MEET THE FACULTY

Pianist Mika Sasaki is an imaginative and versatile soloist, chamber musician, and educator. Her debut album, Obsidian: Mika Sasaki plays Clara Schumann, was highly acclaimed by the Online Merker as “illuminat[ing] the artistic inspiration and creative exchange” between Clara and Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms. Her festival appearances include Tanglewood, Chigiana, Taos, Yellow Barn, Aspen, Focus!, Icicle Creek, Mannes Beethoven Institute, Caramoor, Shandelee, Weekend of Chamber Music, and Central Vermont Chamber Music. She has taught and performed at pianoSonoma, Rushmore, Omaha Conservatory, Taubman Piano Festival, Charles Ives Music Festival, Summer Performing Arts with Juilliard, and Music@Menlo.

Based in New York City, Mika is a faculty member at The Juilliard School, where she supervises secondary piano in the College Division and teaches keyboard skills, piano, and chamber music courses in the College, Pre-College, and Extension Divisions. She is an alumna of the Peabody Conservatory (B.M., M.M.), Ensemble Connect at Carnegie Hall, and Juilliard (D.M.A.). mikasasaki.com

Tharanga Goonetilleke is a native of Sri Lanka. She graduated with her Artist Diploma for Opera Studies and Master of Music degree in Voice and Opera from The Juilliard School. Goonetilleke is the first and only woman from Sri Lanka to be accepted to the prestigious Juilliard School. She has a Bachelor of Music degree from Converse College, Spartanburg, SC, with a minor in Biology. She is also an Associate of the Trinity College of Music, London, England. She has over a dozen leading operatic roles under her belt including Mimi (La Boheme/Puccini) and Pamina (Die Zauberflte/Mozart). Goonetilleke made her New York City Opera Debut in 2010. Her operatic and concert career has taken her all over the world including in Italy, France, England, Scotland, Korea, Uganda, India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Canada, and throughout the United States.As a visual artist, Goonetilleke is sought after for her line drawings, illustrations, and impressionistic paintings. Since being selected a TED Fellow in 2015, Goonetilleke enjoys traveling the world sharing her story as an inspirational speaker, performer, and educator. She currently resides in Short Hills with her husband and two young children.

Director, entrepreneur, dancer, choreographer, model, and educator Barbadian- American artist Jamal Callender is a Princess Grace award winner in dance and graduate of the Juilliard School. He has danced in several companies including Atlanta Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Ballet Hispanico, National Theater Mannheim and Ballet Bern and Riva & Repele company.

In 2014, Jamal founded the Barbados Dance Project with the mission of bringing awareness to the importance of dance by educating, collaborating, and engaging with the Barbadian community through movement offering tuition-free service.

Jamal has taught for companies worldwide including Ballet Hispanico, Cincinnati Ballet, Ballet Bern, Riva & Repele company, Ailey II and IT danza. He has also taught at dance programs including MOVE (NYC), PAR en Dansa (Spain) and New Orleans Ballet Association (NOBA). Jamal’s choreography has been shown in the US, Barbados, Trinidad, Jamaica, Germany, Spain, and Seoul South Korea. Jamal has also been seen in many commercial campaigns including DIOR, BMW, Mercedes, Pandora and many more.

Adam Richardson is rapidly gaining acclaims as a multitalented baritone for his powerful operatic, concert, and theater performances. Mr. Richardson began the 2018/2019 season with a debut at Opera in the Heights in their production of Cosi Fan Tutte as Guglielmo, debut with the South Florida Symphony Orchestra as Jake in Porgy and Bess, and various concerts projects. Mr. Richardson made his house debut with Opera Philadelphia in Daniel Bernard Roumain's world premiere opera We Shall Not Be Moved directed by Tony Award winner Bill T. Jones. This opera was reprised at The Apollo in New York and the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam. He made his debut with Amarillo Opera in the title role of the opera Joshua's Boots. He performed as Jake in the international tour of Porgy and Bess at the Alte Oper Frankfurt and the Hamburgische Staatsoper.

He has performed as Sciarrone in Tosca and Horace Tabor in The Ballad of Baby Doe, concerts with the Caramoor Festival and a debuted as a soloist in 2014 with the American Spiritual Ensemble. After garnering major attention at the famous La Folle Journée, his energetic performances premiered in European venues such as The American Cathedral in Paris, The Royal Dublin Society, and Wexford Opera House. He debuted in Lyric Opera of Virginia’s La Boheme for the 2013/2014 season. Mr. Richardson performed multiple roles at the Cincinnati Opera. He premiered in a Porgy and Bess Redux as Jake/Porgy, followed by his role as the Wolf in Little Red Riding Hood.

Other selected highlights include Betto in Gianni Schicchi, Javelinot in Dialogues des Carmélites with The Juilliard Opera. No stranger to musical theater, he has been hailed by BlueRidgeNow Times as having a “…powerful performance” for his role as Old Deuteronomy, and his “…leading role in the finale is one of the highlights of the show” in Flatrock Playhouse’s 2013 production of Cats. He was also an ensemble member of the musical Showboat at Westchester Broadway Theater. Mr. Richardson holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Carnegie Mellon University and a Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School.

Charles Stevens is an award winning music director and performer currently residing in the Central Florida area. He previously won the Applause Award for Crazy For You and was the Orlando Sentinel’s Critic’s Pick for his music direction of Once The Musical. When not working at a regional theater, he music directs at Legoland Florida and was vocal captain for Universal Studios Grinchmas in 2022.

Other career highlights include being cast in the workshop for Adam Guettel’s Millions, working with a production team that included Bob Martin and Bartlett Sher. Also, he was in the workshop cast of Sweet Dreams, working directly with the band Air Supply. Favorite New York highlights include singing with EVUSA at Carnegie Hall, joining the likes of The Muppets, Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, Stephen Schwartz, Norm Lewis, and numerous other broadway legends; and being featured at famous cabaret venues, including 54 Below for their 54 Sings series, Don’t Tell Mama’s and The Laurie Beechman Theatre. Currently you can find him performing in one of six different bands, at Walt Disney World as Bruce the Shark in Finding Nemo: The Big Blue...and Beyond! or singing with The Voices of Liberty in The Candlelight Processional.He also performs throughout Universal Studios as Conductor of the Hogwarts Express, Sam in The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a Wandkeeper in Ollivander’s Wand Shop and one of the hosts of Universal’s Horror Make-Up Show.

Drew Wildman Foster - Arrives fresh from La Jolla Playhouse where he performed in the pre-Broadway run of The Ballad of Johnny and June directed by Tony Award winning director, Des McAnuff. Broadway: Ain't Too Proud, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, Sunset Boulevard, & Doctor Zhivago. He starred in Arthur Laurents' final directorial project, the revival of West Side Story with new lyrics by Lin Manuel-Miranda. He also performed West Side Story at the Hollywood Bowl, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel.

He has been seen on numerous Morning Shows, Tony Awards and Macy's Thanksgiving Parades, as well as heard on Original Broadway Recordings. Regional Credits/NY include: Dallas Theater Center, Shakespeare Theater DC, Orlando Shakespeare, The Old Globe, Santa Cruz Shakespeare, and Red Bull, among others.

Drew served as the artistic director for Shakespeare at the Manor on Shelter Island from 2013-2020 and as the Resident Director for the Tony Winning Ain't Too Proud on Broadway from 2019-2022. He spent 5 seasons as a company member of the Asolo Rep and has been a guest artist for 10 rehearsal projects at the Juilliard School. Drew holds a Master's Degree in Educational Psychology and is an alum of the Juilliard Drama Program.

Gwendolyn Walker (she/her) is an Assistant Professor of Voice and Alexander Technique in Penn State’s BFA Musical Theatre program. She is also a graduate of the Contemporary Alexander School and is a certified Alexander Technique teacher. Her unique approach to training young artists from a somatic perspective as well as from a contemporary commercial vocal perspective has made her a sought-after guest artist and private teacher around the world. Gwen is a guest teacher at the Guildford School of Acting in London, Kristinia University in Norway, American Musical Theatre Live in Paris.

Prior to coming to Penn State, she was the Coordinator of the Voice Department at the Conservatory of Performing Arts at Point Park University in Pittsburgh. Gwen’s areas of research all relate back to reducing mental and physical anxiety for today’s artists. A passionate antiracist and activist, her most recent writing has been about tools for educators to address the current mental health crisis on college campuses, training transgender and gender non-binary humans, and how to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in greater theatrical industry. She is also the Vice President of DEI for The Musical Theatre Educators’ Alliance.

Gwen is an Equity Actress who has performed in National Tours, major regional houses, and off-Broadway. She maintains an active Voice and Alexander Technique Studio in New York City and her students can be seen in most shows on Broadway today as well as in Film and TV.

Pianist and music director Jillian Zack has enjoyed a diverse and exciting series of collaborations. From making her Broadway stage debut as the Organist in Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of To Kill A Mockingbird to being a finalist in London’s Wigmore Hall Song Competition, Jillian is truly a master of her craft in every genre. As a recitalist, she has toured throughout the United States, United Kingdom, and New Zealand. At home in New York City, she has performed on many prestigious stages including Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, and 54 Below. Off-Broadway/Regional credits include: Theatre Row, Paper Mill Playhouse, The Mac-Haydn Theater, Cape Fear Regional Theater, Theatre Workshop of Nantucket.

Jillian is a passionate vocal coach and mentor who maintains both a private studio and a partnership with The Magaziner Vocal Studio working with students of all ages. She can also be found jumping in as the Key2 sub in the pit of Funny Girl and A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical on Broadway. Jillian is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music (BM) and The Juilliard School (MM). She is a proud member of Maestra, Local 802, and Broadway Baby Mamas. Jillian was an Assistant Faculty member at The Juilliard School 2015-2021.

Samantha (Sami) Saltzman is a theatrical director who is passionate about creating new worlds on stage. Sami started working with Matilda the Musical in March 2015. In January 2017 she took over as the Resident Director of the 1st National Broadway Tour, traveling with the show on the road. She worked on both the national tour and the Broadway production and spent 2 years based in New York City training the casts of both productions to go into the show. This part year, Sami directed the Bryant Park Skate-tacular Tree Lighting. Creating a new traditional tree lighting celebration at Bryant Park, Sami directed the event from conception to execution.

In 2017, after spending 5 years working with the Drama League in various capacities, Sami directed the Drama League Gala honoring Steve Martin. The celebrity studded gala was hosted by Kevin Klien, and included performances from Carol Kane, Ed Helms, Jennifer Simmard, Alex Brightman, Lea DeLaria, and Kermit the Frog. In 2013, Sami completed a Drama League Fellowship in Musical Theatre and since has worked as the Assistant Director on Southern Comfort at the Public Theater. She has continued her association with the Drama League working on their annual gala productions. For three years she was the assistant director for the gala and in 2016, she served as associate director to Shelley Buttler.

Sami worked with the New York Musical Theatre Festival as a director, producer, assistant director, and special events director, where she acquired an intimate knowledge of the festival process. She has directed productions of Urinetown, The Music Man and William Finn's In Trousers, and assisted on productions of Hair, a concert reunion of Titanic, and the production of On the Town that would later make its way to Broadway. Sami attended Brandeis University outside Boston, MA, where she graduated with a BA in Theater Arts with a focus on Direction.