Music Faculty and Staff

Dr. Eric Bianchi
Associate Professor of Music, PhD Yale

Dr. Matthew Gelbart
Associate Professor, A. B. Harvard University; MA, PhD 
University of California Berkeley

Rev. Robert R. Grimes, SJ
University Professor, BA Fordham; BMus Manhattanville;
MDiv, ThM Weston; PhD Pittsburgh

Dr. Nathan Lincoln-Decusatis
Associate Professor, DMA University of Maryland

Dr. Daniel Ott
Associate Professor of Music Theory and Composition, DMA Juilliard School

Dr. Angelina Tallaj-GarcÍa
Assistant Professor of Music, BA, Master of Music, CUNY; PhD Ethnomusicology CUNY Graduate Center

Dr. Sevin H. Yaraman
Senior Lecturer in Music, BA Istanbul State Conservatory; LLB, Istanbul University School of Law; MA, City College of New York; Ph.D., CUNY Graduate Center.

In Memoriam

Rev. James Boyce, O.Carm.
Professor of Music

Joseph Di Ponio received his Ph.D. in music composition fro Stony Brook University (SUNY).  He is a composer working in both acoustic and electronic media. In addition to works for concert performance, he composes site specific pieces that encourage the audience to engage the sonic qualities of a particular environment; for instance abandoned buildings, or large resonant spaces. Di Ponio is also interested in the philosophy of time and the relationship between music and the other arts. In his spare time he enjoys cooking, DIY electronics, and browsing vintage shops with his wife Stephanie.

Email:  [email protected]

Mary Barto, Flute
Flute, Piccolo, Alto Flute, Base Flute, Baroque Flute, Flute Ensemble, Chamber Music
Bachelor of Music, Peabody Institue of the Johns Hopkins University; Master of Arts in Teaching, Lehman College

Former member of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, New York.  Performances with the New York Philharmonic, New York City Ballet, New York City Opera, and American Ballet Theater.  Flute and harpsichord solo tours acrosss Western Europe with major performances in London, Paris, and Madrid.  Currently flute and chamber music professor at Columbia University, Mannes Preparatory division of the New School University and the Kaufman Center's Lucy Moses School.  Recordings with the New York 5 Quintet.  Contemporary premiers with the New York Composers Consortium and the New York Composer Circle.  Performances with many Broadway shows and recordings of numerous film scores, predominantly those of composer John Barry.  Grammy Award finalist.

For more information:  MaryBarto.org

Sang Mi Chung, Classical Piano
The Juilliard School, MM and BM

Pianist Sang Mi Chung studied at The Juilliard School with MM and BM degrees, where she was awarded the Gina Bachauer, William Petschek and Jerome L. Green scholarships and awards.  Ms. Chung has recorded exclusively for Centaur Records since 1999 and has five CDs to her credit.  Ms. Chung is a Steinway Artist and has toured the U.S. with great success and critical acclaim as a founding member and pianist of the Arista Trio.

For more information:  www.sangmichung.com

Katherine Copland, Vocal Performance
MM, Manhattan School of Music

American lyric soprano Katherine Copland was a 2019 New York Lyric Opera Vocal Competition National Semi-Finalist.  She has performed in many recitals and concerts across the United States, and maintains a private studio in New York City.  Her students perform across all genres from jazz to rock, folk to popular music, as well as opera.  Ms. Copland's students have been competition winners in the Hal Leonard Vocal Competition, International Grande Music Competition, as well as NATS.

For more information:  www.katherinecopland.com

Amanda Ekery, Contemporary and Jazz Voice and Piano
BM Jazz Studies Composition and Arranging, University of North Texas; MM Jazz Performance, New England Conservatory

Multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and composer Amanda Ekery has earned support from New Music USA, Chamber Music America, and the Jerome Foundation, and has been featured at the Portland Jazz Festival, Panama Jazz Festival, and The Kennedy Center.  Amanda's original albums "Keys With No Purpose" and "Some (more) Short Songs" were praised in Downbeat Magazine saying "her compositions are great" and "full of moments of amazingness."  She earned the 2022 Jazz Hero Award from the Jazz Journalist Association for her gender equity work with El Paso Jazz Girls and beyond.

For more information:  www.aekerymusic.com

Tracy Cowart, Medieval, renaissance, Baroque, and Classical Music.  American and British Isles Folk Music.  New Music.  Body and Breathwork.
DMA, (Historical Performance Practice), Case Western Reserve University; MM (Early Music), Longy School of Music

Tracy Cowart (mezzo-soprano, medieval harps, early dance) enjoys a wide range of interests, from twelfth-century polyphony to contemporary art music.  She is a co-founder of the Alkemie Medieval Ensemble, a staff alto at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, and a teacher at the Amherst Early Music Festival.  Tracy has sung with period/folk ensembles including Apollo's Fire, Rose of the Compass, the Newberry Consort, and Seven Times Salt.  Tracy believes in the continously unfolding process of discovering and developing each voice as a key to personal creativity and expression.

For more information:  www.tracycowart.com

Sara Paar, Vocal Performance
DMA, The Graduate Center, CUNY

Sara Paar is an interpreter of contemporary classical music and opera.  Sara is a favorite with composers throughout the United States and has been admired for her beautiful voice, stirring and inherent sense of drama, her sensitive interpretations, and exquisite attention to detail.  Sara received a doctoral degree in performance from The Graduate Center, CUNY in 2017.  Aside from her work with Fordham University, Sara is proud to serve as Co-Chair of the Board of Directors for the New York Women Composers Inc.

For more information: www.sarapaar.com

Nell Snaidas, Classical, Early Music, Popular Music
BM, the Mannes College of Music

Grammy-nominated, American-Uruguayan soprano Nell Snaidas is recognized for specialization in Spanish/Italian baroque music.  Favorite projects: soloist Los Angeles Philharmonic, Christin/The Phantom of the Opera/Europe, collaborating with Alicia Keys on Italian translation/arrangement of "Superwoman" (American Music Awards), Soloist: premiere Handel's Messiah in spanish (US/Mexico).  Nell is Co-artistic Director of GEMAS: Early Music of the Americas, (concert series in NYC).  On voice faculty of Fordham University, Manhattan College, Nell enjoys working with students to help them find their full vocal and musical potential.

For more information:  www.nellsnaidas.com

Dr. Andy Bhasin, Director of Orchestral Ensembles

Andy Bhasin leads the Fordham University Symphony Orchestra and the Lincoln Center Chamber Orchestra. Dr. Bhasin has performed internationally in orchestral concerts with prominent ensembles such as the New World Symphony and at festivals including Spoleto (USA) and Music Academy of the West.  He has had prominent recital appearances in such venues as the Gasteig in Munich, Germany, Merkin Concert Hall and Carnegie Hall in New York City as a prizewinner of the American Protege International Concerto Competition. His playing has been featured in Daniel Nearing’s 2016 feature film, Hogtown (named to the top ten films of 2016 by Ben Kenigsberg).  He has worked as assistant conductor of the Stony Brook University Opera and frequently guest conducts the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra.  Dr. Bhasin holds a BM from New York University, an MM from the Hartt School, and a DMA from SUNY Stony Brook.

Matthew Buttermann, Director of Jazz Ensembles and Jazz Orchestra

Matt Buttermann is a musician and educator in the New York area.  He has served as the Assistant Director of Education at Jazz at Lincoln Center to develop instructional programs for youth for over 15 years as well as the director of Jazz Performance at Fordham University for the past 10 years.  As an educator, programs Matt designed and taught have served thousands of students and garnered numerous awards, performances, and creative institutional partnerships.  As a guitarist, Matt has performed with renowned artists including Clark Terry, Wynton Marsalis, Jimmy Heath, Marquis Hill, Herlin Riley, Wycliffe Gordon, Mulgrew Miller, Freddy Cole, Matt Wilson, Phil woods, and Ted Nash.  Mr. Buttermann received his BFA in jazz studies from The City College of New York, MM from William Paterson University, and Ed.D from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Juan Montoya, Director of Afro-Latin Ensemble

Juan Montoya is a drummer and percussionist from Medellín, Colombia who has recorded and performed with a variety of music ensembles ranging from contemporary percussion groups to jazz, rock, and Latin styles. He has also participated in festivals in Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Ecuador, Germany, Holland and Romania.  Juan moved to the US in 2010 to attend the College Conservatory of Music (CCM) at the University of Cincinnati and then moved to New York in 2012. He currently works for the education department at Jazz at Lincoln Center and teaches drums and leads the Afro-Latin Ensemble at Fordham University.

Robert Minotti, Director of Fordham University Choirs

Dr. James L. Kurtz
Professor Emeritus of Music, Ph.D. Brandeis

Dr. Larry Stempel
Professor of Music and American Studies, BA, Queens College (CUNY); PhD University of Pennsylvania

Dr. Lawrence Kramer
Distinguished Professor of English, B.A. Pennsylvania; M Phil, Ph.D., Yale