Success Stories

Yi Xiang (BM ’16) has been named Co-Principal Flute at the China NCPA Orchestra, the resident orchestra of the China National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing.

Yi Xiang has also released an album of flute and harp music with the respected China Record Cooperation, sponsored by the NFA career enhancement fund.

The National Flute Association will feature Yi’s achievements in an upcoming issue of Flutist Quarterly.

Yi studied at MSM with Woodwinds Chair Linda Chesis.

During her studies at MSM, Sophia Lee (MM, OP ’23) worked at MSM as Assistant Performance Library Manager. Since Sept 2022 she has been Assistant Librarian of the New York Pops, and she has worked previously as Associate Head Librarian of the Brevard Music Center.

Sophie begins her appointment with the Florida Orchestra on October 1.

Recent MSM graduate Nikolas Rodriguez (MM ’23) won the position of Piccolo with the Bogota Philharmonic Orchestra in Colombia on June 16, 2023.

Originally from Ibagué, Colombia, Nikolas studied at MSM with Robert Langevin.

Nikolas has won many awards including first prize at the First Colombia National Competition for Flutists and second prize at the Third RC International Flute Competition, as well as the III Competition for Young soloists of the Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra.

Learn more about Nikolas Rodriguez here.

Coreisa Janelle Lee (BM ’17) is the principal flute in Andrew Lloyd Weber‘s production of Bad Cinderella on Broadway, and she will be the featured artist for the final installment of the 2022-23 Flutes Out Front series sponsored by the New York Flute Club‘s DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) Committee on Sunday, April 30. 

Coreisa studied for her Bachelor of Music degree at MSM with Linda Chesis. She earned her Master of Music degree from Bowling Green State University, and is currently working on her doctorate at West Virginia University.

More about Coreisa Lee here.

MSM alumnus Yevgeny Faniuk (BM’01), who studied at MSM with Linda Chesis, has been appointed Assistant Principal Flute of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Yevgeny has performed in numerous subscription programs with the Chicago Symphony, and has appeared regularly with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Yevgeny has played principal flute with Glimmerglass Festival Orchestra and the Princeton Symphony Orchestra, and his past engagements include work with New York City Ballet Orchestra, the American Symphony, and DCINY Orchestra, among others.

Read Chicago Symphony Orchestra news release sbout Yevgeny’s appointment here.
Learn more about Yevgeny Faniuk here.

Chris James will begin his position as piccolo with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal later this year.

Since 2017, Chris has been the Assistant Principal Flute/Piccolo with the Vancouver Symphony. Prior to Vancouver, he held the piccolo position with the Memphis Symphony (which he won during his senior year at MSM) as well as principal flute with the Ann Arbor Symphony.

Learn more about the Montreal Symphony Orchestra here.

Flutist and MSM alumnus Brandon Patrick George (MM ’10) along with pianist David Fung were featured in the WQXR Artist Propulsion Lab concert series on November 9. The musicians presented an evening amplifying neglected compositions of the past and highlighting new ones, in The Greene Space.

Watch the livestream here.

Sarah Yarmuth is an attorney and manager of a locally owned small business in Louisville, Kentucky. A 2009 graduate of Manhattan School of Music, and a 2013 graduate of the University of Kentucky Rosenberg College of Law, Yarmuth practiced in both the private and public sectors in Louisville for several years.

After her son’s birth in 2019, Yarmuth left the practice of law to assist in her family’s business, a preschool owned and operated by her mother and grandmother for 31 years.

Sarah’s father-in-law is Democratic Congressman John Yarmuth, a former newspaper editor who has been the US Representative for Kentucky’s 3rd congressional district since 2007.

Read about Sarah’s appointment here.

The GRAMMY-nominated 21st-century ensemble will begin as the faculty wind quintet at Curtis Institute at the start of the 2021-22 academic year.

Imani Winds members include MSM Alumni Monica Ellis (PS ’98), bassoon; Toyin Spellman-Diaz (MM ’98), oboe; Brandon Patrick George (MM ’10), flute; Jeff Scott (BM ’90), French horn; Toyin Spellman-Diaz (MM ’98), oboe;  and Mark Dover (MM ’12), clarinet.

Imani Winds will work with student ensembles, as well as Curtis’ wind studios. They will also commission  works with community partners.

“I am thrilled to welcome Imani Winds to our faculty,” says Curtis President and CEO Roberto Díaz.

“Imani Winds has set a great example of how to forge a unique career path, have meaningful community impact, and embody an entrepreneurial spirit throughout all of their work. We will all benefit greatly from having Imani Winds at Curtis.”

Alumnus Brandon Patrick George (MM ’10) has released an album of flute sonatas and solo works by J.S. Bach, Boulez, Aho, and Prokofiev. George describes his debut album as a dialogue between the past and the future, and this CD indeed represents a walk through musical history spanning 300 years. You can learn more about the recording here.

Brandon Patrick George is the flutist of the Grammy-nominated Imani Winds and has made appearances as a concerto soloist with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Albany Symphony Orchestra, and the American Composers Orchestra, among others.

George was also interviewed by The New York Times in anticipation of his album release. Read the New York Times feature here.

The New York Times writes about MSM alum Brandon Patrick George (MM’10), a member of Imani Winds, in its Arts section on October 13, 2020, reviewing his debut album with music by composers Bach, Boulez, Prokofiev and the Finnish composer Kalevi Aho.

Read the article here.

Alumna Coreisa Lee (BM ’17) was recognized at the 2020 AKADEMIA Music Awards competition in Los Angeles, California for her performance video, “To You”. The composer, Eugene Magalif, shares the “Best Song: Ambient/Instrumental” award with Lee. Watch the award-winning video here.

Lee is a former student of MSM faculty member Linda Chesis.

Alumnus Conor Nelson (BM ’03) has been appointed to the faculty of the Mead Witter School of Music at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as Assistant Professor of Flute. Nelson will also serve as flutist of the Wingra Wind Quintet. He leaves a position at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.

Read Conor’s full bio here.

Alumna Coreisa Lee (BM ’17), who graduated from Bowling Green State University (BGSU) this month with her Master’s in music performance, shares her journey in this interview with the institution. After studying with Professor Linda Chesis at MSM, Lee moved to Bowling Green, OH to continue her studies with another MSM alum (and former student of Chesis), Conor Nelson (BM ’03). This Fall, Lee will pursue a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at West Virginia University this fall, where she earned a provost fellowship.

Lee’s professor and MSM alumnus Conor Nelson recently accepted a flute professor position at University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he will also perform as a member of the faculty ensemble, Wingra Wind Quintet.

Alumna Amanda Blaikie (PS ’09, Orchestral Flute) was interviewed by Noa Kageyama, Ph.D for Bulletproof Musician as a part of their “What Audition Preparation Strategies Work Best for You?” series. In the episode, which can be found here, Amanda talks about “believing in yourself, letting Go of attachments, and giving yourself permission to be kind to yourself”.

Flutist Amanda Blaikie has been a member of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra since 2016, and is also on the faculty at Oakland University.

A recipient of Manhattan School of Music’s Distinguished Alumni Award, Carol Wincenc (BM ’71, Classical Flute) will celebrate the anniversary of her New York debut in the 2019-2020 season with a series of recitals around the city. The centerpiece of the series will be five new compositions she has commissioned by MSM President Emeritus Robert Sirota, Jake Heggie, Pierre Jalbert, Larry Alan Smith, and Sato Matsui.

Visit her website to learn more.

In the article, entrepreneur Douglas Quint (BM ’92, Classical Bassoon) shares his typical Sunday schedule as the owner of Big Gay Ice Cream.

What started out as a food truck in Union Square ten years ago, Big Gay Ice Cream now has three storefronts in New York, one in Philadelphia, and more opening on the West Coast this summer.

Read the full feature here.

For Monica Ellis, a native of Pittsburgh’s Hill District, the bassoon signaled a ticket to the world, a path through high school, college, career, fame, travel and purpose.

Read more