SATURDAY, JULY 7 - FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2012
Rochester, Vermont
2012 Electives Teachers
Ben Folk and Ryan Seay (Musical Explorations) are the founding members of the electronic duo, Ecode. Ben Folk graduated from The Curtis Institute of Music in 2010 where he studied timpani and percussion with Don Liuzzi, and Robert Van Sice. As a member of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, he worked with renowned conductors such as Christoph Eschenbach, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Simon Rattle. In 2005 he received a merit award from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts. He attended Aspen Music Festival and School in 2005 and 2006 and the Cloyd Duff timpani master class in the summer of 2004. Ryan Seay, of Denver, Colorado, started his musical path on trombone
at the University of Denver, and was a featured soloist
with the Lamont Jazz Orchestra, and performed as soloist for the
all-school convocation as a winner of the Solo Concerto competition.
In the fall of 2007, Ryan transferred to the Curtis Institute of Music
where he studied with Nitzan Haroz and received
his Bachelors in trombone performance in 2011. During his tenure at Curtis,
Ryan was accepted into the Spoleto Festival and Music Academy of the
West, and participated as finalist in the Frank Smith Trombone
Competition as part of the International Trombone Festival. In 2009,
he was a recitalist and faculty member of the Asia Trombone Seminar in
Taiwan, and soon afterward, toured the US with the Curtis on
Tour ensemble playing Stravinsky's L'histoire du Soldat. It was on
this tour that he met his soon-to-be best friend and musical
collaborator, Ben Folk. Ryan also works as a teaching artist in
the Philadelphia area for the Philadelphia Orchestra, Play on,
Philly!, and the Salvation Army, teaching music to kids from grades
K-8.
Alexis Houston Maurya (Yoga) has studied and practiced Hatha yoga, as well as meditation for twenty-two years and was given permission to teach asanas in 2003 by the Green Mountain School of Yoga. She has taught yoga at Inner Traditions, an international book publishing company in Vermont, at Twin Farms Spa and Resort in Barnard, Vermont, and for the Rochester Public School in Vermont, for their wellness program. She has taught yoga to children at GMSI for two summers. She also teaches privately and does yoga and meditation workshops in Vermont, Cape Cod, and Delhi, India. In 2009 she edited a book for her meditation teacher, called With Love, Swami Probuddhananda: letters on Advaita Vedanta. Currently she is writing a yoga curriculum for kids ages 5 through 17. Currently she teaches, practices and does free lance writing. She lives in Delhi, India with her husband, and teaches in the US during the summer.
Erik Nielsen (Composition) has been composing for 30 years and his catalog includes works for chorus, orchestra, solo instruments, chamber music of many configurations and electronic music. He has had his works performed throughout the U.S., including such venues as Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. Erik works with composition students in Vermont and elsewhere throughout the United States through private lessons, summer camps and organizations like the Vermont MIDI Project.
Scott Paulson (Carribean Steel Drumming) B.A. Music from Johnson State College, VT. Scott has taught traditional band instrument programs, jazz bands, steel bands and percussion groups in area private and public schools since 1996. He has done Steel Drum workshops for such entities as The Vermont Alliance for Arts Education and for The Killington Music Festival Suzuki Camp. He founded The Vermont Independent School of the Arts in Sharon, Vermont, where he also served as Artistic Director. Scott leads The Panhandlers, Vermont's largest Steel Band, and performs with several bands on several instruments throughout New England.
Matt Podd (Jazz Piano, Improvisation) is a freelance pianist, composer, and educator based in New York City. He holds degrees in jazz studies and music composition from the Eastman School of Music and Ithaca College. An award-winning composer, Matt's works for jazz ensemble have been widely performed throughout the United States, including a prominent feature at the International Rochester Jazz Festival. As a native of the Northeast Kingdom, Matt is thrilled to return to Vermont and share this opportunity with young musicians. www.poddability.com
Pete Sutherland (Traditional Fiddling), though known especially for his way with Appalachian styles, some would say he's more of a generalist, having spent quality time with Yankee, Irish, Scandinavian and French Canadian fiddling. He has taught and performed at dozens of folk festivals and camps. Pete currently teaches in Monkton and Burlington and is on the Applied Faculty at Middlebury College. The latest CD to feature Pete's fiddling is "Streak o' Lean" on his own Epact Label.
Diana Yourke (Chorus) is a free-lance singer, dancer and teacher located in Brooklyn, New York. She was raised with the freedom to dance all over the house to music her whole life without being judged and it is now her mission to bring the opportunity to feel that same lack of inhibition to the world. Her passion is bringing the joy and connection she finds between music and movement to anyone who is willing to share it with her. Diana graduated with a degree in Vocal Performance from Ithaca College and recently became a CMA (Certified Movement Analyst) with a degree from LIMS (Laban Institute of Movement Studies) in NYC.
2011 Administrative Staff
Jody Woos (Executive Director) is a Suzuki piano teacher in New Haven, VT. She did her Suzuki teacher training with Marilyn Taggart and Cynthia Huard. She has also been influenced by the wonderful teachers of her two sons, Doug, age 22, and Tim, age 19, and by the teachers at GSMI. She is returning to the institute this year in her ninth year as director. She is also very proud to be a founding Board Member of the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival which will take place August 18-August 26, 2012.
Susie Smolen (Associate Director,) is a music educator and performer who has taught and entertained both children and adults in a variety of settings. After receiving her BA in Music Performance from Johnson State College (recorder) Susie went on to receive her Vermont Teaching License (Music K-8). Susie teaches guitar and recorder to both children and adults from her home in Rochester.