Success Stories

Clarinetist David Krakauer, who teaches in MSM’s Woodwinds and Contemporary Performance programs, is La Notte della Taranta’s 2025 guest “Maestro Concertatore” with the festival’s Orchestra Popolare.

The world-renowned festival tours municipalities in the Salento region of southern Italy for several weeks in August and culminates in a free concert on August 23 in the town of Melpignano with an audience of more than 150,000. The festival celebrated “the traditional Pizzica dance and music, fused with modern influences, creating an electrifying atmosphere.”

David will also be performing solo and chamber music performances and holding educational residencies in Italy and France in June and July.

For information on all of David Krakauer’s summer events, visit his website here. For details on Le Notte della Taranta festival tour, visit the event’s website here. For details on the final concert on August 23, visit this page.

MSM Musical Theatre alumna Jasmine Amy Rogers (‘19) won a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical for her role in BOOP! THE MUSICAL at the Drama Desk Awards 2025, presented on June 1.

Jasmine plays the iconic 1930s cartoon character Betty Boop in the production; she tied for the award with Audra McDonald, the star of GYPSY.

Jasmine is also nominated for a Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical; the awards will be presented in New York on Sunday, June 8.

Read the full list of Drama Desk award winners here.

Recent MSM graduate Nathan McKinstry (MM ’24, PS ’25) from State College, Pennsylvania, studied classical trumpet at MSM with David Krauss in the Orchestral Performance program, and has been awarded the 2nd trumpet position with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. 

In photo: Nathan McKinstry, on left, poses with MSM faculty member David Krauss. David Krauss joined the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra as Principal Trumpet in 2001 and occupies the Beth W. and Gary A. Glynn endowed chair.

Nian-Yi Huang, third-year DMA candidate and long-time MSM piano student of MSM faculty member Jeffrey Cohen, won third prize at the respected Weatherford College International Piano Competition held in Texas last month.

“Nian-Yi was one of the 12 finalists selected from 207 pianists representing 25 countries. He gave a brilliant performance in the final round, and he represented our school with great distinction. Bravo to Nian-Yi!” says Jeffrey Cohen.

Nian-Yi’s previous awards include winning the Grand Prize at the 2019 International Academy of Music competition in Italy, and First Prize at the 2022 G. Gershwin International Music Competition. He became the youngest classical pianist signed by the leading Chinese piano company Hailun Pianos in 2020

Watch Nian-Yi’s performance at the competition here.
More information on the competition here.
Watch an interview with Nian-Yi after the competition results were announced here.

MSM Artist Diploma alumnus Itamar Zorman (AD ’10) appointment as Associate Professor of Music in Violin at The Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University Bloomington is effective on August 1. He was a 2013 recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant and silver medalist of the 2011 Tchaikovsky International Violin Competition.

Itamar performed as a soloist with such orchestras as the Mariinsky Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic, New World Symphony, KBS Symphony Seoul, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, and German Radio Philharmonic, among others. At MSM, he was a student of Sylvia Rosenberg.

Read more about the appointment in The Strad here.
Learn more about Itamar Zorman here.

Soprano Jasmine Ismail (MM ’21, PS ’22), a student of Ruth Golden at MSM, has been admitted to the 2025–26 class of the Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA) Resident Artists in Philadelphia.

Since 1980, more than 50 AVA alumni have joined the Metropolitan Opera’s roster and are heard in the world’s great opera houses every season.

See Jasmine’s Instagram post about the appointment here.

MSM student Xinchen Jia (BM ‘27) studies piano at MSM with Inesa Sinkevych, the Co-Head of the MSM Piano Department. At the inaugural Shanghai International Forte Yearly Music Festival and Competition held at Harvard University in Boston, on May 11, Xinchen Jia was awarded the Gold Prize in the piano category after performing at the festival opening concert at Lehman Hall. He also won a Grand Prize.

“Professor José Ramos Santana, piano professor at NYU Steinhardt and Chair of the Piano Department at The Hartt School, University of Hartford, as well as Professor Boaz Sharon, piano professor at Boston University and Director of the Piano Department at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, gave me high praise and took commemorative photos with me,” reports Xinchen Jia about performing at the event.

More information about the festival here.

The jazz ensemble Kollage from Manhattan School of Music won “Best Billie Holiday Arrangement” in the 2025 Keep an Eye International Jazz Awards hosted by the Conservatorium von Amsterdam on April 16.

The MSM students forming Kollage are, from left to right in photo: Shogo Ellefson (BM ‘25), double bass;  Sarahfina Osei Nopper (MM ‘26), vocals;  Cameron Sewell-Snyder (MM ‘25), saxophone; Stone Cornelius (BM ‘25), percussion; and Olivier van Niekerk (MM ‘25), guitar.

The annual competition brings together outstanding young musicians from leading music institutions, this year showcasing Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya (Barcelona, Spain), Jazz Performance Programme NTNU (Trondheim, Norway), Berklee College of Music (Boston, USA), Manhattan School of Music (New York, USA), and the Conservatorium van Amsterdam.

The theme of this 15th edition was ’Celebrating Billie Holiday 110 years’; all bands arranged and performed their own version of one out of 10 selected compositions made famous by the American jazz vocalist and composer.

More information on the winners can be found here.

Award-winning composer and violist Jessica Meyer has been commissioned by the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra to write a composition for their orchestra. The world premiere will be held on October 25 at Carnegie Hall.

Jessica’s works have been performed in venues from the Kennedy Center to Carnegie Hall, by musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic, and by orchestras around the country. Upcoming premieres include a work for MET Opera tenor Paul Appleby and the Claremont Trio, a viola and piano work commissioned by Juilliard Pre-college, a new orchestral piece “Turbulent Flames” to be performed by a consortium of orchestras across the United States.

The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra is offering free tickets to all concerts in its 2025-26 season including the Carnegie Hall concert on October 25 featuring the premiere of Jessica’s commission. Visit the Orchestra’s website for more information here.

Learn more about Jessica Meyer here.

Metropolitan Opera violinist and MSM alumna Julia Choi (PS ‘17), who is also a MSM Precollege faculty member, is featured in the Spring 2025 issue of the health and wellness publication Real Woman. In the interview, Julia speaks about her career and perseverance to pursue her dreams as a professional violinist.

Julia tells the publication: “I always felt the need to prove myself every day. I always strived to be better than I was yesterday. And a little bit better than the next day. I think all my friends from college would tell you I was the hardest working friend that they knew.”

The magazine is published by Capital Health and is distributed to 55,000 readers in the affluent New Jersey and Pennsylvania suburbs of Princeton, Hopewell, Lambertville, Skillman, New Hope, Newtown, and Yardley.

Read the article here.

The Violin Channel reports about the new appointment of MSM Vocal Arts alumna Barbara Lynne Jamison (MM ‘98) to the leadership of Opera Colorado commencing on August 1, 2025:

“Barbara Lynne Jamison will succeed Greg Carpenter, who has led Opera Colorado as general and artistic director for nearly two decades. Carpenter will be stepping down at the end of the 2024/25 season.

Having served as CEO of Kentucky Opera for the past seven years, Jamison was selected following a national search conducted by Management Consultants for the Arts in partnership with Opera Colorado’s Board of Directors.

She will officially join Opera Colorado on August 1, 2025, but will begin working with the company during the leadership transition this spring and summer.

In previous roles, Jamison has served on the senior leadership teams at Seattle Opera and the Metropolitan Opera Guild. She is also an accomplished soprano, conductor, and educator.”

Learn more here.

On May 23, MSM piano faculty member Wael Farouk will be performing Rachmaninoff’s 3rd piano concerto with the renowned Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra, one of the top orchestras in China, and the only non-state-owned and self-financing orchestra in the country. The image above is the promotional poster for the event.

Egyptian-American pianist Wael Farouk has performed internationally in such venues as the White Hall in St. Petersburg, Schumann’s House in Leipzig, and Carnegie Hall in New York, where his solo debut in 2013 was described as “absolutely masterful.” He has been a faculty member at MSM since 2021.

Learn more about Wael Farouk here.

Calder Failla (BM ’28) (in photo above on left) has been named the Regional Winner for the collegiate division of the NANM 2025 Scholarship Competition for Piano, and will be competing at the NANM National Convention that will be held in Detroit from July 12—17. Calder first won the local division in New York City, then went on to win the regional division on April 24.

The keynote speaker for the National Convention this year is piano alumnus Leah Claiborne (BM ‘12) (in photo on right) who studied at MSM with Marc Silverman.

The National Association of Negro Musicians, founded in 1919, is considered a significant organization for African American musicians. It has played a key role in supporting black musicians through scholarships, performance opportunities, and a focus on both classical and jazz traditions. NANM also aimed to preserve and encourage the music of the African Diaspora.

More information about the National Convention of the National Association of Negro Musicians here.
Information about the NANM competition here.

MSM Musical Theatre alumna Jasmine Amy Rogers (‘19) has been nominated for a Tony Award for “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical” for her role as iconic 1930s cartoon character Betty Boop in BOOP! The Musical. The awards take place on June 8.

Jasmine has also received a Drama Desk Award nomination for “Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical”; BOOP! The Musical leads the number of Drama Desk nominations at 11.

Read our blog post showcasing raves from the press for Jasmine’s performance here.

The prestigious Miami International Piano Festival is calling MSM piano student Dmitry Yudin (MM ‘25) “a master and astonishing virtuoso” in their online reviews. The article comes after his appearance at the Miami International Piano Festival.

“Dmitry Yudin’s debut surpassed all expectations. He tackled a terrifyingly virtuosic program with authority and musicality,” writes reviewer Giselle Brodsky. “His imagination and sensitivity were on display throughout the whole concert, creating one of the most memorable debuts in the festival’s history… His concert was unforgettable, and we eagerly await his return.”

Read the full review here.

MSM violin faculty member Lucie Robert has been named president of the jury of the newly launched 2025 Bogotá International Violin Competition that will be taking place in Colombia from October 31 to November 7 at the Auditorio Fabio Lozano and the Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo. The competition is open to violinists of all nationalities up to the age of 30 as of May 31, 2025.

The Bogotá International Violin Competition aims to promote excellence in violin performance, and position Bogotá as a leading classical music hub in Latin America; it also hopes to inspire the young people of Bogotá’s “Vamos a la Filarmónica” programs.

Lucie Robert has also been named president of the International Jury for Violin 2026 of the Concours International de Montréal, a prestigious competition where the international elite of the new generation of classical musicians compete.

Learn more about the Bogotá International Violin Competition here.
Learn more about the Concours International de Montréal here.

Essential Voices USA has released a new choral album entitled Listen to the World. The ensemble Essential Voices USA is led by Music Director and Conductor Judith Clurman, who teaches voice and ensemble voice for the MSM Musical Theatre program.

The recording features compositions by Judith Clurman, Matthew Sklar, and Robert Sirota, with texts by William Schermerhorn and Victoria R. Sirota, and as themes, addresses pressing global challenges including environmental preservation, immigration, and human connection.

The recording on Albany records can be streamed on all platforms. It was produced and engineered by Silas Brown. The published scores will be available at Hal Leonard this summer.

Learn more here.

Kyrese Washington (MM ’25) a classical flute student of Valerie Coleman has won first prize at the Atlanta Flute Club Young Artists Competition. The program performed included their original work, Poem.

Kyrese has had a number of high-profile accomplishments during their study at MSM, including winning first prize at the New York Flute Club in April ‘25, The Rochester Flute Association’s Young Artist Competition in 2024, and The Raleigh Area Flute Association Young Artist Competition in 2023.

Notes Valerie Coleman: “Special thanks to MSM Woodwind Chair Linda Chesis, who has played a big role in Kyrese’s growth through her leadership as chair, her coaching in chamber music and woodwind classes, and also to Monica Ellis!”

Upcoming events for Kyrese include performing in a winner’s recital at the New York Flute Club, a MSM graduation recital on April 24, a showcase performance at the National Flute Association Convention in August with the world premiere of a new flute ensemble composition.

Learn more about Kyrese here.

Three MSM alumni and a former faculty member are being celebrated in an April 30 concert at Carnegie Hall‘s Zankel Hall showcasing the 10 winners of the 2024 Lieder/Song Vocal Competition and 2025 International Vocal Competition, hosted by the Gerda Lissner Foundation.

The three MSM alumni who placed in the competitions are Sofia Gotch (MM ’23, PPD ’25), soprano,  (pictured: top row, second from right); Shelén Hughes (BM ’18, MM ’20), soprano (top row, far right); and Erin Wagner (BM ’19), mezzo-soprano (bottom row, second from left).

Also being honored is former MSM Collaborative Piano faculty member Warren Jones.

Learn more and reserve tickets free of charge here.

Roundabout Theatre Company’s production of Pirates! The Penzance Musical, with adaptation by MSM alumnus Rupert Holmes (’67, HonDMA ’21) and musical direction from alumnus Joseph Joubert (BM ’79, MM ’81) had its first preview performance on April 4 and officially opens on April 24. Holmes has adapted the libretto of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, setting the beloved tale in New Orleans; Joubert, who co-wrote the orchestrations with Daryl Waters, gives Sullivan’s score a Caribbean and French Quarter feel.

The production runs at the Todd Haimes Theatre through July 27, 2025.  Other MSM alumni involved in the production are Louis Garrett (’96), guitars, banjo; Jason Jackson (’95), trombone; and Michael Aarons (BM ’98), Music Coordinator. MSM President James Gandre attended the performance on April 16 and posed for the above photo following the performance (l to r: Joseph Joubert, James Gandre, and Rupert Holmes).

Learn more about the musical here.

The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation has named MSM Jazz Arts faculty member Caroline Davis to its 100th class of Guggenheim Fellows in Music Composition. A composer, saxophonist, and educator, Caroline Davis lives in Brooklyn, New York, and is an active leader and sidewoman on the national jazz scene.

Chosen through a rigorous application and peer review process from a pool of nearly 3,500 applicants, the Guggenheim Fellows Class of 2025 was tapped based on both prior career achievement and exceptional promise. As established in 1925 by founder Senator Simon Guggenheim, each Fellow receives a monetary stipend to pursue independent work at the highest level under “the freest possible conditions.”

Since its establishment, the Guggenheim Foundation has granted over $400 million in Fellowships to more than 19,000 individuals, among whom are more than 125 Nobel laureates, members of all the national academies, winners of the Pulitzer Prize, Fields Medal, Turing Award, Bancroft Prize, National Book Award, and other internationally recognized honors. Recognizing a broad range of fields of study is a unique characteristic of the Fellowship program.

Learn more about the 2025 Fellows here.
Learn more about Caroline Davis here.

Koshiro Takeuchi, a student at MSM of Koichiro Harada and Lucie Robert, won first place with a 6,000-euro prize in the Ion Voicu International Violin Competition in Bucharest on April 12.

Pictured above: Koshiro Takeuchi (fourth from right) and Lucie Robert (center).

The Ion Voicu International Violin Competition is open to violinists of all nationalities and is organized by the Ion Voicu Cultural Association. The competition took place April 7-12, 2025, at the National University of Music in Bucharest, with the finals held in the Grand Hall of the Romanian Athenaeum. The finalists were accompanied by the George Enescu Philharmonic under the baton of Maestro Gabriel Bebeșelea.

Learn about the winners here.
Learn more about the competition here.

MSM Orchestral Performance alumnus Peter Ecklund (PS ’24) has been appointed Second Bassoon of the Detroit Opera Orchestra, and will begin his position in fall 2025. He has performed this past year with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and worked as a substitute musician with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Palm Beach Symphony. Additionally this past year, Peter has been a Public Relations and Booking Associate at New York City’s Kirshbaum Associates.

Peter was a student of Kim Laskowski while at MSM.

Click here to learn more about Peter.

Earlier this year, mezzo-soprano Katherine Saik DeLugan (MM ’14) was promoted to the position of  Senior Lecturer in Music and Vocal Music at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, one of the largest women’s liberal arts colleges in the United States. She has taught at the college since 2016 and as a lecturer since 2018.

Kate remains an active performer of opera and art song throughout New England; however, her community engagement expands well beyond these realms, including her work as a stage director, administrator, and producer for schools and local arts organizations. She also directs musicals, serves on the boards of local theatre companies, and produces concerts and events that offer opportunities for professional singers in the region.

Click here to learn more about Kate.

MSM Vocal Arts alumna Raehann Bryce-Davis (MM ’12, PS ’13) has released her debut album “Evolution” on the Lexicon Classics label.

Says Raehann about the origin of the recording: “This album reflects stories about my family, my roots in Jamaica, my birthplace in Mexico, my upbringing as a Black girl in a small Texas town, and my evolution into a modern opera singer.”

On piano and providing musical direction on the recording is MSM vocal coach Jeanne-Minette Cilliers.

Learn more about the recording here.
Watch Raehann Bryce-Davis perform a song from the recording here.

Dr. Christopher Jenkins (PC ‘04) has been named the new dean of Lawrence University’s Conservatory of Music in Appleton, Wisconsin. Writes the University in a post announcing the news: “In this role, Jenkins will oversee all aspects of Lawrence’s music degree programs and contribute significantly to the university’s academic mission. Reporting directly to the provost, Lawrence’s chief academic officer, he will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of the institution.”

“We are delighted to welcome Chris to Lawrence,” said Provost and Dean of Faculty Peter Blitstein. “Chris is deeply qualified to lead the Conservatory. His vision and expertise will enrich the experiences of our students, faculty, and the broader community.”

Learn more here.

“I’m very pleased to announce that my arranging debut at Carnegie Hall last month, in a concert featuring Cécile McLorin Salvant with The Knights, is included in The New York Times’ “Classical Music Our Critics Can’t Stop Thinking About” roundup for March,” says Darcy James Argue. 

Writes Seth Colter Walls in the New York Times about the concert: “Hopefully a studio recording session is in the works. For now, we have a scaled-back version of Argue’s new arrangement of  Sophisticated Lady, performed by Salvant with the Metropole Orkest for Dutch television earlier this year. In the closing seconds, the piano part nods to an iconic reading of another Ellington tune, In a Sentimental Mood (which Ellington famously recorded with John Coltrane). At Carnegie, I exhaled with real delight as that quotation echoed throughout the auditorium.”

Watch the video with arrangement and conducted by Darcy James Argue here.
Read The New York Times article here.

Long-time MSM Vocal Arts faculty member Joan Patenaude-Yarnell was honored on April 8 by the Metropolitan Opera Guild. In the photo above, posing with Joan (seated) from left to right is MSM Dean of Vocal Arts Carleen Graham, MSM Provost and Executive Vice President Joyce Griggs, and MSM President James Gandre.

The Canadian-born soprano has been a member of both the New York and San Francisco Operas.

Joan Patenaude-Yarnell has also sung with opera companies throughout North America and Europe. Her roles have included Violetta in La Traviata, Alice Ford in Falstaff, Gilda in Rigoletto, Nedda in I Pagliacci, the title role in Suor Angelica, Mimì in La Bohème, Juliette in Roméo et Juliette, Elle in La Voix Humaine, and Héro in Béatrice et Bénédict.

Learn more about Joan Patenaude-Yarnell here.

MSM Musical Theatre alumna Jasmine Amy Rogers (’19) plays the title role in BOOP! The Musical, based on the iconic cartoon character Betty Boop; Jasmine is reprising the role she originated in the successful Chicago run of the production that opened in December 2023.

Writes The New York Times about her Broadway debut: “As Betty, the flapper of early talkie cartoons, Jasmine Amy Rogers is immensely likeable. She sings fabulously, sports a credible perma-smile, nails all the Boop mannerisms.”

Read the review here.
Read our blog post about four MSM alumni currently performing on Broadway here.

MSM woodwind student Lorien Britt (BM ’26) won First Prize at the Austin Flute Society Collegiate Division Young Artist Competition on April 5, 2025. The competition took place during the Austin Flute Festival held April 4–5 at Huston-Tillotson University in Austin. Lorien is originally from Dallas, Texas, and studies flute at MSM with MSM Chair of the Woodwinds program Linda Chesis.

Lorien is also a winner of the Riverside Orchestra Concerto Competition and will solo with the orchestra on May 9 at Trinity School at 101 W 91st St in New York City.

Learn more about Lorien here.