private teachers

Marcantonio Barone, piano Born in 1962, American pianist Marcantonio Barone made his debut at the age of ten at a Philadelphia Orchestra children's concert. He returned in 1990 as soloist on the Orchestra's subscription series under the direction of William Smith. He has also performed as soloist with the Saint Louis and Houston Symphony Orchestras, the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, among others. He has collaborated with such eminent conductors as Sir Simon Rattle, Leon Fleisher, Arther Fiedler, and Barry Tuckwell, and has performed in solo recitals at the Metropolitan Museum and at Weill Recital Hall in New York, at the Wigmore Hall in London, and at the Large Hall of the Saint Petersburg Filarmoniya. He performs frequently as a member of the Lenape Chamber Ensemble, 1807 and Friends, Orchestra 2001, and many other groups. He has given the world premiere performances of works by several distinguished composers, including George Rochberg, David Finko, Gerald Levinson, and Thomas Whitman. In addition to his duties at Swarthmore, Mr. Barone is also on the faculty of the Bryn Mawr Conservatory of Music, where he is head of the piano department.

Barbara Govatos, violin Barbara Govatos holds the Wilson H. and Barbara B. Taylor chair of the first violin section of the Philadelphia Orchestra and was given the C. Hartman Kuhn Award for enhancing the standards and the reputation of the Fabulous Philadelphians. She and Marcantonio Barone were presented with the Samuel Sanders Collaborative Artists award by the Classical Recording Foundation in recognition of their recording of the complete Beethoven Sonatas for violin and piano on Bridge Records.

Nancy Jantsch, voice Dr. Nancy Jantsch has been teaching Voice at Swarthmore College since 2011. She moved to Philadelphia from Ohio where she had been teaching voice and Opera Workshop at Kenyon College in Gambier, OH. She completed her Doctorate of Musical Arts degree from The Ohio State University, a Master's Degree in Opera Theater from Oberlin College, as well as a Bachelor's of Music in Vocal Performance from Oberlin College, and a Bachelor's of Music Education from Baldwin-Wallace College near Cleveland, OH.

Joe Mass, guitar Joe Mass is a Philadelphia born guitarist/multi-instrumentalist who has performed with Jon Bon Jovi, Lance Quinn, Robert Hazard, and Essra Mowhawk. Throughout his career Joe as always been for hire as a studio musician and sideman. His 1999 work with David Fox won the John Lennon songwriting competition.

Udi Bar-David, cello Udi Bar-David is widely considered one of the most versatile cellists in the world, performing on international stages with both classical and ethnic musicians. Udi studied in Tel-Aviv, with Leonard Rose at the Juilliard School, and Orchestral Conducting at Curtis Institute of Music. Udi won the International Villa Lobos Competition in Brazil, and appeared as a soloist with numerous orchestras, including the Jerusalem Symphony and Philly Pops. He was featured on the TODAY show, and was represented by Astral Artistic Services and the Center for Jewish Culture and Creativity. He has served as principal cellist with many orchestras, and has been a member of the Philadelphia Orchestra since the late 1980s.

Laurie Ticehurst, piano Laurie Ticehurst received the degrees of Bachelor of Music and Master of Music from the University of Colorado and later studied at the Peabody Conservatory of Music. Her principal teachers were Clarence Adler, Leon Fleisher, Rosina Lhevinne, and Susan Starr. She was pianist of Amati Trio and served on the faculties of the University of Colorado and Iowa State University before joining the faculty of the Bryn Mawr Conservatory of Music in 1974. She has given solo and chamber performances throughout the United States and was the Recipient of the Paderewski Award, the U.S. Steel Grant for Humanities, and the Denver Symphony Young Artists’ Prize.

Clara Rottsolk, voice A native of Seattle, the soprano Clara Rottsolk has been lauded by The New York Times for her “clear, appealing voice and expressive conviction” and by The Philadelphia Inquirer for the “opulent tone [with which] every phrase has such a communicative emotional presence.” In a repertoire extending from the Renaissance to the contemporary, she has appeared as soloist with ensembles such as Tempesta di Mare, St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, Philadelphia Bach Collegium, Trinity Wall Street Choir, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Bach Sinfonia, Handel Choir of Baltimore, and Ensemble Florilège under conductors including Joshua Rifkin, Bruno Weill, John Scott, David Effron, and Andrew Megill. Among her stage roles are Micaëla (Carmen), Dido (Dido and Aeneas), Arminda (La finta giardiniera), and Laetitia (The Old Maid and the Thief).

Catherine Kei Fukuda, violin Based in Philadelphia, Kei Fukuda is a violinist, music educator, and passionate advocate for music as a vehicle for social change. She is continuously exploring ways to use music education and performance as tools for inspiring, empowering, and uniting people of all backgrounds. Kei performs regularly with the Delaware Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Ballet, Philly POPS, and Britt Festival Orchestra and has played with Kansas City Symphony and Akron Symphony Orchestra.

Lara Nie, voice One of New Yorks most prominent German lied specialists (NY Magazine), and an intensely expressive artist (Cleveland Plain Dealer), mezzo-soprano Lara Nie is one of today's most versatile and accomplished singers. As soloist, chamber musician, and recitalist, her performances are recognized for interpretive passion and sophistication. Lara made her Carnegie Hall debut at Weill Recital Hall in 2006, and has appeared at Ravinia, Clevelands Severance Hall, and Munichs Gasteig Hall, with the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Sun Valley Summer Symphony, and Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival.

Keiko Sato, piano Keiko Sato received her Bachelor of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music in 1982, studying with Mieczyslaw Horszowski and Gary Graffman. She has both a Master of Music and a Master of Musical Arts degree from the Yale School of Music, where she studied with Seymour Lipkin and Claude Frank. She has received various prizes in international and national piano competitions. Ms. Sato has performed as soloist with numerous orchestras and played recitals in Japan, where she was born, and throughout the United States.

Jason Long, jazz piano ason Long is a Philadelphia native and a 25 year professional musician, arranger and music educator in the Philadelphia/New York/Washington DC area. Jason has performed and recorded with numerous local and national acts during the past 28 years as both a pianist and a bassist, including Bobby Caldwell, Arturo Sandoval, Brian Bromberg, Will Lee and Andrew Neu, among many others.
Marcantonio Barone, piano Born in 1962, American pianist Marcantonio Barone made his debut at the age of ten at a Philadelphia Orchestra children's concert. He returned in 1990 as soloist on the Orchestra's subscription series under the direction of William Smith. He has also performed as soloist with the Saint Louis and Houston Symphony Orchestras, the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, among others. He has collaborated with such eminent conductors as Sir Simon Rattle, Leon Fleisher, Arther Fiedler, and Barry Tuckwell, and has performed in solo recitals at the Metropolitan Museum and at Weill Recital Hall in New York, at the Wigmore Hall in London, and at the Large Hall of the Saint Petersburg Filarmoniya. He performs frequently as a member of the Lenape Chamber Ensemble, 1807 and Friends, Orchestra 2001, and many other groups. He has given the world premiere performances of works by several distinguished composers, including George Rochberg, David Finko, Gerald Levinson, and Thomas Whitman. In addition to his duties at Swarthmore, Mr. Barone is also on the faculty of the Bryn Mawr Conservatory of Music, where he is head of the piano department.