Office Hours: Tuesdays, 11am-12pm / Fridays, 9-11am

Zane Forshee serves as the Director of Peabody LAUNCHPad and is a member of the guitar faculty at the Peabody Institute. He also serves as co-Chair of the Guitar and Harp department of the Peabody Institute’s Preparatory Division. Zane directs Peabody’s annual Fret Fest, Summer Guitar Intensive. His 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.), the New York City Classical Guitar Society, and the Chimei Museum (Taiwan). 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.”

Office Hours: Mondays, 10am-12pm / Wednesdays 3pm-5pm

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.

Office Hours: Wednesdays, 10am-12pm

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.

Available by appointment

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 will graduate 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.

Carolyn Dzul is a Latinx saxophonist born in Houston, Texas. Daughter of two immigrant parents, Dzul is a first-generation student at the Peabody Institute earning a joint bachelor’s degree in Saxophone Performance and Recording Arts and Sciences. Currently, she studies under the instruction of Gary Louie. Dzul’s experience as a bandleader, journalist, and student council member in high school helped her gain communication and critical thinking skills that she uses to best serve the Peabody community. As a member of the Peabody General Assembly, Dzul has worked with students, staff, and administration with the transition of remote learning. Additionally, she works with the Office of Academic Affairs as a Peer Advisor and currently is the Co-President of the Peabuddies Club on campus. Outside of her studies, Dzul runs a blog with Rachel Taylor called Music: Quarantine Edition where they expose their audience to music-related content from online performances, programs, and new works, among other topics.

Mira Fu-En Huang, soprano, is an early and modern music specialist with a passion for traditional, non-Western repertoire—she has sung in Bulgarian, Korean, Nisenan, and more. She has had the honor of performing as Belinda in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Euridice in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, and Semele in Handel’s opera of the same name. Other accolades include singing as a featured soloist for the ExplOratorio in 2020, participating in the Carnegie Hall premiere of Ēriks Ešenvalds’ Sunset in My Hand in 2017, and soloing in the Vatican in 2013.

At Peabody, Mira pursues a master’s degree in Historical Performance under the tutelage of Ah Young Hong. She received undergraduate degrees with honors in Music, Psychology, and English from the University of California, Davis in 2019. In her free time, Mira engages in creative writing and plays flute and viola da gamba.

Complimented on his “affectionate vibrato” (OperaWire), tenor Randy Ho creates an honest experience on the operatic and concert stages.

Born and raised in Denver, Colorado, Mr. Ho is a current master's student at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University. Mr. Ho holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, concentrating on Marketing, from the University of Denver. Mr. Ho currently studies with Dr. Stanley Cornett and previously studied with Lindemann alumnus Matthew Plenk. Through LAUNCHPad, Mr. Ho hopes to empower students to achieve their career aspirations by assisting them with their business skills.

Most recently, Mr. Ho was showcased as a studio artist at Carnegie Hall’s Song Studio, led by world-renowned soprano Renee Fleming. Mr. Ho has also been featured in Lamont Opera Theater’s productions of Il trittico (Rinuiccio), Così fan tutte, and Die Fledermaus, Opera Scenes from La fille du régiment (Tonio); Peabody Opera Theater's production of Turn of the Screw (Peter Quint); The National Repertory Orchestra; Denver Opera Collective; and The Denver Spirituals Project.

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.

Originally from El Paso, Texas, Madeleine Strong uses her Asian and Hispanic heritage as inspiration for her artistic and entrepreneurial endeavors. An active flute player, collaborator and teacher, she is a diverse musician who enjoys sharing her music with any audience. She attributes her ambitious nature to her upbringing and is dedicated to serving her community through non-profit work and other acts of community service. Aside from her work with LAUNCHPad, she spends her time performing at assisted-living facilities and providing private music lessons to youth as a Saturday Academy teacher with Orchkids. She also enjoys performing at weddings and other ceremonial events, and collaborating with many different musicians. She is currently pursuing her Master of Music with renowned flute player, Marina Piccinini, at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. When she is not practicing flute, teaching, or contributing to her LAUNCHPad team, Madeleine enjoys playing with her pet lizard and reading science-fiction.