Faculty

Caroline Fermin

Lead Dance Faculty

Caroline Fermin - Lead Dance Faculty

Caroline Fermin is a New York-based performer, educator, and choreographer. She attended The Juilliard School (BFA) and received her MFA in choreography at Wilson College. Caroline is a founding member of Gallim Dance where she performed nationally and internationally while also serving as Education Director. She has danced with James Sewell Ballet, Sidra Bell, Damien Woetzel, Rain Ross, and Jeanette Stoner. Caroline choreographs and collaborates with musicians, actors, and directors; her work has been shown nationally and internationally. She is an arts advocate and consults with organizations on the intersection of education, dance, community engagement. She served as Director of Culture for Dancewave in Brooklyn and works with organizations such as Artists Striving to End Poverty. As a teaching artist, she has partnered with Juilliard, New York City Center, and The Orchestra of Saint Luke’s. Caroline is an adjunct professor at Barnard College/Columbia University and guest lecturer at Wilson College.

Ryan Casey

Dance Faculty

Ryan P. Casey - Dance Faculty

Ryan P. Casey is a “whimsically inventive” (The Boston Globe) tap dancer, teacher, choreographer, and writer who was named in one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” and one of Boston’s “25 Most Innovative People Under 25.” He has danced for Michelle Dorrance, Aaron Tolson, Billy Siegenfeld, and Adrienne Hawkins. Currently on faculty at Boston U and choreographing for the U of Connecticut Tap Team, Ryan is a proud alumnus of NYU, The School at Jacob’s Pillow, and the National Young Arts Foundation. He received a choreography grant from the MA Cultural Council and was featured on So You Think You Can Dance.

Jenny Lord

Lead Drama Faculty

Jenny Lord - Lead Drama Faculty

Jenny Lord directs and teaches at the Juilliard School in New York, where her productions include Measure for Measure, As You Like It, and All My Sons. She was the Associate Director for the Broadway productions of Twelfth Night and Richard III, featuring recent Oscar-winner Mark Rylance and directed by Tim Carroll. Directing credits include: Shakespeare Theatre’s Free-For-All productions of Much Ado About Nothing and All’s Well That Ends Well in Washington, DC; A Christmas Carol (Dallas Theater Center); Going Down Swingin’ and Don Imbroglio (New York Musical Theatre Festival); Bee-luther-hatchee (New Century Theatre); Of Mice and Men (Serenbe Playhouse); and several operas. For students: King Lear (University of Texas), The Cherry Orchard and Angels in America: Perestroika (NYU/Stella Adler Conservatory); Street Scene (SanFrancisco State University). She has also assisted many distinguished directors including Michael Kahn, Christopher Bayes, Mary Zimmerman, Daniel Fish, and Rebecca Taichman.

Mark Olsen

Lead Drama Faculty

Mark Olsen - Lead Drama Faculty

Mark Olsen is Teacher of Movement and Stage Combat for the Juilliard School Drama Division and the Chair of the Musical Theatre Programme at the New York Film Academy. Formerly head of the MFA Graduate Acting Programme at Penn State School of Theatre, Mark has also taught at Columbia University, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Houston, Ryerson Theatre School (Toronto), Sarah Lawrence College, and New York Public Theatre’s Shakespeare Lab.

Michael Rudko

Drama Faculty

Michael Rudko - Drama Faculty

Michael Rudko is an graduate of Yale and Juilliard and his work in the theater has taken him around the world. He is the only actor to have performed Shakespeare on Broadway, at London’s Globe, at the ancient Greek theater at Epidaurus, and in El Paso, Texas. Credits include: STC: Twelfth Night (Feste), Cymbeline (Belarius), Hedda Gabler (Tesman), Lorenzaccio, The Tempest. NEW YORK: Broadway: The Audience, Saint Joan, Romeo & Juliet, Mary Stuart, The Best Man, Timon of Athens, Serious Money. Off-Broadway: Theatre for a New Audience: Titus Andronicus, As You Like It, Love’s Labor’s Lost, Henry V; The Public / New York Shakespeare Festival: As You Like It, King Lear, Richard II; Transport Group: House for Sale.

Sara Brians

Lead Musical Theatre Faculty

Sara Brians - Musical Theatre Faculty

Sara Brians is an award-winning director, choreographer, dancer and educator based in New York City. Her work spans Broadway theatre to film, live events and industrials. On Broadway, Sara was the Movement Assistant for The Terms of My Surrender, Resident Choreographer for Matilda the Musical, Resident Choreographer for Billy Elliot the Musical, Assistant Choreographer for Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, and Assistant Choreographer for After The Night And The Music. Sara also re-mounted the original choreography for White Christmas in England, Scotland, and Wales. Sara is faculty at Pace University and Broadway Dance Center.

Dr. Vivian Chang

Lead Piano Faculty

Dr. Vivian Chang - Lead Piano Faculty

As founder of vivianchangdc.com, Dr. Vivian Chang-Freiheit has brought 40 performing artists and over 200 students together for live, creative programs during stay-at-home days. Dr. V has performed as Juilliard Visiting Artist at Nord Anglia schools, recorded numerous educational programs for Boston and NYC public schools, and serves on faculty at the Levine School of Music in Washington, DC. Performance venues include Carnegie Hall, the 92nd Street Y, Alice Tully Hall, and others in the US, Germany, Italy and Taiwan. Dr. V earned degrees from Juilliard (DMA, MM) and Oberlin College Conservatory (BM) with Pi Kappa Lambda, Conservatory Dean’s Talent Award, and the Citibank-Juilliard Stipendium, supporting further studies at the Leipzig Opera House.

Dr. Mika Sasaki

Piano Faculty

Dr. Mika Sasaki - Piano 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

Dr. Scott Holden

Piano Faculty

Dr. Scott Holden - Piano Faculty

Dr. Scott Holden is currently the director of the piano program at Brigham Young University. He has performed across the US, Europe, and Asia, including two solo recitals at Carnegie Hall. Recording CDs for Tantara, Bridge, Naxos and Parma Records, he has made numerous world premiere recordings. Dr. Holden’s students have been accepted to nearly every major piano program in the country and have won numerous national competitions and awards. He holds degrees from the University of Michigan, Manhattan School of Music, the Juilliard School, and was a Fulbright Scholar in Budapest, Hungary at the Liszt Academy. scottholdenpianist.com

Rachel Calloway

Lead Faculty, Voice

Rachel Calloway - Lead Voice Faculty

Rachel Calloway, mezzo-soprano, serves on the faculty of the University of South Carolina as Instructor of Voice and Director of Spark, Carolina’s Music Leadership Laboratory. Upcoming engagements include the music of John Zorn at the Elbphilharmonie (Hamburg), Janacek’s The Diary of One Who Disappeared at the University of Binghamton, The Castleton Festival, and U of SC, new works with the vocal ensemble Ekmeles in Chicago, Duo Cortona in residence at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, and concerts of Jewish art music with Shir Ami in Charleston, SC and Columbia, SC. Ms. Calloway holds degrees from The Juilliard School (BM) and Manhattan School of Music (MM) and can be heard on Albany Records, Tzadik Records, BCMF Records, and Toccata Classics.

Jean-Paul Björlin

Voice Faculty

Jean-Paul Björlin - Voice Faculty

Jean-Paul Björlin is a singer and pianist working in New York City, but is originally from Sweden. He teaches at Barnard College and Circle in the Square Theater School. In the summers of 2008-2016, Jean-Paul worked as a pianist and coach at the vocal program of Marlena Malas at the Chautauqua Institution. He joined the Summer Performing Arts with Juilliard team in 2017. He completed his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees at the Juilliard School, studying voice. He is also a hornist and has completed his certification as a yoga instructor.

Dr. Lynnel Joy Jenkins

Voice Faculty

Dr. Lynnel Joy Jenkins

Dr. Lynnel Joy Jenkins is a choral music educator of international stature, having lectured and conducted in China, Hong Kong, Iceland, South Africa and Switzerland. She has conducted honor choruses at conferences for the American Choral Directors Association, national conferences for the Organization for American Kodály Teachers, and numerous all-state choruses and choral festivals. She is Artistic Director of the Princeton Girlchoir and choral teacher at the Timberlane Middle School of the Hopewell Valley Regional School District in Pennington, New Jersey. Jenkins earned degrees from Westminster Choir College of Rider University (BM), Temple University (MM) and University of Arizona (DMA), and at the first two institutions was awarded the Elaine Brown Conducting Award.

Jamal Callender

Dance Faculty

Jamal Callender - Dance Faculty

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

Musical Theater Faculty

Adam Richardson - Musical Theater Faculty

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.

Drew Wildman Foster

Musical Theater Faculty

Drew Wildman Foster - Musical Theater Faculty

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.

Justin Adams

Musical Theater Faculty

Justin Adams - Musical Theater Faculty

Justin Adams is an experienced music and choral director living and working in Central Florida. Over the past fifteen years, Justin has traveled the country as a music director, conductor, and pianist for various musical theatre productions. Some of his favorite projects include When You Wish (Tuacahn Center for the Arts), Kinky Boots (Orlando Shakes), and End of the Rainbow (Highlands Playhouse). Justin has a B.A. in music from Valley City State University and is pursuing his master’s in music education at the University of Florida. Currently, Justin is the choral director at Westridge Middle School and Tri-County UU church. As an educator, Justin strives to nurture his students’ creativity and talent in a supportive and fun environment.

Najah Imani Muhammad

Musical Theater Faculty

Najah Imani Muhammad - Musical Theater Faculty

Najah is a director, educator, actor, and host based in Beacon, New York. Regardless of the hat she is wearing, Najah uses the arts as a communicative tool to connect. She has directed new works in multiple NYC Festivals, as well as developmental workshops for companies such as Full Out Creative and NC Black Rep. Najah’s passion for arts education has led her to direct students in musicals, plays, and Shakespeare, as well as teaching intensives on improv, audition prep, acting the song, scenework, Laban Movement, and more! She currently directs teens in the Hudson Valley, works for Beacon Performing Arts Center, Disney on Broadway, and is the Director of Education for Leaders by Choice, which teaches leadership skills through the arts. Najah works to amplify everyday voices and give them a throne, through her podcast, Underrepresented Representatives. She holds a degree in Theatre Education and Acting from Emerson College.

Chris York

Musical Theater Lead Faculty

Chris York - Musical Theater Lead Faculty

Chris York is a New York City-based voice teacher and vocal coach of professional actors, singers and musicians. While maintaining a full private studio in midtown Manhattan, Chris has also served as the production vocal coach for the movie 13: The Musical on Netflix, ANNIE Live! on NBC, the Broadway productions of School of Rock, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Cirque du Soleil’s Paramour, Ink (MTC), and was a production vocal consultant/coach for the children in MJ The Musical (Broadway), Mrs. Doubtfire(Broadway) and for musical scenes on Fox’s hit television series Gotham. Chris has also been hired by productions to work with the actors on the recent national tours of Bandstand, Rent, Jesus Christ Superstar, An Officer and a Gentleman, Waitress, andMotown the Musical.

His students can currently be seen leading countless Broadway productions, films, television shows and national tours. Chris is also on the voice faculty in Pace University's BFA Musical Theatre program, and served as a contributor to the popular vocal pedagogy book The Vocal Athlete by Wendy Leborgne and Marci Rosenberg.

Chris’s teaching philosophy is “Know Your Voice, Love Your Voice” and he works from a place of positivity and support to help each student find all the unique and incredible things their own voices can do.

MEET THE FACULTY

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