Chelsea Ainsworth, originally from North Carolina, is a recent graduate from The Juilliard School. Upon graduation she worked with David Parker in New York and then moved to Germany to work in the Staatstheater with Johannes Wieland dance company. Her dance training began at the age of 8 at Pierrette Sadler Dancers where she studied Jazz, Ballet, Tap, and Modern dance. She was accepted into the North Carolina School of the Arts in high school as a ballet major. As a student at the Juilliard School she has performed works by Adam Hougland, David Parker, Johannes Wieland, Twyla Tharp, Paul Taylor, Jerome Robbins, Martha Graham ,Aszure Barton, and Jose Limon. She teaches creative movement lessons and works with some non-profit organization sin New York, ASTEP, CLIMB, and TOC Music. Through successful arts immersion projects in the communities of Florida, New Orleans, Bronxville, North Carolina, California, New York City, The Philippines, Japan, and New Jersey she has provided free, accessible arts education and free, public performances. This awareness has led her to dedicate herself to founding the seeds of art in communities where arts education is not well-established. Along with teaching and dancing she has started to focus her work on interdisciplinary performance as well as educational outreach. She is currently teaching at the Wharton School in New Jersey, the Chen Dance Center in Chinatown, as well as dancing with David Parker. In the upcoming years she is excited to see where her dance, outreach, and teaching career lead her.
Leonides D. Arpon a Filipino born in Israel studied at the Bat-Dor Dance School under the direction of Rosaline Subel Kassel, before joining the Bat-Dor Dance Company under the direction of Jeannette Ordman where he worked with world renowned choreographers such as Luciano Canitto, Randy Duncan and Igal Perry. Upon arriving to New York in 1999 Mr. Arpon was a principal dancer with Karole Armitage, Arthur Aviles, Hernando Cortez, Sean Curran, Fredrick Earl Mosley, Nathan Trice, Edisa Weeks, Johaness Wieland and Kevin Wynn. He also studied Argentine Tango with Ivan Terazzas, Sara Grdan, Karina Romero, Dardo Galletto and at Dance Manhattan in New York. Mr Arpon is the recipient of the American Israel Cultural Foundation Scholarship and the Princess Grace Award. He has taught workshops in contemporary/modern dance throughout Israel, Japan and the United States as well as presented his choreography in various venues in NYC. He has served as Artistic Director, producing major events as well as working with leaders within the Filipino American community. He also had the honor of choreographing on 240 of the Young Mens Division Gymnastics/Athletics Group for the Soka Gakkai International's East Territory "Rock the Era" Peace Festival at the Liacouras Center in PA with 11,000 people in attendance.
Kyle Netzeband studied advertising at the University of Colorado at Boulder while developing a practice in painting, printmaking, and illustration. After graduation he spent several months traveling through Central and South America exploring the possibilities of his creative output, painting murals in exchange for places to stay and contributing his artwork to welcome communities. The following year he went to Indonesia to study yoga, volunteering at Satyagraha Ashram in Ubud, Bali and teaching yoga to impoverished children in East Bali. Currently he is building a house in Panama, living in the remote fishing village of Bucaro and opening up his home as an art studio for kids after school. Last summer he had his first opportunity to teach visual art in a formal classroom setting through the organization ASTEP (Artists Striving to End Poverty) at the IRC (International Rescue Committee) Youth Summer Academy in Brooklyn, New York. As a visual art teacher he is passionate about the creative process and believes in supporting programs that allow kids to recognize their own creative potential. Whether advancing his personal practice as an artist or collaborating with others, he's dedicated to continue his involvement in art education and outreach.
Brian Gnojek is co-principal and Eb clarinetist of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Brian has performed as a substitute musician with the Kansas City Symphony, New World Symphony, and Wichita Symphony orchestras, and was principal clarinetist of the Kansas City Philharmonia from 2009-2010. Since graduating with his Masters degree, Brian has been a
teacher and freelance orchestral and chamber performer in the Kansas City and Chicago areas. Brian is also a member of the Civic Orchestra’s MusiCorps education and advocacy program. As a member of the MusiCorps woodwind quintet, Brian performs at elementary schools, high schools, and in family concerts at community venues throughout the city,
often for students or families who have little or no exposure to classical music. Brian holds a Bachelor of Music degree in clarinet performance from Florida State University, and a Master of Music degree from the University of Minnesota. His principal teachers are Burt Hara, Frank Kowalsky, and Fred Ormand. An enthusiast of both classical and jazz styles Brian has studied jazz improvisation with William Kennedy and Eddie Daniels.
Kendra Samson is from the Philippines. At age twelve, she began her formal dance training at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Dance School (CCPDS) where she performed in their annual line of concerts. She danced with Ballet Philippines, the company adjoining the school, in their production of the Nutcracker. Kendra was accepted into the Philippine High School for the Arts, a public, secular, non-profit institution geared towards the preservation of the arts in the country where in her junior year she participated in the 9th Asian Pacific International Ballet Competition in Tokyo, Japan. She has choreographed for The Juilliard School’s Studio Dance Workshops and collaborated with a Juilliard composer in Choreo/Comp 2006. Kendra has performed works by Janis Brenner, Matthew Neenan, Susan Marshall, Melanie Demers and Nicolo Fonte.
Originally from Portland, Oregon, bassoonist Midori Samson is a second year undergraduate student of Frank Morelli at The Juilliard School. There, she is a member of the Juilliard Orchestra and studies chamber music withmembers of the New York Woodwind Quintet. She has been awarded fellowships at several music festivals including the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, National Orchestral Institute, and New York String Orchestra Seminar. Midori first appeared as a soloist in 2009 with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony as their concerto competition winner. That same year, she was selected as a finalist in the Brevard Music Center and Vancouver Symphony concerto competitions.
A new music enthusiast, Midori is a member of the New Juilliard Ensemble and AXIOM. She also recently gave the world premiere of Molly Joyce's Toy Cathedrals for solo bassoon and electronics, written for and dedicated to Midori. Aside from performing, she is passionate about educational outreach and other than Project Philippines, has been involved with projects throughout New York, New Orleans, and Guatemala.
Leonides D. Arpon a Filipino born in Israel studied at the Bat-Dor Dance School under the direction of Rosaline Subel Kassel, before joining the Bat-Dor Dance Company under the direction of Jeannette Ordman where he worked with world renowned choreographers such as Luciano Canitto, Randy Duncan and Igal Perry. Upon arriving to New York in 1999 Mr. Arpon was a principal dancer with Karole Armitage, Arthur Aviles, Hernando Cortez, Sean Curran, Fredrick Earl Mosley, Nathan Trice, Edisa Weeks, Johaness Wieland and Kevin Wynn. He also studied Argentine Tango with Ivan Terazzas, Sara Grdan, Karina Romero, Dardo Galletto and at Dance Manhattan in New York. Mr Arpon is the recipient of the American Israel Cultural Foundation Scholarship and the Princess Grace Award. He has taught workshops in contemporary/modern dance throughout Israel, Japan and the United States as well as presented his choreography in various venues in NYC. He has served as Artistic Director, producing major events as well as working with leaders within the Filipino American community. He also had the honor of choreographing on 240 of the Young Mens Division Gymnastics/Athletics Group for the Soka Gakkai International's East Territory "Rock the Era" Peace Festival at the Liacouras Center in PA with 11,000 people in attendance.
Kyle Netzeband studied advertising at the University of Colorado at Boulder while developing a practice in painting, printmaking, and illustration. After graduation he spent several months traveling through Central and South America exploring the possibilities of his creative output, painting murals in exchange for places to stay and contributing his artwork to welcome communities. The following year he went to Indonesia to study yoga, volunteering at Satyagraha Ashram in Ubud, Bali and teaching yoga to impoverished children in East Bali. Currently he is building a house in Panama, living in the remote fishing village of Bucaro and opening up his home as an art studio for kids after school. Last summer he had his first opportunity to teach visual art in a formal classroom setting through the organization ASTEP (Artists Striving to End Poverty) at the IRC (International Rescue Committee) Youth Summer Academy in Brooklyn, New York. As a visual art teacher he is passionate about the creative process and believes in supporting programs that allow kids to recognize their own creative potential. Whether advancing his personal practice as an artist or collaborating with others, he's dedicated to continue his involvement in art education and outreach.
Brian Gnojek is co-principal and Eb clarinetist of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Brian has performed as a substitute musician with the Kansas City Symphony, New World Symphony, and Wichita Symphony orchestras, and was principal clarinetist of the Kansas City Philharmonia from 2009-2010. Since graduating with his Masters degree, Brian has been a
teacher and freelance orchestral and chamber performer in the Kansas City and Chicago areas. Brian is also a member of the Civic Orchestra’s MusiCorps education and advocacy program. As a member of the MusiCorps woodwind quintet, Brian performs at elementary schools, high schools, and in family concerts at community venues throughout the city,
often for students or families who have little or no exposure to classical music. Brian holds a Bachelor of Music degree in clarinet performance from Florida State University, and a Master of Music degree from the University of Minnesota. His principal teachers are Burt Hara, Frank Kowalsky, and Fred Ormand. An enthusiast of both classical and jazz styles Brian has studied jazz improvisation with William Kennedy and Eddie Daniels.
Kendra Samson is from the Philippines. At age twelve, she began her formal dance training at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Dance School (CCPDS) where she performed in their annual line of concerts. She danced with Ballet Philippines, the company adjoining the school, in their production of the Nutcracker. Kendra was accepted into the Philippine High School for the Arts, a public, secular, non-profit institution geared towards the preservation of the arts in the country where in her junior year she participated in the 9th Asian Pacific International Ballet Competition in Tokyo, Japan. She has choreographed for The Juilliard School’s Studio Dance Workshops and collaborated with a Juilliard composer in Choreo/Comp 2006. Kendra has performed works by Janis Brenner, Matthew Neenan, Susan Marshall, Melanie Demers and Nicolo Fonte.
Originally from Portland, Oregon, bassoonist Midori Samson is a second year undergraduate student of Frank Morelli at The Juilliard School. There, she is a member of the Juilliard Orchestra and studies chamber music withmembers of the New York Woodwind Quintet. She has been awarded fellowships at several music festivals including the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, National Orchestral Institute, and New York String Orchestra Seminar. Midori first appeared as a soloist in 2009 with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony as their concerto competition winner. That same year, she was selected as a finalist in the Brevard Music Center and Vancouver Symphony concerto competitions.
A new music enthusiast, Midori is a member of the New Juilliard Ensemble and AXIOM. She also recently gave the world premiere of Molly Joyce's Toy Cathedrals for solo bassoon and electronics, written for and dedicated to Midori. Aside from performing, she is passionate about educational outreach and other than Project Philippines, has been involved with projects throughout New York, New Orleans, and Guatemala.