Days On Campus: Tues/Wed/Thurs

Zane Forshee serves as the Marc C. von May Distinguished Chair of Professional Studies, Director of Peabody LAUNCHPad, and is a guitar faculty member of the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University.

Zane’s work as an artist has led to appearances worldwide including: the Palacete de Amezúa (Madrid), the Joseph Joachim Konzertsaal (Berlin), the Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.), and the Chimei Museum (Taiwan). His wide-ranging collaborative projects include choreographer danah bella, percussionist and composer Gene Koshinski, film composer Christian Biegai, and an upcoming collaboration with artistic polyglot Wendel Patrick.

Zane’s most recent recording, Valenciano: Guitar Works of Asencio, Esplá & Rodrigo, reached Number 1 on Amazon's Classical Music Chart and No. 6 on Billboard's Classical Crossover chart. He is a Fulbright Scholar, Wigmore Hall Charitable Trust recipient, D’Addario Foundation Grant Winner, Maryland State Arts Council: Independent Artist Awardee, and received a Peabody Institute Dean’s Incentive Grant for his collaborative research project with the Department of Neurology at Johns Hopkins that explored the Impact of Weekly Guitar Lessons on Functional Movement and Well-being in Parkinson’s Disease Patients, among others.

Zane has presented masterclasses, key notes, guest lectures, and workshops at the Royale Conservatoire of Scotland, San Francisco Conservatory of Music Pre-College, Staffordshire University (UK), North Carolina School for the Arts, University of Edinburgh, St. Olaf College, Johns Hopkins University, and the Cleveland Institute of Music, among others.

Of him, Baltimore City Paper writes: “As the old adage goes, those who cannot do, teach. Apparently Zane Forshee didn’t get the memo. . . do not miss out on the chance to learn a thing or two from the man who makes music his life in the classroom and on stage.”

Days On Campus: Mon/Tues/Thurs

Khandeya Sheppard serves as the Manager of Community Partnerships working with the Peabody LAUNCHPad team to promote and foster community-based learning opportunities in Baltimore. Khandeya is a steelpan musician, educator and arts administrator with a wide range of solo and ensemble performance experiences in the United States and Trinidad and Tobago.

Khandeya is a solo performer, Pan Masters Steel Orchestra member, music director and leader of NEXUS Band and Dynamic Steel Project, creator and co-founder of the Black Berklee Network, and founding member of the HBCU Jazz Education Initiative. Khandeya has also been a featured speaker and panelist at several events about music, creative youth development, and community engagement through the arts.

Khandeya was the first female steelpan principal to graduate from Berklee College of Music, earning a B.M. in Music Business/Management with a minor in Africana Studies: Music & Society. She also holds a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Music Entrepreneurship from UMBC. Khandeya has previously served as a Berklee City Music Mentor, Preparatory Academy and Faculty Outreach Teacher as well as the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Education Outreach Assistant and OrchKids Senior Program Manager.

Days On Campus: Wed/Thurs/Fri

Christina Manceor is a percussionist, educator, and arts administrator with diverse musical interests. In addition to her role as Assistant Director of LAUNCHPad, she has extensive experience in performing arts management, and actively performs as a freelance musician, pursuing artistic collaborations in chamber music, world music, orchestra, jazz, and improvisation.

Christina performs regularly as a member of The Kris Johnson Group, a jazz/R&B ensemble based in Detroit, and a soloist; she won both the 2015 PAS/Armand Zildjian Percussion Scholarship and the 2013 Black Swamp Solo Multi-Percussion Competition. She has also directed several personal performance projects and enjoys bringing artistic collaborations to unexpected spaces. Christina earned her B.M. in Percussion Performance with a minor in Performing Arts Management at the University of Michigan, and completed a M.M. in Percussion Performance at the Peabody Institute.

Days On Campus: Mondays

Robin McGinness is an operatic baritone and career coach whose current interests include finding ways to use theater and games to facilitate professional development, self-management for performers, art song house concerts, and modernizing the operatic repertoire. An active performer, Robin is regularly engaged for both operatic and concert works groups including Pittsburgh Festival Opera, The Washington Chorus and Washington National Opera. Robin holds degrees in vocal performance from the Peabody Institute and Oberlin Conservatory, and joined LAUNCHPad in 2015.

Available by appointment

Violinist Sarah Thomas is a performer and educator who strives to create an environment for performers and audience members to share the gloriously human experience of loving music together.

A member of the Bergamot Quartet, Sarah has performed at the Kennedy Center, Banff Centre, Boulanger Initiative’s WoCo Fest, and Fox Fine Arts Center. Sarah has collaborated with a variety of ensembles and musicians including Alarm Will Sound, Sō Percussion, earspace ensemble, Ensemble Klang, Claire Chase, and Courtney Orlando. Sarah also holds a private violin studio, coaches chamber music, and teaches with the Bergamot Quartet in settings ranging from elementary schools to postgraduate programs.

Sarah holds Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from the Peabody Conservatory, where she studied with Violaine Melançon. She is currently pursuing a Professional Studies Diploma at the Mannes School of Music with the Bergamot Quartet, who is the Cuker and Stern Graduate String Quartet in Residence studying with the JACK Quartet.

Guitarist and sound engineer Greg Hays has spent most of his life studying music and art. Equipped with a cheap guitar at the age of seven, Greg began studying the instrument intently and has explored many of the versatile instrument’s genres and techniques. He has performed in rock bands, jazz combos, blues trios, and guitar duos; the latter of which has become an area of recent focus. Together with guitarist Jacob Lyerly, Greg formed the guitar duo Un/Strung, which strives to bring art music to new places and faces.

Greg has also been involved in the audio production realm by working on crews and operating sound for concerts featuring Jesse McCartney, Chris Brubeck, The Filharmonic, and Daughtry. Recently, he has established a freelance career of assisting start-up podcasts with their audio and production. Greg is committed to helping other musicians become self-sufficient by learning life and career skills required to cultivate a career in the arts.

Greg graduated from Peabody with a Master of Music degree in Guitar Performance/Pedagogy under the instruction of Julian Gray in 2020. He maintains an active teaching studio with a wide variety of skill levels and interests.

Praised for their enviable resonance, crystalline diction, and stylistic prowess, baritone Michael Manganiello focuses their solo and ensemble work on breaking down established preconceptions of identity and artistic expression. In addition to their coursework, they also maintain a voice studio, and work as a Peer Career Coach at Peabody’s LAUNCHPad, working collaboratively with students to reach their professional and artistic goals. Michael graduated from SUNY Fredonia in 2012, where they earned concurrent Bachelor's degrees cum laude in Vocal Performance and Dance, with a minor in Visual Art/New Media. Michael founded, directed, and sang with the QED Vocal Ensemble in residence at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Buffalo, NY. Michael has appeared as soloist and ensemblist with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Camerata di Sant' Antonio, Opera Sacra, Buffalo Chamber Players, Western New York Chamber Orchestra, Women of Vivaldi, Vocális Chamber Choir, Buffalo Master Chorale, and Harmonia Chamber Singers. Michael was a participant in the Baroque Opera Workshop through the Institute for 17th Century Music at Queens College, Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute, and ARTEK Madrigal Madness.

Kayla Stone is a clarinetist and educator with a particular interest in how music can connect to an audience. Much of her career has been built around establishing a culture of inclusive performance, often outside of traditional performance space – music that connects to a wide audience, is available to all, and bridges the gap between the institutions of classical music and the world at large.  She has performed at the International ClarinetFest for the Living Music Initiative and had the honor of performing as a soloist with the Furman University Symphony Orchestra following the Furman Concerto Competition.  Kayla is currently based in Baltimore, Maryland; as she pursues a master’s degree in clarinet performance at the Peabody Institute as a Jack Kent Cooke graduate scholar, studying with Alexander Fiterstein. 

Carolyn Dzul is a Latine saxophonist and audio engineer from Houston, Texas. As the daughter of two immigrant parents, Carolyn is a first-generation student at the Peabody Institute. She is part of the five-year BM/MA program, earning a joint bachelor’s degree in Saxophone Performance and Recording Arts and a master’s degree in Acoustics. Currently, she studies saxophone under the instruction of Gary Louie. As a performer, she enjoys chamber music and playing transcriptions. Carolyn’s career path of combining music and audio has led her to be a critical listener. She is passionate about concert hall design and immersive audio. Outside of school, Carolyn works live sound at An die Musik LIVE! She also enjoys going on runs and cooking Mexican cuisine for friends!

Christian Schmidt is a composer and baritone who is excited to explore new creative processes and engage with other performers. He is currently pursuing his MM degree at the Peabody Conservatory after earning his BM at Syracuse University in 2023. Since entering the musical world as a singer, Christian always seeks to incorporate his voice into the compositional process. His primary focus is choral-based music, but he is also interested in further exploring the interplay of electronic manipulation with voice performance. Christian has pursued collaborations with The Verona Quartet, Akropolis Reed Quintet, Pacifica Quartet, and the Syracuse University Symphony Orchestra. His compositions have been featured in performances with the Society for New Music for their Rising Stars concert series and Young Composers POP-UP concerts. He has received numerous accolades for his work, including the Brian Israel Faculty Award for Composition in May of 2023.

Percussionist Matthew Enfinger specializes in mixed ensemble and chamber music performances in traditional and non-traditional venues. He regularly collaborates on contemporary works by composers like Andy Akiho, Steve Reich, and Gabriella Ortiz. Passionate about commissioning new music, Matthew has worked with Joey Karz in developing a new work for percussion duo which explores how sound transforms spaces. His recordings with the Vanderbilt Percussion Group have been featured on Vic Firth, including John Cage's "Third Construction." Matthew earned his BM from the Vanderbilt University Blair School of Music, studying with Ji Hye Jung and Lee Vinson. He is currently pursuing his MM at Johns Hopkins Peabody Conservatory, studying with Robert van Sice, Ji Su Jung, and Jeff Stern.

Marjorie Sheiman graduated from the University of Oregon in 2020 with a Bachelor’s of Music in Voice Performance, Summa Cum Laude, where she studied with Milagro Vargas. In her time there, she appeared as a featured guest soloist and scholarship recipient for the Women’s Choral Society, as well as sang under Dr. Sharon Paul in the UO Chamber Choir, during which they won the 2019 Grand Prix of Nations in the Chamber Choir/Vocal Ensembles category. In 2021, Marjorie was honored to receive 2nd Place in the NATS’ Northwest Region’s Artist Awards. This past summer, she performed multiple roles in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel at the LAH-SOW Opera Workshop and sang in the chorus of Verdi’s Aida at Portland Summerfest. Marjorie’s currently studying with William Sharp and is in the first year of her Master’s of Music in Voice Performance.

Caroline Sykes is a lyric soprano from Columbia, South Carolina. She is currently located in Baltimore, Maryland pursuing her masters degree in Vocal Performance with an Emphasis in Pedagogy at the Peabody Conservatory at the Johns Hopkins University.

She received her Bachelors of Arts in Music from High Point University in High Point, North Carolina in May of 2023. She loves to perform for a variety of audiences and loves when she can connect with them on a deeper level through the music. She performs a wide range of music from Claude Debussy to Libby Larsen and everything in between. She has focused on putting on traditional art song recitals and has found a love for this nook of classical music. While mainly focusing on Vocal Performance, Ms. Sykes also has experience in music direction, composition, and arranging. She is so excited to be joining the LAUNCHPad Team!

Cindy Ting-Yu Lu is a pianist from Taiwan who is passionate about bringing classical music to audiences through performing and teaching. Since coming to the States for her collegiate studies, she has appeared as a solo pianist and a competition winner in Utah, including performing concertos with the Utah Philharmonic Orchestra and Weber State University Symphony Orchestra. As an enthusiastic piano instructor, Cindy has served as a piano staff instructor in the Weber State University Piano Preparatory Program in Utah and now is a teaching fellow of POPP (Peabody Outreach of Piano Pedagogy) at the Peabody Preparatory in Baltimore. Cindy earned her BM degree cum laude in Keyboard Performance from the Weber State University, where she studied with Dr. Yu-Jane Yang. She is currently pursuing her MM degree in Piano Performance at the Peabody Conservatory of The Johns Hopkins University, studying with Ann Schein.

Max Eidinoff is a composer, improvisor, and educator whose music is marked by creative audacity and dramatic flair. He incorporates avant-garde styles and rock music sensibilities into soundscapes characterized as both absurd and surreal. Max writes in a variety of genres including art songs, opera, concert music, computer music, film scores, and studio mixes. It is through a body of work which prioritizes storytelling and engages with cross-genre stylistic blending and ironic subtext that he aims to convey the complex adversities of the world we live in. Max is currently pursuing his MM in composition at The Peabody Institute.