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Dr. Monica Roberson, Director

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Monica Roberson, D.M.A, is a recognized performer, composer and music educator. Before receiving her Doctorate of Music in Composition/Theory and Piano Performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Dr. Roberson also studied at Peabody Conservatory of Music where she received her Master’s of Music and the University of North Florida where she received her Bachelor’s of Education in Music.

As a pianist, she has performed throughout the United States to rave reviews. She has been featured on public television in Jacksonville, FL. Her piano playing has been described as “passionate and energetic.” She has competed in various piano competitions and received awards such as third place winner of the DeBose National Piano Competition.

As a composer, Dr. Roberson has composed various pieces ranging from solo to symphonic works. Her music has appeared in master classes with world-renowned vocalist, Dawn Upshaw. She has won several composition competitions, some of which include winner of the Margaret Blackburn Composition Competition. She was also awarded the Eubie Blake Scholar Award for outstanding musician and composer. During her studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, she was awarded a grant from the Women’s Studies program in order to compose her chamber opera piece titled “A Room of One’s Own” based on the book by Virginia Woolf. She currently accepts commissions and participates in collaborations with artists. With every note she writes, she strives to touch the souls of listeners through rich, colorful, and energetic sounds.

As a teacher, Dr. Roberson has received positive ratings from her students. She teaches piano, voice, strings and percussion. Her students have won various competitions and scholarships in competitions such as ACT-SO, MSMTA, MTNA and Piano Guild. She has recently taught at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Spelman College, Howard University, the University of Maryland at Baltimore County and Anne Arundel Community College. She has also assisted with the growth and development of private piano programs at the Nathan Carter School of Music, Maryland Conservatory of Music and Champaign School of Music. Dr. Roberson has also taught general music, band and choir at Holy Trinity Episcopal School Elementary School, Greenland Pines Elementary School and Grace Episcopal School. Dr. Roberson is a recipient of the Guild Teachers’ National Honor Roll Award from the American College of Musicians for preparing top students for piano adjudication and international composition contests. In 2022, she was award the Piano Guild Hall of Fame. Dr. Roberson is currently a part-time professor at Howard Community College.

Dr. Roberson is also active in church music ministry. She has served as musician and assistant director at the Cross Creek Presbyterian Church and Mt. Nebo Baptist Church in Jacksonville, FL, Warner Baptist Church in Falls Church, VA, and Friendship Lutheran Church in Savoy, IL. She has also served as the Director of Music at the Oakland Baptist Church in Alexandria, VA.

Additionally, Dr. Roberson is a writer and publisher. She has written several articles for Salem Press and EBSCO Publishing’s multi-volume of biographical and analytical publication of Musicians and Composers of the 20th Century as well as The Forties in America. She has also written several articles in their upcoming multi-volume of The Twenties in America, The Thirties in America, and Great Lives from History: African Americans. Dr. Roberson is also the publisher of Roberson Music Publishing Company where several of her works have been published.

In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family and reading her favorite books.

To learn more about Dr. Roberson, visit her website.

Dr. Ji Eun Kim

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Soprano Ji Eun Kim was born and grew up in Seoul, South Korea. She earned her Bachelors Degree in Voice from Yonsei University in Korea. In the United States she received her Masters Degree in Voice from the Peabody Conservatory studying with Prof. Phyllis Bryn-Julson, and an Artist Diploma in Voice and Opera from the Cleveland Institute of Music studying with Dr. Mary Schiller. Recently, she received her Doctor of Musical Arts in Voice and Opera from Boston University studying with Penelope Bitzas. Now, she has relocated to Gaithersburg in Maryland and is teaching, conducting and singing for the choir at Korean Presbyterian Church of Baltimore.

Dr. Kim has performed numerous roles in opera productions of the Boston University Opera Institute including Violetta (La traviata, act 3), Lidoine (Dialogues of the Carmelites), Miss Wingrave (Owen Wingrave), Vitellia (La clemenza di Tito), Eliza (Dark sisters), and Donna Anna (Don Giovanni). Also, she performed Komponist in Ariadne auf Naxos and Beatrice in Beatrice et Benedict while at Cleveland, and Countess in Le nozze di Figaro and First Lady in Magic Flute while completing her Masters Degree. For concert work she performed the whole work of Handel’s Messiah and Haydn’s The Creation in the Yonsei Concert Choir and was the soprano soloist of Handel’s Dixit Dominus, HWV 232 with Neponset Choral Society. Recently, she made her debut at Boston Symphony Hall as a soprano soloist of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony conducted by Ken-David Masur. In the summer of 2015, she was a featured artist at Opera Theater of Pittsburgh and performed the role of the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro.Dr. Kim was a first prizewinner in both the local Metrowest Opera Competition and the Piccola Opera Competition in New Hampshire; 4th prize winner of the Bel Canto Competition and received the encouragement award from the NEMPAC competition in Boston. Dr. Kim has received several accolades for her opera performances. Among them includes the fall 2012 performance of Violetta in the third act of La traviata at the Fringe Festival with the Boston University Opera Institute. “Kim’s initially delicate singing accurately depicted Violetta’s physical and mental frailty, but she revealed a clean, well-tempered sound in her passionate duet with Alfredo.” “Ji Eun Kim used her gleaming soprano to penetrating effect as Composer” in Ariadne auf Naxos, and “Ji Eun Kim brought warm charisma to the opera’s subversive protagonist, Eliza, and shaped a strong, resolute persona with minimal resources” in Nico Muhly’s Dark Sisters.

Mr. Quan Le

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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.

MS. Sara West

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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. 

Dr. Katelyn McClinton

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Violinist, Dr. Katelyn McClinton has always held an interest in music from a young age. Her parents, both musicians themselves, introduced her to classical music as she grew up. At the age of 9, she began taking violin classes through her school. A year later, she began lessons with Karen Lauffer and studied with her for 4 years.

In her high school years, Dr. McClinton then studied with Dr. Courtney Orlando, who was her primary teacher until high school graduation. Towards the end of her high school career, decided that she would continue her music education through college. In the fall of 2011, Ms. McClinton attended The Sunderman Conservatory at Gettysburg College, studying with Dr. Yeon-Su Kim. Throughout her 4 years at Gettysburg, Katelyn participated and performed in groups like the Gettysburg College Symphony Orchestra, Metta Ensemble, and Sunderman Strings, which included a performance in New York City.

Thanks to the years spent at college, Dr. McClinton has a major interest in chamber music and hopes to continue performing chamber music in her career. She has attended music festivals throughout numerous summers, including the International Music Institute and Festival in Maryland and the InterHarmony Music Festival in Tuscany, Italy. Ms. McClinton has a Bachelor’s in Music Performance from the Sunderman Conservatory at Gettysburg College and a Master’s of Music Performance from Towson University. She has also studied with the late John Eaken, Grammy-nominated violinist and former concertmaster of the York Symphony.

Dr. McClinton is currently a private violin instructor in the Maryland and York, PA area, giving violin lessons to beginning, intermediate and advanced students. She has been teaching for over 6 years and works with each student to find their own unique path in music. Dr. McClinton has also performed with the West Shore Symphony Orchestra in the Central PA area and is currently a member of the Hanover Symphony Orchestra. In 2018, Dr. McClinton joined the Gettysburg Chamber Orchestra. She is the founder of Stravaganza Piano Trio. In 2024, Dr. McClinton received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Shenandoah University and Conservatory. She plans to continue studying and performing works of black composers, as well as learning other methods of teaching and playing contemporary music.

When not performing music, Dr. McClinton enjoys diving into other creative outlets by writing stories as well as doing makeup.

Ms. Grace Kang

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Ms. Grace Kang is a Korean-American student in her final year at UMBC, pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance. She is currently studying under Dr. Teodora Adzharova. During her studies, Dr. Pesca, a former piano Professor now at Eastman School of Music, and Hyun Sook Park, Professor at the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University, supported her through her journey. 

Grace has participated in the Chamber Players group at UMBC, performing duets, trios and quartets. She has also performed in concerts at the UMBC Linehan Concert Hall. Grace won several awards, including first prize in the Piano Competition at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center in 2018 and the Music Performance Fellowship award while attending UMBC. 

Grace has taught students ranging from elementary school to adult. Her goal is to help her students improve their piano technique while enjoying music. She has worked with a certified music teacher and therapist, Park Su Hyang, at Bethel Presbyterian Church. Grace understands that music therapy can help reduce stress, express emotion, enhance memory, improve communication and promote physical rehabilitation. She intends to continue performing and pursue her interest in music therapy in the future.

Grace is thankful for her family and professors for their guidance and support.

Mr. Jonah Kappraff

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Jonah Kappraff is a trumpet player and private instructor based in Baltimore, MD. Following training at the Oberlin Conservatory and Boston University 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, 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. 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 Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto no. 2 with the Allegretto Chamber Orchestra and the Nantucket Baroque Festival. Jonah is principal trumpet with the Boston-based Ambient Orchestra (dir. Evan Ziporyn), a group with whom he has recorded and toured nationally and internationally. Alongside freelancing from Philadelphia through Washington D.C., Jonah teaches private lessons to students from age 8 to 75. He also serves as music education faculty at the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University and is a lecturer at Stevenson University.

Ms. Jessica Harzer

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Ms. Jess Harzer is an actor, singer, and arts educator. She received her undergraduate degree in theatre arts focusing on musical theatre and arts education with a minor in Public Health and Wellness. As an educator, Jess brings a holistic approach to vocal and piano education as the body is the instrument and must be included in the practice of performance. She is so excited to be teaching beginning piano and all levels of voice and hopes to see you in the studio soon! 

Mr. Samuel Anderson

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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. 

Mr. Keith Karasik

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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.