Adam Birke is a violinist and private music instructor from Baldwin, NY. He holds a Bachelor’s in Violin Performance and a Master’s in Musicology from the Aaron Copland School of Music at CUNY Queens College, where he studied violin with Dr. Anne Yarrow.
Since 2005, Adam has had extensive experience teaching violin, viola, and piano, as well as tutoring music theory, analysis, ear training, and history for people from ages 3-65 in individual and group settings. His teaching experience is not limited to traditional, in person lessons as he has run a thriving, successful virtual studio, hosted and run three virtual concerts (one virtual recital and two chamber music concerts), and worked with the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra as a virtual chamber music coach and workshop presenter in the Spring and Summer of 2020.
In addition to his work in music, he has also been a fitness coach since 2010 and is in demand as a coach, instructor, and presenter for his exemplary ability to engage with children and adults alike.
Adam is the Assistant Concertmaster of the South Shore Symphony. He led as Concertmaster in the 2017, 2018, and 2019 productions of The Nutcracker He was also featured in March of 2019 as a soloist, alongside Catherine Birke for a performance of Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins.
Adam has played with
numerous other ensembles including The Saxophone Project, Molloy College
Community Orchestra (Concertmaster), the Queens College Orchestra, the Queens
College Chamber Orchestra, and the Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra.
Conductor, Pianist and Composer Scott Gentile has performed in Canada, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Chile and across the USA.
In 2019, he received his first international honor for his conducting by winning the 2nd prize at the Klangkraft Dirigierwettbewerbs Conducting Competition. In January of 2020, he accomplished the feat of winning back-to-back competitions at the International Conductors Workshop & Competition in Atlanta, Georgia and the Eduardo Browne Conducting Competition in Santiago, Chile.
Scott received his Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from the Whalen School of Music where he was the Premier Talent Scholar and winner of the Mary Hayes North Piano Competition. He received his Master of Music degree in Piano and Conducting from the Aaron Copland School of Music, where he was the winner of the Maurice Peress Conducting Award, the 2017 Concerto Competition, and the recipient of the prestigious Arthur Balsam Grant. He completed his advanced studies in composition at the Berklee College of Music.
Most
recently he was the composer of the film score for “American Murderer.” The
film is scheduled to be released on the festival circuit next year. He is
excited to conduct the Tzu-Chi Youth Orchestra (New York) for the 2021-2022
season.
Debbie, Liang-Kuan Shen, holds a BA degree from Case Western Reserve University’s Music Department in 1996 and an MA from New York University Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions in 1998 as well as an initial certificate from Queens College music education in 2007.
Ms. Shen is an active performer in chamber music ensembles, bands, woodwind ensembles, and chamber orchestras. Her honors include the first place in the Taiwan National Music Competition in flute; Case Western Reserve University’s Kennedy Prize for Creative Work in Music; and an Outstanding Achievement Award in Graduate Instrumental Studies from New York University. Ms. Shen also coached some chamber music group in the music camp in New Jersey as well as the high school bands and orchestras. She also performed at Donnell Library Center in NYC and Zuang Ren Taiwanese Community Journal in Queens as a guest flutist.
She was also appointed to perform
Debussy “Syrinx” with a ballet dancer at NYU. She has two recordings of a short
film “Yoni” and “The mere of haven” with a tape synthesizer. She is very
interested in promoting and performing new music. Ms. Shen is a performer as
well as an adjunct professor flute at Nyack College.
