, and a chamber musician, Esma has performed in the former Yugoslavia, Austria, Denmark, Switzerland, and the USA. Under her guidance, her students have won numerous competitions.
JOÃO KOUYOUMDJIAN (Guitar)
A native of São José do Rio Preto, Brazil, João Kouyoumdjian has been featured on numerous nationally televised concert series in his homeland, including the acclaimed Movimento Violão. In 2011, he premiered new works by Brazilian composers Ricardo Calderoni and Raimundo Penaforte at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall at the behest of the Consulate General of Brazil in New York in a program entitled, “Brazilian Guitar: Traditional and Tendencies”. This program inspired his first album SURFBOARD: Solo Guitar Works from Brazil, released by American label Pomegranate Music in 2013. Additionally, João’s interest and dedication towards teaching was highlighted in the press recently with his interactive performance/on-stage teaching model called “Guitar Horizons”, which focused on educating youth in underdeveloped areas of São Paulo, Brazil.
Angela Manso (piano)
Artist/teacher of piano, organ, theory and staff accompanist at NSA from 1986 to 1996 and from 2011 to present. During that time Ms. Manso was Piano Department Coordinator for five years and Outreach Program Coordinator for one year. Also a composer, Ms. Manso's piece "Abdul-Baha's Prayer for New York City" for soprano and piano was recorded by Roya Bauman on her CD "Fruits of the Tree of Life" found on CDBaby. Other pieces she composed include "Dawn", "O Son of Spirit", "Prayer for Mankind", "The Celestial Tree", and "Baha'u'llah's Long Fasting Prayer." Ms. Manso served as musical/director for over 40 operas and musical theater productions, 20 for New York's Bel Canto Opera. She was assistant conductor for the Carnegie Hall performance of Mrs. H. H. A. Beach's Grand Mass in E Flat Major, subsequently recorded on the Newport Classics label. She was the official accompanist for the First World Harmonica Championship on the Isle of Jersey, U.K., during which she performed in recital with harmonica virtuoso Cham-Ber Huang and pianist with internationally renowned artist Larry Adler and Cham-Ber Huang performing the Bach Double Violin Concerto arranged for two harmonicas. Ms. Manso has appeared on WQXR and WBAI radio and performed in master classes with Robert Casadesus, Grant Johannesen, Dalton Baldwin and Walter Robert. A piano performance major with a minor in organ, harpsichord and voice at Illinois Wesleyan. Ms. Manso has pursued additional study at the Fountainebleau Conservatory, France; The Juilliard School; Westminster Choir College; and Harper College at SUNY Binghamton, NY.
Dr. Patricio Molina (Conservatory Director)
Named "a gifted artist" by the New York Times, Dr. Patricio Molina has gained a reputation as a composer, pianist, and educator. Patricio regularly appears on stages such as Carnegie Hall and OPERA America. Dr. Molina is a Yamaha Artist. The New Jersey Youth Symphony, White Snake Projects, Legacy Arts Internaonal, and Ulysses Quartet are among the many artists and instituions who have recognized his talents with commissioned works.
His body of work embraces a wide variety of instruments on including solo voice and piano, chamber orchestra, brass ensemble, piano trio, opera, and ballet. Inspiraons for his compositions include his Chilean-Syrian heritage, mythology, and literature, as well as his experience as an immigrant. Patricio is commited to serving marginalized communities by creating new works in collaboraon with other artists from underrepresented groups, performing underrated works, and working toward decolonizing academic research. His accomplishments in the field of arts education have been recognized by the New Jersey Education Association with their prestigious Award for Excellence.
Patricio is in demand as a lecturer on a wide variety of topics including composition, Arabic music, and building inclusion in classical music. He has presented his research and expertise for such events and intuitions such as the College Music Society National Conference, The National Association for Music Education, The New Jersey Music Educators Association, and the Penn State Internaonal New-Music Festival and Symposium.
Patricio holds a Master's Degree with distinction from the Manhattan School of Music, a D.M.A. in Piano Performance, and a Ph.D. in Music Composition from Rutgers University. He serves as Director of the Conservatory for Newark School of the Arts, and Music Director at St. Thomas the Apostle Church of Bloomfield, New Jersey. He is co-founder and President of Notes for Growth, a nonprofit foundation that creates access to music education for underprivileged children by donating pianos and other instruments, and also creates performance opportunities for artists from underrepresented groups.
An album of his own compositions for solo piano performed by the composer in collaboration with YAMAHA Artist Studios entitled D.N.A. is now available on all streaming platorms.
Dr. Angelique Montes (Cello)
Cellist, Angelique Montes, had her solo debut in 2010 as the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra Concerto Competition winner. She received her Bachelor’s in Cello Performance at the Oberlin Conservatory, where she studied with Amir Eldan. She then earned her master’s degree from the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music, under the guidance of Matthew Zalkind; and studied with Alan Rafferty at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, where she received a doctoral degree. Montes has participated in masterclass for world renowned artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, the Marsalis family, Midori, Zuill Bailey, and more. She has attended major summer music festivals where she has performed all over the country and world. During the summer of 2022, Montes released her debut album, “Refraction”, which highlights solo cello pieces by black composers as well as electroacoustic music. In addition to cello and music, Angelique enjoys baking/cooking, listening to podcasts, playing ping-pong, and drinking tea.
Antoinette Montague (Voice)
Antoinette Montague hails from the Great City of Newark, performs in New York, and is an international entertainer, educator, producer and promoter of events. Ms.Montague hosts a Saturday morning Jazz radio talk show on WHCR 90.3fm celebrating multi generational Jazz artists and legends! Antoinette has been mentored by many greats including Etta Jones, Carrie Smith, Inez McClendon and others. > Ms. Montague has mentored many current artists and teaches for Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Syncopated Leadership for MBA Students. She is an Adjunct Professor at Marymount Manhattan College teaching Jazz and Blues singing and History, stage presence, auditioning, and organic music theory. > Ms. Montague alto teaches incarcerated persons for MOTI (Music on the Inside), teaches foster care children the Blues of Inspiration and Jazz at NYC’s ACS for Jazz Power Initiative, instructs singers for Jazzmobile at the Celia Cruise School of the Performing Arts in the Bronx, and more. > A few of the noted Clubs she has headlined in with her group The Antoinette Montague Experience Art the world famous Blue Note, Dizzys, Jazz At Lincoln Center, Charlie Parker Festival, Jazzmobile Summeriest, Marcus Garvey Park, Grants Tomb, colleges, NJPAC Dorthaan’s Place, Newark Museums Jazz in the Garden series, museums and so much more. > Ms. Montague is CEO, of Jazz Woman to the Rescue Foundation encourages donating instruments to young people. She is former Vice President of Human Resources, Board of Directors member of The Duke Ellington Center For the Arts and Advisory Board Chair for International Women in Jazz. Antoinette is a current contributor to community affairs as well as to the growth and welfare of young urban adults, and currently Community Advisory Board of WBGO Radio here in The Great City of Newark. She now proudly brings her heart, joy and experience to the Newark School of the Arts! Please support them in their mission to lift up the arts through education.
Joseph Tornquist (Violin)
Joseph has had wide-ranging experience on both sides of the footlights. An active and passionate violinist, he was recently selected as a Sphinx Organization Fellow, and participated in its Sphinx Connect: Vision. He has performed with a variety of conductors, including JoAnn Falletta, Sebastian Lang-Lessing, and Kenneth Lam, among others. While at Montclair State University, he has taught violin and collaborated on developing academic courses with senior music faculty.His background includes marketing, website development, customer service, and, at North Carolina’s Brevard Music Center and elsewhere, organizational and production administration. When he’s not playing, thinking, or talking about music, he relishes playing chess, bicycle riding, and photography.
Vic Ortiz (Flute)
Vic is a flutist, composer/arranger, hand percussionist, and educator. He started playing the flute in the 5th grade after immigrating from the Dominican Republic after confusing a recorder for a flute. Focusing on Classical and Jazz as well as Caribbean styles of music, he has been playing for over 10 years and has played in places such as NJPAC, the Czech Republic, and Austria. He started playing hand percussion in order to learn more in-depth about his African/Black roots that are in his native country and all around the Caribbean and the World. He currently attends Montclair State University where he is pursuing a B.M. in Music Education.
Justin Vedovelli (percussion)
Born and raised in Western Massachusetts, Justin Vedovelli (b.2001) started playing the drums when he was six years old. Humble, open minded, and curious, Justin learned from a variety of people and musical experiences to create a solid musical foundation.
He found himself playing jazz, rock, classical, and musical theater gigs professionally when he was as young as 14. At age 16 he began teaching 7 students a week at a private music lessons studio in his hometown. By the time he was 18 years old he was fortunate enough to have recorded three albums of original music with his band Lemon Street.
While in college at Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, he studied with master drummers Victor Lewis and Robby Ameen. Highlights include performing and recording with the award winning Scarlet Knights Jazz Trombones in Fort Myer, VA; performing with the Intercollegiate Jazz Ensemble in Atlantic City, NJ; and recording with the Afro Caribbean Ensemble at the WBGO studios in Newark. Justin graduated with a Bachelors of Music in Jazz Performance in May of 2023.
He currently performs regularly all throughout the northeast playing with variety of musicians and genres from jazz to latin to rock. You can find his current projects and more at www.justinvedovelli.com
Dance Faculty
Leslie Lucy (Dance Department Chair, Tiny Steps, Hiphop)
A gifted dancer and choreographer bred in South Jersey, Leslie received her training from Premier Dance Theater, NJ and Broadway Dance Center in New York. She began her professional dance career performing in numerous music videos, touring Europe with Jodeci and dancing back-up for several Hip-Hop and R&B artists. Leslie has made appearances as a back-up dancer on entertainment shows such as Soul Train, The Party Machine, HBO's “Def Comedy Jam”, and BETs “Video Soul”. Leslie has also danced on MTV's “The Grind” for three years. Leslie also includes movie credits to her resume. She has appeared in films such as “The Money Train”, “Drop Squad”and Substitute 2”. Leslie presently teachers for Maria Priadka School of Dance in South Orange; Newark School of the Arts in Newark; Marie Willey School of Dance in East Orange; and is a dance mentor for an-all girls adolescent program called Best Friends
Leslie encourages her students to always dance with their hearts so the audience can feel the passion of the performance.
Abiola R. Balogun (Tiny Steps)
For the past 11 years, Abiola R. Balogun has been assisting in shaping and molding the lives of her students through dance. Born in Newark, Abiola grew up in East Orange where she attended Jackson Academy Elementary School. Here she would discover her passion for dance. At a young age she knew that dance would be apart of her life forever. She went on to attend The Whitney E. Houston Academy of Creative and Performing Arts for middle school and Cicely L. Tyson School of Performing and Fine Arts for high school. Abiola competed in dance competitions such as NAACP’s Act-So Achievement Program wining silver and gold medals. After graduating high school, Abiola furthered her dance education at The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Certificate Program. Since then Abiola has be giving back to her community. Sharing and instilling the disciplines of ballet, modern, jazz, and tap/rhythm Abiola enjoys teaching and increasing her knowledge within the community.
Alex Izegbu (Breakdance)
"Born in Pennsylvania and raised in New Jersey, Alex Izegbu is a teaching artist with 6+ years of classroom experience under his belt. A completely self taught visual and performing artist with specializations in multiple dance styles (including but not limited to: Hip Hop, Breaking, and House) seamlessly transitioned to teaching visual arts at Newark School of the Arts. His visual arts classroom style mimics his dance classroom approach: building a solid foundation in the fundamentals, and finding freedom within that foundation. The overarching theme of his course is to consolidate the vast, helpful (albeit overwhelming) content in the world, and channel it into lesson plans catered to a student's individual growth. This process directs the students on a focused path of improvement with tools he’s used first hand, in order to grow."
Christopher Livsey (dance)
Christopger is a multi-faceted performer and teacher. He has been affiliated with Sharron Miller’s Academy for the Performing Arts for over 30 years in the capacity of Acting and Dance (Jazz/ Hip Hop/ Musical Theater) instructor. He is pleased to be joining the roster of talented instructors at Newark School of the Arts. “Mr. Chris”, as he has come to be known, enjoys working with dancers and performers of all ages, helping them understand how choreography works and adapts to their own ability and style.
Edgar Jadan (Ballet)
Edgar studied in Ecuador and Germany. He has had a career in the performing arts as a dancer, actor, director, choreographer, and teacher. His directorial and choreographic credits include productions at National Dance Institute –Ecuador, Festival Biarritz – France. As a dancer National Ecuadorian Ballet, Ballet of Madrid and he also participate in theater Sucre in the production of West Side History. At this moment he is a teacher at the Newark School of the Arts.
Wendy Palacios (Ballet, Tiny Steps)
Wendy received her professional ballet training as a youth with Felipe Gonzales-Chilean teacher and teachers of The National Ballet from Cuba. She attended at the National Dance Institute. Further training was received at the Folkwang University of the Arts .She became a member of the National Ecuadorian Ballet lead roles in classics and new works. At this moment she is a teacher at the Newark School of the Arts.
VISUAL ARTS FACULTY
Beatrice East (Visual Arts Department Chair)
B.A. at Kean College of New Jersey and completed her Master in Fiber Arts at Montclair State University. Ms. East is coordinator of the Visual Arts Department of NSA. She has taught at the Newark Museum for over eleven years, in the Newark Public School system for twenty-five years and is currently employed by the East Orange School District and Montclair State University. She received many years of training under an Artist in Residence program for New Jersey State Council of the Arts/Artist Teacher Institute. Many of her works reflect her travels to Senegal, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya and Egypt. Her works are part of a collection of Carol Martin, formerly of Channel 2 News, Montclair State Graduate office and other public institutions.
Ray Horner Jr. (Advanced Art Techniques/ Sculpting/ Digital Photography)
Born in New Haven Connecticut in 1952, Ray graduated from the university of Connecticut (B.F.A.) and received his Masters of Fine Arts (MFA from the University of Massachusetts. He has exhibited and received multiple awards. His work is in private collections both nationally and internationally. He is currently an Adjunct Professor at Kean University, Union County College and conducts classes at community art centers. He has designed and conducted many courses which include: Oil and Acrylic Painting, Watercolor, Drawing, Sculpture/Art Appreciation , and 3D/2D Design. Ray states, “In my teaching I work to help the student work through their own personal vision by giving them the attention that can help them reach their goals. In my personal work I am attempting to explore different associations with common subject matter of my surroundings and community which include my family and friends.”. Ray’s vision is to see art appreciated in the fabric of our schools, communities and public institutions.
Media Lab Faculty (@NSA Records)
Peter Lin (Department Chair, Music Production), Trombone, Trumpet, Euphonium, Tuba
Peter Lin is a Taiwanese-American trombonist, producer, and educator based in New Jersey/New York City. Born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and raised in northern New Jersey, Peter played violin and piano before picking up the trombone at 10 years old. His love for music continued, motivating him to pursue a jazz studies degree at the esteemed music programs of William Paterson University (undergraduate) and Rutgers University (graduate). Since then, he has become an integral part of the music scene, performing and sharing the stage with renowned artists including Slide Hampton, Winard Harper, Charli Persip, Valerie Ponomarev, JD Allen, and Radam Schwartz. He also spent a considerable amount of time studying with his influences, including trombone masters Slide Hampton, Steve Turre, Conrad Herwig, Robin Eubanks, Steve Davis, and Frank Lacy. He continues to perform prolifically as both a leader and sideman at established venues such as Blue Note, Dizzy’s, Birdland, Smalls, Fat Cat, Zinc Bar, and Candlelight Lounge.
In 2018, Peter released his first album, With Respect, which included his arrangements on classic Chinese and Taiwanese folk songs. Featuring Winard Harper on drums as well as James Zollar on trumpet, this album topped at #3 on the NACC Charts and #4 on the RMR Charts. In 2019, he released his second album, New Age Old Ways, which included eight original compositions and features JD Allen on tenor saxophone. Additionally, the album included an original comic book illustrated by Kelly Lin.
Peter continues to promote jazz education, holding a prestigious faculty position at Melissa Walker & Christian McBride’s non-profit organization, Jazz House Kids. He teaches lessons, masterclasses, and provides tech consultations on a regular basis. Valuing entrepreneurship, Peter founded Yardbird Entertainment along with his partner Abel Mireles, which has become a leading music production company. He also releases electronic music under his artist name, “jazzcatsmeow”
Drama Faculty
UTON ONYEJEKWE, Drama Department Chair
Uton has been a teaching artist in NY/NJ for the last 15 years, teaching, staging, and giving master classes at local schools like Bloomfield High School, Far Brook School, Columbia High School, and Newark Academy. He has also worked off-Broadway and regionally, working with artists such as Dave Malloy, Andre Lippa, and Rachel Chavkin. Uton is an accomplished singer/ musician/ composer/ arranger, most recently arranging and musically directing an a cappella version of Lean on Me by the late Bill Withers for his posthumous honor of the Lone Sailor Award by the US Navy Memorial, working with artists such as Graham Nash, Kori Withers, Aloe Blacc, and Ray Parker, Jr.
