NYU Steinhardt Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions announces the addition of four faculty members to its distinguished String Studies Artist Faculty: violinists Joshua Henderson and Melissa White, violist Amadi Azikiwe, and harpist Brandee Younger.
Joshua Henderson returns to NYU Steinhardt, as he previously taught in the Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions and is an alumnus of the graduate String Studies programs. He enjoys a multi-faceted career as a cross-genre violinist, violist, and composer and is a founding member of the ensemble Warp Trio. Carving out a reputation in jazz, rock, hip-hop, and country-fiddle for his dynamic performances, Henderson has served as music director for the Emmy Award-winning Damien Escobar, and in this role, he has performed at a number of events across the globe, including a performance at the 2013 Hip-Hop Inaugural Ball hosted by Russell Simmons and honoring Barack Obama.
A first-prize laureate in the Sphinx Competition, violinist Melissa White has received critical acclaim performing with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Boston Pops, and the Atlanta, Baltimore, Colorado, Detroit, and Pittsburgh Symphonies. Internationally, she has appeared as soloist with Poland’s Fillharmonia Dolnoslaska and the Colombian Youth Orchestra on a tour of that country and as a recitalist in Baku, Azerbaijian. Ms. White holds performance degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music and New England Conservatory and is represented worldwide by New York-based Sciolino Artist Management.
A New York City native, Amadi Azikiwe, violist, violinist and conductor, has been heard in recital in major cities throughout the United States, including an appearance at the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Azikiwe has also been a guest performer for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center at Alice Tully Hall, as well as at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. Internationally, he has performed in Israel, Canada, South America, Central America, Switzerland, India, Japan, Nigeria, Hong Kong, and throughout the Caribbean. He holds performance degrees from New England Conservatory and Indiana University.
Brandee Younger is also an alumna of the String Studies program in the Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions at NYU Steinhardt. In her varied roles of performer, composer, educator, and concert curator, she is a leading voice of the harp today. She has performed and recorded with such artists as Pharoah Sanders, Ravi Coltrane, Jack DeJohnette, Charlie Haden, Common, John Legend, The Roots, Stevie Wonder, and Lauryn Hill. In 2019, she released her fourth solo album, Soul Awakening, and her original composition “Hortense” was featured in Beyoncé: Homecoming on Netflix. Ms. Younger is Director at Large of the American Harp Society, Inc., and she holds a leadership position for the Young Patrons Steering Committee of the Apollo Theater.