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Author: RSM

Mr. Jonah Kappraff

Jonah Kappraff is a trumpet performer and teacher new to the Baltimore area. Having trained at the Oberlin Conservatory (B.M. performance/education) and Boston University (M.M. performance) he spent a decade freelancing in Boston before relocating to central Pennsylvania in 2015. In Boston, Jonah was a regular member of the Lexington Symphony, the Marsh Chapel Collegium Musicum, and the avant-garde Boston Modern Brass Quintet, and performed frequently with the Boston Ballet, the Boston Pops, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and Odyssey Opera. He also maintained a robust teaching studio, mentoring students who frequently competed in state and national competitions.

In Pennsylvania, Jonah performed with the Williamsport Symphony, York Symphony, Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra, and the Penn’s Woods Music Festival. Additionally, he was featured as a guest soloist with the Penn Central Wind Band in 2017 and in performances of the J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto no. 2 with the Allegretto Chamber Orchestra of Lancaster and the Nantucket Baroque Festival. Jonah has played principal trumpet with the Boston-based Ambient Orchestra (dir. Evan Ziporyn) since 2016, a group with whom he has toured nationally and internationally.

As a recitalist and clinician, Jonah has presented solo recitals and masterclasses at Keene State College, MIT, Harvard University, Bucknell University, and Lycoming College. His primary teachers have been Terry Everson, Steve Emery, and Roy Poper.

Mr. Quan Le

Originally born in Vietnam, Mr. Quan Le started piano lessons at the age of 8. In 2017, Mr. Le decided to pursue a music career as a pianist. He completed his Associate Degree of Arts from Montgomery College in 2020 and Bachelor of Arts from St. Mary’s College of Maryland in 2022 under the guidance of pianist Brian Ganz. This fall, Mr. Le will continue to pursue a Master’s Degree at the University of Maryland.​

Mr. Le believes music has a supernatural power of helping people escape reality, and enter a magical world filled with imagination and wonders. It is within music that he feels the voiceless can speak and the blind can see. It is where one can become true to oneself with no fear of being criticized. It is with music that Mr. Le overcame the challenges in life, and it is his wish to share music with as many people as he can.

Mr. Samuel Anderson

Samuel Anderson is Manager of Education and Community Engagement with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and a freelance musician in the Maryland area. He has performed with several orchestras in the Maryland area. Most notably: Mid Atlantic Symphony, Washington Opera Society, and Virginia Symphony.  He also performs in a variety of groups from big bands to chamber ensembles in the Baltimore area. He is a founding member of Cortina Brass, Charm Brass Quintet, and the Wind Collision Duo. Mr. Anderson’s chamber music career has led to performances throughout the MidWest and South Eastern USA, as well as Germany, and notably an upcoming tour in Japan for the Summer of ‘25. He earned an M.M. from Yale School of Music where he studied with Scott Hartman, and his B.M. from Vanderbilt University with Jeremy Wilson. He teaches low brass instruments. Away from his role with the BSO and freelancing, Samuel spends his free time at home watching movies, or exploring the Maryland scenery with his fiancee and their dog, Ollie. 

MS. Sara West

Ms. Sara West is an accomplished pianist, pedagogue, and researcher. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from James Madison University, where she studied with Dr. Eric Ruple. Ms. West also holds a Master of Music in Piano Performance from the University of Wyoming, where she studied with internationally-renowned pianist and pedagogue Theresa Bogard. She is currently continuing her studies at the University of Maryland, where she is pursuing a second Master’s degree in Musicology. 

During her time at the University of Wyoming, Ms. West won the prestigious John P. Ellbogen Outstanding Graduate Assistant Teaching Award for her successful teaching of undergraduate courses, including music theory, history, and piano. She was the first music student in the university’s history to win this award. Ms. West was also hired as a Lecturer, in addition to her appointment as a Graduate Assistant, allowing her to fully design, structure, and deliver a history class to undergraduate music majors. 

Sara has performed in recitals, festivals, and competitions across Maryland, Virginia, and Wyoming, as both a soloist and a collaborative pianist. She has received several piano performance scholarships, including the Margaret Arth Music scholarship, the Cunningham Piano Scholarship, and the Townsend C. and Clydene Allen Memoral Scholarship. Ms. West has also received full assistantships from the University of Wyoming and the University of Maryland. Ms. West’s piano playing has been hailed as “breathtakingly beautiful,” “intensely musical,” and “poetic” by musicians across the country.

Ms. West is interested in the mental health of musicians and dedicates her research to best teaching practices with mental health in mind. Ms. West completed her master’s thesis on mental health struggles and injury in musicians, and she strives to apply her findings to aid her own students. Ms. West is trained in several different piano techniques, including injury prevention, allowing her to customize technical approaches for each of her students. She loves to teach musicianship and interpretation to her students, in addition to technique. Sara enjoys teaching lesser known repertoire as well. She has taught students ages 4 to 56, and is open to students of all ages and stages. Ms. West hopes to foster love for music, and for the piano, in each of her students while helping them achieve their goals. 

Ms. Lindsey Armah

Ms. Lindsey Armah has always had an appreciation for music and grew a fondness for classical music at a young age. She is a violinist who attended Towson University, where she received her Bachelor’s degree while studying music and education. She has experience playing as a soloist as well as participating within chamber groups and symphony orchestras. In the past, Ms. Armah has traveled to perform with a symphonic orchestra in Italy, Germany, and Austria. She is a highly skilled performer and is passionate towards playing various genres. Her favorite part of music is the composition and its ability to bring out emotions for people to connect with it in different ways. As an instructor, she strives to have students foster a love for music and enjoys seeing their growth as skilled musicians.

Mr. Keith Karasik

Mr. Keith Karasik teaches violin, viola, cello and bass. He enjoyed his first professional performance at age 10 when he play the tuba in his father’s band. He switched to the bass violin in High School where he played in the school orchestra and jazz band. Outside of school he was invited to perform and record with a local band called Daybreak.

Mr. Karasik received his Bachelors of Arts in Music Education and a Masters of Music in Performance. He has advanced training in theory, composition and improvisation. Mr. Karasik has a variety of musical experiences which include chamber groups, symphony orchestra, opera, jazz, theater and pop.

Mr. Karasik believes music is an important part of human culture. It is a form of expression and tells a story.

Mr. Karasik’s music approach includes three main parts.
1. Neuro-Mechanics: Connecting to your instrument, producing a sound you enjoy and developing muscle memory.
2. Musical Structure: Understanding the melodic, harmonic and rhythmic patterns in music and recognizing them whenever they occur.
3. Enjoy the Journey: Learning how the musical experience expands your appreciation of and sensitivity to your other pursuits.

Mr. David Lowe

Mr. David Lowe has decades of experience as a performer, writer, independent researcher, and educator in many genres of music.
For many years he has informally studied West African Styles, Brazilian Styles, Cuban and Caribbean Music, Jazz, Art Music, and Early Music. He continues to research and refine his discipline.

As a composer, arranger, and performer, he is fluent in traditional writing, popular music, and Jazz. His professional training began as a self-taught electric bassist developing relationships with musicians like Koko Taylor, Albert King, and John Lee Hooker. His experience inspired him to formalize music studies and earn a degree in composition in Boston. Over the past decade, he learned to play Double Bass from Ira Gold. He devotes efforts to refining his bass soloist and writing skills and his independent research. His current projects include surveying the musical development of the North Eastern region of Brazil, African American Church Music, Early Italian Music Pedagogy, and Early European Folk Music and Dance Traditions. Additionally, he operates an experimental musicianship skills training lab. The goal is to develop customized standards-based instrumental music instruction for learners interested in learning popular music and jazz professionally.

Dr. Hee Jin Chang

Soprano, Dr. Hee Jin Chang is an active performer in Maryland. She received her Graduate Performance Diploma from the Peabody Institute in 2023. Dr. Chang completed her Doctorate, Master and Bachelor in Music Arts at the Seoul National University. 

Dr. Chang has performed major and minor roles such as Suor Angelica, Tosca, Gilda, Norina, Gretel, Annina and Giovanna at CUA, Seoul Metropolitan Opera. She was also cast in Giulia from Rossini’s Opera ‘La Scala di Seta’ for Peabody’s Opera. Dr. Chang was awarded the London Classical Voice Award and the Classical Singers Vocal Music Competition.

Dr. Chang has taught voice and intermediate piano students for over 15 years. As an instructor, her goal is to make the students feel confident and joyful with singing and playing piano. Dr. Chang believes students can grow musically with proper technique and when they enjoy their music.

Mr. Brandon Kennedy

Mr. Brandon Kennedy is a multi-instrumentalist with over a decade of professional performing experience. Holding both Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in Songwriting from Berklee College of Music, he has played guitar in a variety of genres, in addition to being a highly proficient Irish fiddler. Having studied internationally in Ennis, County Clare, he has performed throughout the East Coast and Ireland. An award winning songwriter, he continues to perform shows numbering into the hundreds annually.

Dr. Jessica Banks

Dr. Jessica Banks is a professional flutist and teacher living in the Baltimore/DC metro area. Before moving to Maryland, Dr. Banks served as the Flute Professor at Mississippi State University as well as the director of the MSU flute choir. An enthusiastic performer, Dr. Banks has performed with the Starkville Symphony, Alabama Symphony, Delta Symphony, Lexington Philharmonic, North Mississippi Orchestra, Owensboro Symphony, Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, and Evansville Symphony Orchestra. Additional performance honors include concerto appearances with the Starkville Symphony, W.D. Packard Concert Band, MSU Wind Ensemble, MSU Community band and she was recently named as the winner of the 2020 Flute New Music Consortium’s solo flute competition.

Dedicated to the continued availability of a comprehensive music education for all, Dr. Banks supports music programs in the region by making frequent visits to high schools and middle schools. She has enjoyed visits to over 100 middle and high schools as well as colleges to perform for students and lead clinics regarding flute techniques and the study of music as a career path.

Additionally, Dr. Banks has presented clinics and performances for the National Flute Association (USA), Mid South Flute Society, Atlanta Flute Club, Florida Flute Association, Mississippi Bandmasters, Music by Women conference, National Band Association Southern Band Symposium, College Music Society Southern Regional Conference, and the Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the US (SEAMUS). She serves as a board member and competition coordinator for the Mid South Flute Society, is a member of the National Flute Association Membership committee, and is a commissioning member of the Flute New Music Consortium.

Dr. Banks received her Bachelor of Music Education and Bachelor of Flute Performance degrees from Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory in Berea, OH. She completed her Master of Music and Doctor of Music degrees at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. Her principal teachers include Thomas Robertello, George Pope, Kathryn Thomas-Umble, and Shery Larson. In addition to her flute studies, Dr. Banks completed doctoral minors in Baroque flute and Music Theory.