Drop-In Hours: Fridays, 9am-12pm

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

Drop-In Hours: Wednesdays, 9am-12pm

Aubree Weiley is an internationally recognized arts administrator and educator with extensive experience in social development and community engagement programs and curriculum. She currently works as a member of the faculty and manager of community partnerships at the Peabody Institute, where she develops and implements a groundbreaking multi-level curriculum in citizen artistry and community engagement. In this role, she has pioneered new institutional partnerships and oversees several programs in senior living communities, schools, civic facilities, community development organizations and at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Her prior work at the People's Music School in Chicago, as well as her residencies as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Africa and as a New England Conservatory Sistema Fellow working with music programs in Venezuela, Brazil, and Peru, have cemented her belief that sharing and learning through the arts brings great pleasure, deepens societal and personal development, and builds stronger, healthier communities.

Drop-In Hours: Thursdays, 10am-1pm

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 as a soloist, she was named winner of the 2015 PAS/Armand Zildjian Percussion Scholarship and the 2013 Black Swamp Solo Multi-Percussion Competition. She has additionally directed a few of her own 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 remotely 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.

Drop-In Hours: Mondays, 12:30-2:30pm

Sarah Thomas is a Baltimore-based violinist and educator whose interests center around exploring new ways to engage the community with music. Sarah performs in a wide range of venues ranging from traditional concert halls to Baltimore brownstones, and has appeared on many concert series in Baltimore including the Evolution Series, Union Square Chamber Music Society, and Music on the Square. As a member of the Bergamot Quartet, Sarah is committed to performing new string quartet repertoire and has performed at venues including the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts and the Banff Centre. Sarah also performs in several other Baltimore-based ensembles, including Chamber Encounters and Mind on Fire, and enjoys collaborating on new projects with other artists. During the 2018-2019 season, Sarah was co-director of the Peabody String Sinfonia, a student-run, conductorless chamber orchestra that performs in community venues in Baltimore. A dedicated educator, Sarah holds a private violin studio at the Chamber Encounters Music Academy in Baltimore, and in 2016 and 2017 directed the String Chamber Music Workshop in her hometown of Memphis, TN. In her free time, Sarah can be found reading, drinking coffee, or going on long walks with friends. Sarah holds B.M. and M.M. degrees in Violin Performance from the Peabody Conservatory with Violaine Melançon.

Concert guitarist and lutenist Zachary Grim is known for his innovative concert programs presented in modern contexts across the country. His unique approach to music has led him to performances in venues such as the Newman Center for the Performing Arts, Gore Recital Hall, Hamilton Recital Hall, Gates Recital Hall, Waldheim Park, and Ag Hall. Additionally, Zachary has appeared as an artist for organizations such as the Bethlehem Bach Choir, Pennsylvania Sinfonia Orchestra, Allentown Band, Wilmington Classical Guitar Society, Boulder Guitar Society, and Denver Guitar Workshop. While Zachary brings his music to the concert hall, his evangelical approach to music has lead him to concerts in living rooms, music therapy centers, and retirement homes to spread the guitar’s vast repertoire to all corners of society. As an award-winning musician, he has appeared on television, radio, and has been featured in print on numerous occasions.

An active teacher, Zachary has held a number of prestigious teaching appointments and has maintained a studio of private students since 2009. All of his students have become fine musicians and many enjoy performing careers of their own. As an academic, Zachary also gives lectures on a number of topics relating to the classical guitar and its repertoire. Previous topics have included transcribing the lute music of John Dowland, the lute music of the English Tudor courts, Baroque performance practice, and modern compositional styles among guitar composers.

Jacob Lyerly is a guitarist who aspires to bring beauty into the world using music. He has pursued this mission through many artistic avenues such as teaching, audio recording, and performing both solo and ensemble music. Most recently, Jacob was the recipient of the University of South Carolina School of Music’s 2017 Christopher Berg Guitar Award. This award is given to the student best exemplifying the qualities of creativity, humility, perseverance, and improvement in their study of the guitar and music performance.

Jacob received his Bachelor of Music degree in 2017 from The University of South Carolina where he studied guitar with Christopher Berg. He is currently pursing a Master of Music in Performance with an emphasis in Pedagogy from the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, where he studies guitar with Julian Gray.

A versatile soprano performing opera, art song, and new music, Hannah Alexandra Noyes will perform this season at Peabody in Russian opera scenes, in collaboration with composer Michael Hersch's studio, with Now Hear This in Kaija Saariaho's Emilie, and as Lisette in La Rondine. In July, she debuted as Mozart's Donna Anna in the Estates Theatre in Prague, Czech Republic. As a vocalist in numerous world premieres, she was recently part of Peabody Conservatory’s Opera Etudes program where she created the role of the Younger Brother in A Madman’s Diary by Jun An Chew in April 2019.

At the LAUNCHPad, Hannah hopes to support students in their professional development. She is passionate about refining professional materials and building a supportive environment in which to foster creative thinking. She received her Bachelors degree magna cum laude from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN. She is a second year Masters student studying with Ah Young Hong towards a degree in Vocal Performance.

Michael Manganiello, baritone, is a student in the MM Vocal Performance and Pedagogy program at the Peabody Institute under the tutelage of William Sharp. They graduated from the Fredonia School of Music 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 a choir member and soloist 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 2015 Baroque Opera Workshop through the Institute for 17th Century Music at Queens College, and the 2019 Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute.

Arindam Jurakhan (JURAKHAN) studied with Dr. Vineet Shende and received an honors degree in music at Bowdoin College, where he completed his first symphony, Symphony No. 1: On Power and Prejudice. He also started releasing rap music after his undergraduate career; he wants to incorporate rap as well as other forms of popular music into the exclusionary field of western orchestral music. Currently, he is pursuing a M.M. in Composition at the Peabody Conservatory with Dr. Oscar Bettison. JURAKHAN found that creating music gave him the ability to give others a glimpse into his life. Through this power he attempts to authentically protest, advocate, and share through his artwork. He believes that in order to attain positive social change, those in power must face discomfort. Those conversations about systems of inequality are difficult and often do not end in solutions, but with slow progress towards an ideal future instead. As a result, his music is inherently uncomfortable. JURAKHAN strives to start and continue open dialogues by challenging listeners to engage with ideas they may not hold themselves.

Before entering a career in music, JURAKHAN had the drive to become a doctor despite music and composition being a huge part of his life. He completed a biochemistry degree at the same time during his undergraduate career. He worked as an EMT, hospice volunteer, grief counselor, and lead STEM teacher among other positions. He also led various organizations which required skills that ranged from teambuilding as water polo captain to forming philosophical discussions as Master of Sessions of the Peucinian Society. At LAUNCHPad, JURAKHAN hopes to use his varying experiences and skills to support and aid students in finding their unique path.

Jacqueline Scavetta is best known for her deep and gorgeous tone on the viola and for her passionate and fiery spirit when performing. She began playing the viola at the age of 9. She studied with Susan Starrett, a protege of Hungarian violinist, Paul Rolland. Jacqueline is currently a first-year master student studying with violist Victoria Chiang at the Peabody Conservatory of Music. She previously studied at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign under the tutelage of Elizabeth Freivogel who is a member of the Jupiter String Quartet.

Jacqueline’s accomplishments include performing in the University of Illinois’ Smith Competition, advancing to semi-finals with her quartet in the Coltman Chamber Music Competition in Texas, as well as being awarded the Edward J. Krolick String Scholarship and Award, and the Verna K. Townsend Music Scholarship and Award. Jacqueline was on full-scholarship at the University of Illinois and is currently holding the Artistic Excellence scholarship and award at the Peabody Conservatory.

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.

Forrest Ransburg is an early and modern flutist, keyboardist, and vocalist whose joyful virtuoso romps take his audiences on excursions through different eras, parts of the globe, and realms of sound. Forrest has performed as an early and new music soloist and ensemble musician across North America and Europe in venues such as Harris Theatre in Chicago, the Guggenheim Museum in New York, and the Conservatorio Luisa D’annuznzio in Pescara, Italy, as well as in historic churches, ancient spaces, and salons of friends and colleagues far and wide.

Equal to his passion for performance is Forrest’s dedication to inspiring a love of music as a teacher and director. Working extensively as a music director, educational conductor, program director, and teaching artist, Forrest has lead choirs, bands, and orchestral ensembles of all ages in repertoire ranging from the earliest notes to classics of the choral and instrumental canon. At LAUNCHpad, Forrest hopes to bring use his diverse background in music performance, education, and administration to help out his wonderful Peabody peers in any way possible!