Student Music Festival '20 ★ 4/3, 4/4 & 4/5
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Program Book '20
Piano Competitions, Assessments, Evaluations
Voice, Musical Theatre, Talent Showcases
Strings Competitions, Assessments, Evaluations
Woodwinds & Brass Competitions, Assessments, Evaluations
Guitar & Bass Guitar Competitions, Assessments, Evaluations
Drum & Percussion Competitions, Assessments, Evaluations
Duet Competitions, Assessments, Evaluations
Ensembles Showcase
Meet some of our adjudicators for our upcoming Student Music Festival. MAMTG adjudicators and judges are degreed, experienced, dedicated, professional musicians and educators. You'll have a voice specialist and vocalist for a voice competition. You'll have a percussionist for drum competitions. Adjudicators appearing below are in no particular order. All adjudicators may not appear here within the website.
Lisa Villamaria Casia
Lead Voice & Musical Theatre Adjudicator, Awards Show Emcee
Lisa Villamaria Casia is an active performer of AEA, SAG and AFTRA. Lisa performed in NYC Opera's Noli Me Tangere and toured at the Kennedy Center. Professional tours throughout North America, Australia and New Zealand with Miss Saigon, CATS, Cinderella, Godspell, South Pacific, Junie B. Jones and Disney's Aladdin, Lisa's Off-Broadway performances include the title role in Naughty Marietta and Peony in Shanghai Lil's. Lisa has additionally toured with the Baltimore Symphony Pops Orchestra with Sandi Patty and Ann Hampton Callaway and sung in concert at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall. On TV she played multiple characters on CBS's Guiding Light, Blue Bloods and WB's Gossip Girl.
Lisa maintains a private studio in Jersey City, NJ. A teacher of music, choir and hand bells, Lisa has directed several musicals in East Brunswick, North Brunswick and Jersey City, NJ. She received the Music Excellence Award by Governor McGreevy for NJ's Top 100 Music Teachers in Music Education.
A proud member of NAFME, ACDA, NATS, NJMEA, MTNA and MAMTG, Lisa is a board member and Vice President of the NJFMC, the NJ representative for the national NFMC and contributes to the national vocal standards. Lisa is NPM CCC certified, public school music certified K-12 and holds a BM from Rutgers University's Mason Gross School of the Arts with a concentration in Vocal Performance and Music Education.
Britton Matthews
Britton Matthews, our percussion adjudicator at Festival '17, is an established freelance percussionist active in contemporary chamber music across the United States, especially throughout New York and New Jersey. She specializes in keyboard and contemporary orchestral percussion. Currently, Britton is on faculty at Molloy College, where she teaches applied percussion, piano, and history of jazz.
Britton is a resident artist with New York's Grammy-nominated Metropolis Ensemble. Recent notable performances include the NYC premiere production of Phillip Pulman's The Firework Maker's Daughter at New Victory Theater, Lincoln Center's Out of Doors Festival with conductor/composer Tan Dun, Phillip Glass' MATA Fesitval, and Meet the Composer's Three-City Dash at Symphony Space. In addition, Britton is a recording artist with both the NAXOS and Nonesuch labels. She is regularly featured at the historic Players Theatre in New York, with the Literally Alive Musical Theater Company, and she is a member of the Lost Dog New Music Ensemble.
As a member of Exit 9 Percussion Group, Britton has performed extensively across the country, presenting hundreds of clinics in schools and community centers. Exit 9 is ensemble-in-residence at Mason Gross School of the Arts' Extension Division.
Britton received her Master of Music degree from Rutgers University, and her Bachelor of Music Education from Baylor University. She has studied with many notable percussionists, including Bob Becker, She-e Wu, Chris Deviney, Todd Meehan and the late Dr. Larry Vanlandingham.
Aubrey Maks
Voice & Musical Theatre
Aubrey Maks is a music educator, musician and ethnomusicologist from the greater Philadelphia, Pa region. Aubrey fell in love with music at a young age and is excited to be part of an event that fosters this same love of music in young musicians.
​Returning as an adjudicator for MAMTG Student Music Festival, Aubrey's experience in public, private and community music education settings includes classroom teaching; private, group and community vocal and instrumental instruction (US and abroad); and adult education. She has extensive performance experience and has served as music director for school shows, community theater and camp productions in Bucks County and Mercer County.
Aubrey holds a Bachelor of Music degrees with a vocal concentration in Music Education and Music Theory, History and Composition from Westminster Choir College and a Master of Arts degree in Ethnomusicology (Memorial University of Newfoundland).
Livia Lakatos Schwartzman
Piano & Voice
Livia is a classically trained pianist, organist and mezzo-soprano. Born in Budapest, Hungary her family immigrated to the United States in 1990. They owned and operated a music school and chamber ensembles in Bloomsburg, Pa. Livia began learning piano at the age of five, with Agnes Lakatos, former pianist at the Katona Jozsef Theatre in Kecskemet, Hungary and then continued studies with James Outhit and Philip Cho at Temple University. Livia is a church organist and a teacher of music, specifically piano, in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Susan Speidel
Susan Speidel appeared in the off-Broadway revue OLIO: A Modern Vaudeville and in The Student Prince, Jesus Christ Superstar and King Island Christmas at Paper Mill Playhouse. Additional credits include Nusense, Chicago and All Shook Up at Surflight Theater, Dames at Sea and Cinderella at George Street Playhouse; Company, Nine, The Three Musketeers and Merrily We Roll Along at the Forum Theater among others.
Vocalist, Susan served as Director of Education for acclaimed Paper Mill Playhouse for twenty years and was founder of the Rising Star Awards and Summer Musical Theater Conservatory.
Kevin Hawk
Guitar & Bass Guitar
Kevin Hawk earned his BA in Classical Guitar Performance from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, received his teacher certification in K-12 Music from William Paterson University in New Jersey and his M.Ed. in Educational Leadership & Administration with Admin I Certification from Edinboro University.
Mr. Hawk currently teaches guitar and recording technology at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Maryland where he is also the Department Chair of the Fine & Performing Arts Department.
Kevin has provided professional development for Prince George's County Public Schools' Music Teachers, as well as clinics for Maryland Music Educators' Association, preparing them to teach guitar group classes and classical guitar techniques. Kevin is a teacher of elementary band and orchestra, with over fourteen years of private guitar teaching.
Voice & Piano
A Florida native and soprano, Amanda made her operatic debut in Il Tabarro with the Lyric Orchestra, following performances in the operas Tosca, Suor Angelica and Der Fliegende Hollander, among others. Amanda has appeared with the New York Philharmonic and Dresden Philharmonic for performances of Brahms' Requiem, under the baton of Rafael Fruhbeck De Burgos. More recently, in a concert performance of Don Carlo for the Metropolitan Opera Guild, premiered the role of Mariana in Evan Mack's "Angel of the Amazon" in NYC and sang the role of Mother in Sinfonietta Nova's Hansel Und Gretel.
In 2014, Amanda performed the title role of Madama Butterfly with Opera Forza, followed by the role of Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors and then Leonaroa In Il Trovatore in 2015. In 2018, performances included a featured soloist with the Sharim V'Sharot Choir in Ewing, NJ and the role of Cio-Cio San in Madame Butterfly with the Princeton Festival.
Amanda's vocal pedagogy centers on the teachings of Manuel Garcia II and Cornelius Reid. Voice-building techniques, enhancing flexibility and range are incorporated into her private teaching with voice students in the Princeton, NJ area.
Dr. Huei-Mei (May) Jhou
Woodwinds & Piano
Huei-Mei (May) Jhou performed in a variety of music ensembles, orchestras, and chamber ensembles in the United States and Southeast Asia as principal flutist performing varied styles from Baroque to Modern. Recently she plays with Garden State Opera, Central Jersey Wind Ensemble and Sinfonietta Nova.
A proponent of advanced flute performance techniques, Dr. Jhou has presented workshops, clinics, and master classes, including the Minnesota All-State Band, New Jersey All- State Band, International Music Camp, and public/private schools.
Dr. Jhou completed her Doctorate of Music degree at the University of Minnesota and her Master of Music degree at the University of Miami, Frost School of Music, where she received the Frost School of Music scholarship. Her dissertation, Pedagogy of Influential Selected Works by Marcel Moyse: A Modern Perspective, focuses on flute pedagogy and thoughts behind Marcel Moyse's works and how students could apply modern practice performance tools to master Moyse's studies and exercises.
Dr. Jhou is a recipient of the Suji Lee scholarship from the Taiwanese Association of America, a winner of Marcel Moyse Essay Contest on 2014, and a grant recipient of Music Teacher National Association on 2016.
Her principal teachers have included Immanuel Davis, Jim Walker, the late Christine D. Nield-Capote, Linda Nielsen Korducki, Nadine Hur, Jenny Robinson, and Ebonee Thomas. Currently she teaches at Union County College, Sussex County Community College, Villa Victoria Academy and International Music Camp.
Stefanie Santoro
Woodwinds, Piano & Voice
Stefanie Santoro is a graduate of the John J. Cali School of Music at Montclair State University, she graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance. Stefanie is currently studying with Judith Mendenhall, who is the principal flautist of the American Ballet Theater. Stefanie is currently teaching flute, piano and voice lessons to over 30 students ranging from kindergarten to adult. Stefanie has had various performances at Carnegie Hall with the Montclair State University orchestra and flute ensemble.
Ms. Santoro has performed in many different chamber ensembles, and she was in the pit orchestra for Montclair State University's productions of Sweeny Todd, A Chorus Line, Carousel, and Poulenc's opera, Dialogue of the Carmelites. In addition to playing flute, Stefanie is also a vocalist, she was part of University Singers, and the MSU chorale. She has performed Mozart's Requiem, and Mahler's third symphony with University Singers and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. Stefanie is also currently part of Les Non Triolets; a trio she started in April 2019. The trio consists of flute, double bass and piano. Les Non Triolets performs a wide variety of music from classical to jazz.
Robert Radliff
Originally from New York, Robert Radliff grew up in Southwest Florida where he studied violin with Associate Concertmaster Ming Gao of the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra. He went on to win The Naples Philharmonic Concerto competition, and many other local and state wide Florida music prizes and performances.
He received his Bachelor of Music degree from The Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, Maryland where he studied with Violaine Melancon of the Peabody Trio. After finishing has Bachelor's degree, Mr. Radliff has worked and performed in around the state of Florida for several orchestras, and made appearances at the Kennedy Center for the Arts in Washington, DC and Carnegie Hall in New York City.
Mr. Radliff received his Master of Music in Performance from Montclair State University under the tutelage of Weigang Li of the Shanghai String Quartet. In the Spring of 2015 Mr. Radliff concertized for the first time in Shanghai, China, performing with the East China Normal Symphony Orchestra, as well as being featured on a select chamber concert.
Alessandra Tiraterra
Alessandra Tiraterra has drawn the attention of the musical world when she started concertizing at the age of fourteen. She has performed hundreds of recitals for festivals and institutions in Europe and in the US, including Carnegie Hall Weill Recital Hall, Steinway Society, Rialto Center for the Arts in Atlanta, Wiener Saal in Salzburg, Salle Cortot in Paris, Teatro Ghione and Teatro Marcello in Rome, Festival Musicale delle Nazioni, Sabaudia Musica Festival, Mallery Concert Series, Noble Arts Recital Series, Zimmerli Art Museum The Art of Music Concert series.
Winner of many national and international piano and music competitions and prizes, she studied at the "A. Casella" Conservatory of Music in Italy (Bachelor of Music), the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris "A. Cortot", France (Brevet d'Execution), Georgia State University (Master of Music), Mozarteum Universität in Salzburg, Austria (Postgraduate Studies), and Temple University, where she completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in May 2017.
​She owes her formation to great pianists and pedagogues, including Sergio Perticaroli, Marcella Crudeli, Joaquin Soriano, Sergei Dorensky, and Charles Abramovic. She has taught in the college and pre-college divisions. Students from her studio are regularly prize winners in piano competitions. She is an active member of College Music Society (CMS), Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), European Piano Teachers Association (EPTA), and Mid-Atlantic Music Teachers Guild (MAMTG).
Alessandra often teaches master-classes and is invited as a jury member of piano competitions. She has presented research works for CMS and MTNA, and has published with Dante University of America Press. She is also a composer.
Hasmik Zamgochian
Mrs. Hasmik Zamgochian is trained in the classical Armenian and Russian methods. She studied with famous musicians and teachers in the former Soviet Union and started her music education at the age of seven.
Mrs. Zamgochian earned the Bachelor of Music degree in Music Pedagogy in Armenia and her Masters of Music degree from Connecticut State, Hartford University.
​Mrs. Zamgochian is known for her distinguished teaching career. Her students have earned distinctive marks of piano competitions. She offers professional training for her students attending MAMTG's Student Music Festival, AYTM Competitions and concerts in Carnegie Hall, NYC.
​She is able to teach piano lessons in English, Russian and Armenian and has taught masterclasses in piano. A winner of several awards, Hasmik is a member of Connecticut Music Teacher National Association, MAMTG and Connecticut Accordion Association.
She has received wide recognition as a musician and teacher and has served as the piano instructor and chair of the piano department of the Cultural center in Armenia. Mrs. Zamgochian served as an adjudicator for music competitions in Armenia, New York and New Jersey.
Jordan Young
Percussion & Piano
Mr. Jordan Young is a premier jazz drummer in New York City. He has performed and recorded as a sideman for many top jazz artists including Wynton Marsalis, Peter Bernstein, Vic Juris and Ben Monder to name a few.
​Jordan has recorded three albums as a leader. His debut recording entitled "The Jordan Young Group" was self released in 2010. "Cymbal Melodies" (2013) and "Jazz Jukebox (2016) were both released on the PosiTone record label. These recordings were met with critical acclaim. In 2016, Jordan completed the prestigious Artist Diploma at The Julliard School which included traveling around the globe representing Julliard.
Jordan leads a successful organ trio that tours internationally and performs steadily in and around the New York City area. Jordan also has an active private teaching studio in Brooklyn, NY.
Christina Atkinson
Voice, Musical Theatre & Piano
Born and raised in New Jersey, Christina Atkinson received her Bachelor's Degree in Music with a voice and musical theater concentration from Montclair State University. Christina has instructed students in private lessons and in classroom settings for over sixteen years. A choreographer before moving to California in 2006, she's since continued to teach music in California and New Jersey through her music school, JAK Music Studios. Christina was involved in the local Californian Victor Valley community theater Standing Room Only production of Annie as Grace Farrell, directed vocal music for SRO's Thoroughly Modern Millie, Annie and Hairspray and adjudicated for Apple Valley Idol. Relocating back to New Jersey recently, Mrs. Atkinson continues teaching music, sharing professional experiences and inspiring students to appreciate the musical arts.
Lilla Heinrich Szasz
Transylvanian-American soprano LILLA HEINRICH SZÁSZ has won critical acclaim for her "appealing sound, agile coloratura and oversize wit" (The New York Times) and has performed to great acclaim in both operatic and concert repertoire across the US and Europe, including Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, Salzburg, France, Italy, Israel and Canada. Ms. Heinrich Szász is a graduate of The Juilliard School, where she earned both Bachelor and Master of Music degrees with honors and studied vocal performance and pedagogy under the tutelage of Marlena Malas, vocal coach and mentor of Pavarotti. She's also founder of NXT Level Vocals and has been featured in Business Insider, WQXR Radio, truTV, Alive Magazine, Opera Today, Seen & Heard International.
She has received Recognition of Excellence from the Tri-M Music Honors Society, and has won over $150,000 in competitions including the the American Prize Competition (1st Prize), Joy in Singing Competition, Metropolitan Opera National Council Eastern District Competition, Giulio Gari International Competition, NJ Teachers Association Competition (1st Place), Music Teacher's National Association Competition (1st Place), among many others. She's performed with the Saint Louis Symphony, Wallingford Symphony Orchestra, Juilliard Jazz Orchestra, Israeli Chamber Orchestra and Juilliard Orchestra led by Maestro Alan Gilbert.
Previous roles include Lucinde in Gluck's Armide in a Metropolitan Opera and Juilliard Opera co production, Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro at Opera on the Avalon, Ella Burling in Tobias Picker's Emmeline with the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Noémie in Cendrillon with Juilliard Opera under the baton of Emmanuel Villaume, Belinda in Dido and Aeneas, Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Laetitia in The Old Maid and the Thief – all with Juilliard Opera. Additionally, she has covered Georgettein La Rondine and Costanza in Riccardo Primo (Opera Theatre of Saint Louis), Sophiein Der Rosenkavalier and Adina in L'Elisir d'Amore (Chautauqua), Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Zhou in Kommilitonen, and Drusilla in L'Incoronazione di Poppea (Juilliard).
Alyssa Morgan
Alyssa Morgan is a middle school choir director in Jackson, NJ. She has been teaching vocal music in public schools for five years and teaching privately for several studios, including her own for eight years. Alyssa has previously been an adjudicator for the New Jersey Honors Choir and has adjudicated different vocal and instrumental ensembles in school settings. Alyssa's passion is music and enjoys helping other music students achieve their highest musical abilities through education and performance.
Stephanie Mangioglu
Stephanie Mangioglu is an active singer, pianist, organist and music director in the tri-state area. Theatre credits: Next to Normal (MD/Keys 1), Footloose (AMD/Keys 1), Murder Ballad (Co-MD), Avenue Q (MD/Conductor), Rent (Co-MD/Keys 1), Peter and the Starcatcher (MD/Keys 1), Big Fish (MD/Keys 1), Northern NJ Community Theatre Premiere Ghost (MD/Keys 1), The Producers (Assis. MD/Keys 2), Pippin (MD/Keys 1), Newsies (Co-MD), Godspell - 2012 Revival (MD/Conductor). Stage Credits: Catone in Utica (Arbace) alongside Opera Lafayette, Mendelsohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream (Chorus). Stephanie offers lessons in ear training/aural skills and is the accompanist for the Youth Division Choruses at the New Jersey Conservatory of Music based out of Boonton, NJ.
Snir Yamin
Voice, Guitar & Ensembles
Snir Yamin is an Israeli singer/songwriter and multi-talented musician based in New York City. His soothing vocals and smooth guitar playing skills combine to form a coalescent mix of emotional tranquility. His "Urban Stories" EP released in 2014, was described by Sputnik Music as a "must have" which gained tremendous attention on his promotional world tour. Snir began his musical journey and has refined his musical talents through live performances, dedication and consistent composing. Accumulating a solid fan base and notable success in Israel, he steps into the spotlight in the USA. Continuously treating fans to delightful sounds, Snir raised the bar with his latest EP entitled "Concrete City" in 2016. Influenced by artists like John Mayer, Bob Dylan, Bon Iyer and Jose Gonzales, Snir Yamin aspires to bring positivity to his listeners across the globe and spread his message to the world song after song.
Gwen Cartwright
Ms. Gwen is a soprano from Omaha, Nebraska. She recently received her masters degree from Westminster Choir College in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy. Prior to her graduate studies Gwen earned her undergraduate degree in vocal performance from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Gwen has performed in a variety of operatic roles such as Countessa in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, and Constance in Polenc's Dialogues of the Carmelites. Gwen's background includes performances as a Jazz vocalist and performer in musical theater productions. At Broadway Dreams Foundation, Gwen participated in classes and performances with broadway performers and performed throughout her undergraduate career in Italy and China, Princeton Festival and Steamboat Springs. Gwen's passion is singing and looks forward to hearing all the voice and musical theatre students at the upcoming Student Music Festival.
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Student Music Festival ​★ Music, Voice & Musical Theatre Competitions ★ Evaluations / Assessments ★ Talent Showcases ★ Ensemble Showcases ★ Instrumental Showcases
Piano Competitions ★ Voice Competitions ★ Musical Theatre Competitions ★ Guitar Competitions ★ Strings Competitions
​To register for MAMTG's Student Music Festival mail Registration Forms by 2/1. Make check payable to MAMTG PO Box 1323 South Plainfield, NJ 07080.
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