New York City’s Manhattan School of Music (MSM) has welcomed two new chair appointments and three more Orchestral Performance Program (OP) faculty.
David Krauss, principal trumpet of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, will serve as MSM’s OP Chair, and Ethan Bensdorf, a trumpeter in the New York Philharmonic, will serve as Chair of Brass.
Both Krauss and Bensdorf are current members of the Orchestral Program faculty; the former follows departing OP Chair David Chan, and the latter succeeds Michelle Baker, who will remain on the Brass faculty.
The two new OP faculty members are violinist Jeremías Sergiani-Velázquez and oboist John Upton, who are both principal players in the Met Opera Orchestra. Additionally, fellow Met musician and violinist Julia Choi, who was previously on the MSM Precollege faculty, will join the College Classical Division faculty teaching Orchestral Repertoire.
Inaugurated in 1991, MSM’s OP program offers graduate students individual instruction from acclaimed industry musicians while completing projects as part of the MSM Chamber Sinfonia and MSM Symphony Orchestra, among other ensembles.
“The MSM Graduate Program in Orchestral Performance is the first accredited degree program of its kind in the country,” says MSM Executive Vice President and Provost Joyce Griggs. “Students receive intensive preparation for lives as working musicians, including in-depth training in performance and repertoire but also other nonmusical aspects of life as a career musician. David’s depth of experience as a longtime musician in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, combined with his extensive teaching background and dedicated mentorship make him a wonderful fit for this important role.”
“David brings a thoughtful and forward-looking perspective to orchestral training,” continues JT Kane, Dean of The Kanter Family Instrumental Studies and Orchestral Performance Division. “Throughout his time at MSM, he has demonstrated a deep commitment to our students and to the continued growth and vitality of the Orchestral Performance program. I am confident that his leadership will not only build upon the strong foundation that already exists but will also introduce new ideas and opportunities that will further strengthen our work together.”
“We are absolutely thrilled that David and Ethan are assuming these important leadership roles,” adds MSM President James Gandre. “And Julia, Jeremías, and John will add tremendous depth of knowledge and experience to MSM’s distinguished faculty.”