Junior Session Faculty
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Nancy Bidlack, Director, cellist, teacher, and administrator of the Senior Session since 1970. She became the full-time Director and Executive Director in 2004. She created the Junior Session in 1990 and has been its only Director. She is Assistant Principal Cellist of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic and the Bethlehem Bach Choir Orchestra.  For 26 years, she served as Principal Cellist of the Lehigh Valley Chamber Orchestra. Nancy also conducts the Junior String Philharmonic, which is part of the Lehigh Valley Young People’s Philharmonic. She and her husband, Jerry, founded this youth orchestra in 1976.

Jerry T. Bidlack, Orchestra and Choir Director, was the full-time Conductor at Kinhaven from 1968-2003. He served as Director from 1981 – 2003. Jerry was a professor of music at Lehigh University for 25 years, and served as chairman for six years. In 1976 he co-founded the Young People’s Philharmonic of the Lehigh Valley along with his wife, Nancy.

Caroline Dawson, Administrative Assistant, works year round for Kinhaven and is assistant to the director for Junior Session. She is the parent of an alum, Nevin, and she participates in the Adult Chamber Music Workshop as a flutist. She has been invaluable to the Kinhaven daily workings for four years.

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Charly Akert, Cello, grew up in Alaska and attended the
University of Colorado where he earned his BM. He received his MM at San Fransisco Conservatory and is presently working on an Artists
Certificate in Chamber Music. His principal teachers were Hans Jorgen
Jensen, Mark Kowsower, and presently works with Jennifer Cult. He is
performing with the Nexus String Quartet in California.

Kenneth Bean, Trumpet, graduated from Oberlin Conservatory with a BM in trumpet performance where he studied with Roy Poper and Ryan Anthony. He then received his Masters in Music Education at Jackson State University in Mississippi. Living in Philadelphia, Kenneth has performed with the Haddonfield Symphony in New Jersey, and presently teaches trumpet in the Philadelphia Settlement Schools.

Mari Black, Violin, received her MM and Artist Diploma from the Yale School of Music.  Active as a classical performer and teacher, she is also a progressive jazz and folk musician, appearing with artists such as Mark O'Connor and Willie Ruff in live performance and media broadcasts.  Mari is currently completing her doctorate at Columbia University's Teachers College, where her research focuses on developing a college music curriculum that features the study of many different styles of music.

Robert Blaine, Brass, received his BM  from Indiana U., his MM from Catholic U. and his DMA from Eastman.  He has studied with Edwin Anderson, Milton Stephens and John Marcellus.  He has served on the faculties of the University of Louisiana at Monroe, SUNY Geneseo, Nazareth College and Eastman School of Music.  He has held positions as principle trombone of the National Symphony of the Dominican Republic and second trombone of the Charleston (SC) Symphony. Presently, Dr. Blaine is the Director of Orchestra Studies at Jackson State University in Mississippi and performs with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra.


Shawn Coleman, Clarinet, graduated from Juilliard with a BM where he studied with Ayako Oshima. He received his MM from the University of Colorado. Shawn was then awarded principal clarinet of the Wyoming Symphony. He is presently working as a legislative assistant in Washington DC to Congressman Jared Polis of Colorado.

Sandy Dennis, Piano, received her BM and MMT degrees from Oberlin Conservatory, and her MM from The Juilliard School.  Her teachers include Beveridge Webster, Arthur Dann, and Bonnee Hendricks Hoy.  Sandy currently teaches at The Williston School in Easthampton, MA, and privately, and performs regularly throughout the New England area.

Kathleen Foster, Viola/Violin, graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor's degree and from the Mannes College of Music with an M.M. Her primary teachers were Michael Tree, John Graham, and Mikhail Boguslavsky. She plays Principal Viola for the orchestras of Musica Sacra, New York Oratorio Society, Sacred Music in a Sacred Space, and Lake George Opera. She also regularly freelances with the New Jersey Symphony, Pennsylvania Ballet, and many other groups. She has recently performed chamber music at BargeMusic, Weill Recital Hall, Symphony Space, and the Wintergarden Theater.

Martha Knieriem, Viola/Violin, studied at Hartt College, Ithaca College, the University of North Carolina, and the Eastman School of Music. Her principal teachers include Heidi Castleman and Scott Nickrenz. She teaches at the Deerfield Academy, the Williston-Northampton School, Smith College Campus School and the Community Music School of Springfield. She performs with the Hartford Symphony.

Kenneth Kwo, Viola, was a double major in math and viola at Oberlin College and went on to the University of Iowa to earn his Master's degree in viola. His primary teachers were David Becker, Kathryn Plummer and William Preucil. Ken has been a member of the Florida Orchestra since 1984.

Amber McPherson, Violin, completed her undergraduate studies at North Carolina School of the Arts and later earned a degree in early music performance practice at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Leipzig, Germany where she has lived since 1999. There she is active as a freelance Baroque violinist performing and recording  primarily in Germany and the Czech Republic with ensembles such as the Dresdner Instrumental Concert, Telemannisches Collegium Michaelstein, Chemnitzer Barock Orchester, and Hofmusici.   

Fiona Murray, Violin, Primary instructors include Sidney Harth, Dorothy Mauney, Catherine Tait, Renata Knific and Roland and Almita Vamos. She also studied chamber music with members of the Tokyo String Quartet, Ward Davenny, Michael McClelland and Nathaniel Rosen. A graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy, she holds a Bachelor’s in Music Degree from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana and a MM and Artist’s Diploma from Yale School of Music. Fiona is on the faculty of Neighborhood Music School in New Haven, CT, and is the Founder and Artistic Director of Elm City ChamberFest in New Haven, CT.  She has also served on the faculty of Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan, Concordia College Conservatory in New York, and Oxford Summer Chamber Music, Queen’s College, England.
     
Amali Premawardhana, Cello, lives in New York City. She completed her undergraduate studies at the Manhattan School of Music in 2007. Her primary teachers have included Julia Lichten and Margo Tatgenhorst-Drakos. Recent performance experience include the New England Symphonic Ensemble, Zero Gravity Contemporary Music Ensemble, and for esteemed figures such as Kurt Masur, Yo-Yo Ma and Ron Leonard. She currently plays in Tiger Lilies, a duo project that seeks to blend folk music with creative improvisations and arrangements. She also co-directs Classical Revolution New York, a music series that brings classical chamber music performance to unusual venues and audiences all across the city.

Ken Rescsanski, Double Bass, has his Bachelor’s of Music in Double Bass performance from the Eastman School of Music where his primary teacher was James VanDemark.  He has had the opportunity to play with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra in Denver and the Waterbury Symphony Orchestra in Connecticut. He has most recently been freelancing around upstate NY and teaching lessons and running sectionals at the Nazareth College of Rochester.

Photo: Peter Schultz and Mary Watt
Peter Schultz, Flute, is on the faculty of Phillips Exeter Academy, where he teaches music theory, coaches chamber music and conducts the Chamber Orchestra and Wind Ensemble. He completed his doctorate in flute performance at the Manhattan School of Music in 2002 as a student of Michael Parloff. He has been a winner of the New York Flute Club’s Young Artist Competition and the National Flute Association’s Professional Performer’s competition.

After completing his Master’s degree at SUNY Stony Brook with Samuel Baron, Peter joined the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music’s pre-college division. He continued his study of the flute for many years with Eleanor Lawrence and as a regular participant in the seminars of Marcel Moyse. An active freelancer for many years, Peter has performed with the Bergen Philharmonic, Adelphi Chamber Orchestra, Bethlehem Bach Festival, and the New Hampshire Symphony. Peter teaches and performs at Kinhaven’s Adult Chamber Music Workshop, and both the Junior and Senior sessions.

Mary Watt, Oboe, received her bachelor and master’s degrees from The Juilliard School, where she was the winner of the Walter Naumberg Orchestral Prize. She studied with Ronald Roseman at Juilliard, Richard Killmer at the Aspen Music Festival and with John Mack prior to coming to Juilliard. After teaching at Virginia Tech University, she returned to New York, where she was active as a performer with orchestras, chamber music groups and on Broadway. As Principal Oboe with the Bethlehem Bach Choir, she has performed at Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall and recorded several CDs. Since moving to New England, she has continued to teach and perform, playing regularly with the New England Bach Festival and New Hampshire, Vermont and Springfield Symphonies. She teaches oboe and coaches chamber music at Phillips Exeter Academy. In addition to teaching oboe at Kinhaven’s Senior and Junior sessions, Mary directs the Adult Chamber Music Workshop.

Naho Tsutsui Parrini, Violin, is an active recitalist and a chamber musician in the New York Metropolitan area whereshe is a member of the Transfiguration Ensemble and the Contemporary Chamber Players. She has given solo and chamber music recitals throughout the United States, Japan, Germany and Bulgaria. Her live performances have been featured nationally on WQXR and Bulgarian National Television. She received her Bachelor of Music from the North Carolina School of the Arts, where she was a winner of a numerous scholarships and the Concerto Competition. She received her Master of Music and her Doctorate of Musical Arts from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.  Her principle teachers included Kevin Lawrence, Mitchell Stern, Pamela Frank and Philip Setzer. She is on the faculty at the Ross School in East Hampton, and is the former Artistic Director of the Saturday Academy at Ross. She is a Resident Teaching Artist at the Bloomingdale School of Music in New York City and a member of the Hyperion String Quartet.

Maria Wildhaber, Bassoon, holds a Bachelor of Music from The University of Arizona, Master of Music from Yale University and a Doctor of Musical Arts in bassoon performance from State University of New York at Stony Brook where she studied with Frank Morelli. She has collaborated with the Macao Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic,
Philharmonia of Russia, UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra in Switzerland. She has worked with world famous conductors including Pierre Boulez, James Levine, Michael Tilson Thomas, Christoph von Dohnanyi and Gerard Schwartz. Her performances have been broadcast on TV stations in the US, Europe, South America and Asia as well as on New York’s WQXR, Washington’s WGMS and Hong Kong’s RTHK radio stations. Maria is currently on the faculty at 92nd Street Y School of Music in New York City, Bergen Academy of Music and Art in New Jersey, and is the bassoonist of the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra in Switzerland and the East Coast Contemporary Ensemble.

Camp Staff

Activities Counselors

Charly Akert, Kwabena Edwards, Andrew Rowan, Adaiha MacAdam-Somer, Veronica Jurkiewicz

Chefs

Nate Reit, Nicole Daley, and Divia Melwani.

Kitchen Staff

Natasha Berry, Tim Boyer, Kwabena Edwards, Devon Nelson,
and Andrew Rowan.