Selected Alumni Bios

• Jui-Chih Agatha Wang

  Jui-Chih Agatha Wang, (M.A. Flute Performance 1996) has been a resident artist at State College, PA, since the fall of 2001, where she teaches flute and piano, performs regularly as a soloist and in chamber music concerts and accompanies members of the Penn State School of Music.
  
  A native of Taiwan, her formal training includes the Republic of China's special musical education program for gifted students (grades 3-12), a BA in Music from Fu-Jen Catholic University, and an MA in Flute Performance from New York University, where she studied with Keith Underwood. She has performed with the Kaohsiung City Symphony Orchestra, the Nan-Yeen Symphony Orchestra, the Seoul Symphony Orchestra, and the Nittany Valley Symphony Orchestra. She taught flute extensively in Taiwan, and now teaches general music at the Grier School in Tyrone and has a private flute studio in State College. Ms. Wang's recent ap! pearances include performance's at the Florida Electric Acoustic Music Festival and the International Flute Conference.

• Claire Temin

  Claire graduated from Barnard College in 2001, studied at Juilliard’s pre-college division, and completed her M.A. in flute performance at NYU Steinhardt. Her flute teacher was renowned NYU faculty member, Keith Underwood. Claire won first prize in the NYU Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, the Columbia University Orchestra Competition, and the Juilliard Pre-College Concerto Competition. She has also performed as a soloist with the Bach Society Orchestra, the New York Youth Chamber Music Program, and the I.S.O. Symphony Orchestra and has given numerous solo recitals.

• Marissa Silverman

  Dr. Marissa Silverman (BA, MFA, MST, PhD) is Assistant Professor of Music Education and Coordinator of Undergraduate Music Education at the John J. Cali School of Music, Montclair State University, NJ. She was previously an Adjunct Professor of Music and Music Education at New York University (2000-2009) and has also taught at the Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music, Rutgers University, and Long Island City High School (Queens, New York).

  Dr. Silverman has published in the International Journal of Music Education, Music Education Research, the International Journal of Community Music, Visions of Research in Music Education, and The New York Times. Her research interests include music education philosophy, general music, artistic interpretation, teacher education, and interdisciplinary curriculum development. She is presently at work on two music education texts for Oxford University Press, as well as several book chapters.

  Dr. Silverman holds a PhD in music performance (flute) from NYU Steinhardt, as well as a BA in English Literature. She has appeared as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player in many New York venues (including Merkin Hall and Alice Tully Hall) and has performed at many festivals, as well as with such groups as the San Francisco Mozartean. Her special performance interests include the French Baroque, chamber works of the late Classical period, and contemporary Russian music. She is a founding member of the Paumanok Woodwind Quintet, the Elysian Flute Quartet, and Metro Flutes, and has performed with many renowned artists, including Kenneth Cooper, Ronald Roseman, and David Krakauer.

• John Savage

  John Savage (M.A. Flute Performance, 2002) John Savage is currently an Alberto Vilar Fellow in the Ph.D. Program in Music Performance at NYU. A native of Portland, Oregon, John, received his B.M. in flute performance from Portland State University, where he studied theory and composition with Tomas Svoboda, flute with Dr. Marilyn Shotola, and jazz improvisation with pianist and composer Andrew Hill. In 1991-92 Savage studied extended techniques with the Dutch flutist and composer Wil Offermans. Since that time, extended techniques have been a focus of John’s playing and composing. Renowned flutist, composer and NYU flute faculty member Robert Dick describes John Savage’s use of extended techniques in his flute style:

  “His use of extended flute techniques is unusually fine; they are there to serve musical ends, not flutistic vanity.”

  In 1998, John toured with the original jazz-fusion band, Groove Revelation, whose CD, The Arch Cape Sessions, acknowledged for its originality. In 2000, Groove Revelation released its second CD, Grindin’ with most of the music composed by John.

  More recently, he performs regularly with his jazz trio, The Savage 3, which performs largely original material; and Cartridge, a lap-top and woodwind duo with composer/performer Will Redmond. In addition, John has played with the Andrew Hill Sextet+11 in performances at The Jazz Standard and Birdland , and is a featured soloist on Andrew Hill’s 2002 release, A Beautiful Day. John has also performed at the Knitting Factory, The C-Note, and Up Over Jazz Café.

  Downbeat Magazine exudes that John’s flute playing is “gorgeous” and The Guardian (in England) describes his flute sound as “yearning” and his soloing as “exquisite”.

  As a Ph.D. candidate in flute performance in our department, John studies flute with NYU flute faculty member Keith Underwood, improvisation and chamber music with Dr. Esther Lamneck, and also takes occasional lessons with NYU flute faculty member and composer Robert Dick.

• Shanti Raval

  

  Shanti Raval is currently a Ph.D student at NYU in clarinet performance. She is a 2006 recipient of NYU's Founder's Fellowship for Doctoral Study. Ms. Raval completed a Bachelor's degree at Arizona State University and a Master's degree at Miami University of Ohio, where she was teaching assistant.  Ms. Raval's article, "The Clarinet in India:  A Journey from the Village to the Concert Hall," was published in 2005 by the journal, CLARINET.

  At NYU Steinhardt, she is a student of Dr. Esther Lamneck and is working on her dissertation.  Her research deals with the use of the clarinet in the traditional music of India and will include her own transcriptions of this music. Ms. Raval won the Spring 2007 Concerto Competition and performed with the NYU Symphony Orchestra.

• Christine Perea

  Christine Perea (M.A., Flute Performance, 2001) After completing her masters degree in flute performance at NYU, Christine was accepted into the Ph.D. program in music performance in our department. Christine specializes in New Music, particularly electro-acoustic and avant-garde repertoire, and frequently collaborates with other kinds of performing artists such as dancers, comedians, and poets. Her recent performances have included appearances with Forecast Music, Vox Novus, the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra, the Lost Dog New Music Ensemble, the NYU New Music and Dance Ensemble, the Jo-Jo Experiment, and performances at both the 2001 and 2002 National Flute Association Conventions. Ms. Perea is a member of the faculty at the Brooklyn Conservatory and is on the adjunct faculty at NYU. She was Principal flutist for two years with the Chicago Classical Symphony Orchestra. Christine’s flute teachers at NYU have included Robert Dick, Keith Underwood, and Linda Chesis.

• Eveline Kuhn

  Flutist Eveline Kuhn ( BM 2002, MA 2004, Flute Performance) has performed as soloist and chamber musician throughout the U.S., including in Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall and Wolf Trap, and throughout Switzerland, Germany, and Lithuania.  She performed her New York debut recital in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, as the recipient of a Special Presentation Award from Artists International, and her Concerto debut with The Symphony Orchestra of New York University, as a winner of NYU's Concerto competition for winds and brass.  She was the recipient of a prestigious Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship for the 1998-99 school year to the Eastman School of Music, where she studied with Bonita Boyd, and received her Bachelor of Music, magna cum laude, and her Master of Arts from New York University, where she studied with Keith Underwood.  Eveline Kuhn was a Grand Prize Winner of the 2000 Allegro Music Foundation Competition in New York and has been the recipient of numerous awards and scholarships from Swiss foundations.

  Eveline Kuhn has performed as a guest of the Houston Chamber Music Society and recently gave the New York Premiere of violinist and composer Mark O'Connor's The Fallen for Solo Flute and Strings at Symphony Space in New York.  In 2005, she performed at the United Nations in a benefit concert for the victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami.  She is a co-founder, the Managing Director, and an Artist Member of the New York-based chamber music society, America's Dream Chamber Artists (www.adcany.org), with whom she has performed throughout the U.S.; and flutist of the West End Duo (flute and cello)- which performed its New York debut recital on Trinity Church's Concerts at One series, and Trio Galleria (flute, cello, and piano).  

  Eveline Kuhn has been Principal Flutist of the Eastman Philharmonia, Eastman Musica Nova, and the New York Sinfonietta.  She performed in The Curtis Symphony Orchestra at the 1999 Verbier Festival and Academy in Switzerland, under the direction of James Levine and Kent Nagano.  She has been heard on WQXR's McGraw-Hill Young Artists Showcase and has been featured in The New York Sun, The Houston Chronicle, The News-Times (Danbury, CT), Tages Anzeiger (Switzerland), and Zürichsee Zeitung (Switzerland).  Eveline Kuhn is a Teaching Artist for the Brooklyn Philharmonic.

• Maria Johnson

  Maria grew up in rural Kentucky and began playing the flute at age 9. She holds a B.M. in Music Performance from the University of Kentucky and a M.A. in Music Performance from New York University. Her private teachers have included Gary Shocker, Gordon Cole, and Lisa McArthur.  Additionally, she attended classes at NYU with flutists Robert Dick and Keith Underwood.  
  
  While at NYU Steinhardt, she won the school's annual Wind and Percussion Concerto Competition and performed as a soloist with the NYU Wind Ensemble. Maria spent the summer of 2007 at NYU Florence, where she studied 20th century repertoire, free improvisation, and extended technique with the internationally acclaimed Roberto Fabbriciani, who was in residence at NYU during that year. She also collaborated with composers from the Conservatorio Cherubini and performed with the NYU New Music and Dance Ensemble under the direction of Esther Lamneck and choreographer Douglas Dunn, which is in-residence at NYU Florence each summer.
   
  Shortly after graduation, Maria was invited to rejoin the University of Kentucky Wind Ensemble for their tour of China. The ensemble performed in Suzhou, Changzhou, and Yangzhou as part of the Olympic Torch Relay Celebrations, and in Beijing, where they were hosted by the P.L.A. Military Band.
  
  Maria joined the faculty of the Pre-college Division of the Long Island Conservatory in 2008.  She also teaches at Mike Risko Music School in Westchester County and the Woodwind School of Music in Flushing. She performs with the Astoria Symphony, the NY Symphonic Arts Ensemble, and the Harbor Opera.
   
  In her spare time, she enjoys yoga and literature.  To read more about her, please visit www.mjflute.com.

• Dr. Alejandro Escuer

  Alejandro Escuer (PhD Flute Performance, 1995). Dr. Alejandro Escuer is a prominent and active virtuoso flutist and composer. Composers from throughout the word have dedicated many pieces to him. He is also an noted scholar and on the tenured faculty at the Escuela Nacional de Musica of the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. He has been giving master classes and lectures in Mexico and the U.S. In addition, during a sabbatical leave, he was in residence as a Visiting Scholar at Columbia University in  2003 and is currently a visiting scholar with a Fulbright grant at Indiana University.

  In 1999, he was selected to design and become a founding member of the first graduate program in music performance in Mexico. He has been appointed member of the Arts and Letters Board since 2001 (Fondo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes) and he is a member of the Consejo Mexicano de la Musica (International Music Council/UNESCO). In 1999, Dr. Escuer was soloist with Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional for the opening concert that celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the most important New Music festival in Mexico. He is at ease performing with orquestra or as a soloist with piano,

  guitar, solo flute, flute with electronics or any instrumental ensemble. Dr. Escuer has been the recipient of numerous prizes and awards, including a Rockefeller Foundation Award (1995), The National Interpreters Competition (first prize) 1986, 1987; The National Scholarship for the Arts 1989, 1991, 1995; Lederes de Mexico Honorary Award 1998, and several recognitions and fellowships from Fondo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes (1992, 1995,
  1996, 1998, 2000).

  As a soloist and composer, he has been able to achieve a highly individual reputation, constantly seeking to broaden the interpretive, aesthetic and acoustical capabilities of his instrument. He is the founder and Artistic Director of Onix Nuevo Ensamble de Mexico, a unique group in the country devoted to Mexican and international New Music concerts, forums and lectures throughout the year. Onix has revitalized the musical scene in Mexico with numerous premieres by Mexican composers and other international works that had never been performed in the country.

  Dr. Escuer holds two bachelors degrees from Conservatorio Nacional de Musica and Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. He completed a masters degree in flute performance from Sweelinck Conservatorium in Amsterdam in 1991 and earned the Ph.D. in flute performance in 1995 at NYU.

• Sarah Carrier

  

  "Ms. Carrier combined thoughtful musicality with virtuosity in her alternately energetic anddelicate account of a flute line laden with light multiphonics and unusual timbres." ~ Allan Kozinn, New York Times

  Sarah Carrier (M.M. 2010), flutist, performs regularly in New York City as a soloist and chamber musician.  She has performed in Walt Disney Hall, Sydney Opera House, Merkin Hall, the Orange County Performing Arts Center, Le Poisson Rouge, the Tank, and Issue Project Room.  Sarah Carrier is a winner of numerous competitions such as the National Flute Association Master Class Competition, Bob Cole Conservatory Scholarship Competition, La Primavera Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition and is a recipient of the CSULB Dean's List Award, University of Oregon Graduate Teaching Fellowship, and New York University Graduate Scholarship.

  A specialist in contemporary flute performance, Sarah Carrier is a frequent contributor to New York City's vibrant new music scene.  Ms. Carrier is a founding member of Syzygy New Music Collective, hailed as "one of 2009 most promising groups" by Sequenza21.  As a member of Syzygy she has made numerous appearances on television and radio.  While a graduate student at NYU Steinhardt, she commissioned the work Kill Switch for flute, cello, percussion, and laptop by Izzi Ramkissoon, which was premiered at her Masters Recital and has since been performed in venues throughout New York City.  Also during her studies at NYU, she performed Luminosity for C Flute, Alto Flute, and Electronics by David Taddie as a Featured Soloist of the NYU New Music Soloists Concert, resulting in an invitation to perform at the "Cross Currents" Electro-Acoustic Music Festival at Penn State University, as well as the NYU Music Technology Open House.  In the summer of 2010, she was a participant of the Institute and Festival of Contemporary Performance at Mannes.

  Sarah Carrier completed her M.M. in Flute Performance at NYU Steinhardt under the tutelage of Robert Dick.  She earned her B.M. in Flute Performance at the Bob Cole Conservatory at California State University, Long Beach studying with John Barcellona.  She has also performed for Jill Felber, William Bennett, Denis Bouriakov, Louise di Tullio, Rena Urso, Paula Robison, Ransom Wilson, Keith Underwood, and Bart Feller. Ms. Carrier has taught throughout Southern California, Oregon, and New York City, and has presented master classes to flute students in rural areas of Hokkaido, Japan.