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Jon Deak, Associate Principal Bassist and Creative Education Associate of the New York Philharmonic, is also a prominent composer. He was educated at Oberlin College, The Juilliard School, the University of Illinois, and as a Fulbright Scholar, at the Conservatory of Santa Cecilia in Rome. His training includes work in the visual arts, and he was active in the “performance art” movement in New York’s SoHo. He now teaches a composition class in the New York City public schools that his own children attend. In September 2000, Mr. Deak was chosen to lead a youth concert at Carnegie Hall in honor of Isaac Stern’s 80th birthday, in which he served as host, conductor, and contrabass soloist.

Mr. Deak’s compositions have been performed at music festivals worldwide and by such institutions as the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago, National, Minnesota, Cincinnati, Seattle, New Jersey, Atlanta, Colorado, and many other symphony orchestras and chamber groups. His discography includes recent releases on Centaur, CRI, Innova, and Cabrillo records.

Mr. Deak recently completed a successful three-year appointment as Composer-In-Residence with the Colorado Symphony under the Meet The Composer Residencies Program, which included affiliations with the Colorado Children’s Chorale and Denver Public Schools. Among the programs he inaugurated in connection with his Denver residency are: the “Source Project,” a new music series in the Denver Performing Arts Complex, which brought together a stunning display of creativity by Colorado composers; and a restructuring of the pre-concert lecture format into a pre-concert “event” that includes drama and live music. Mr. Deak became a familiar figure around Denver as he moved from school to school teaching composition and creativity to young people of all ages and backgrounds.

Mr. Deak regularly participates in fundraising events to aid symphony orchestras, and has been an outspoken environmental advocate. An avid wilderness mountaineer, he has led climbing expeditions into the Canadian Rockies, Alaska, and the Himalayas. He was chairman of the New York Philharmonic Artistic Advisory Committee, which helped select Kurt Masur as the Philharmonic’s Music Director. He also participated in Leonard Bernstein’s historic Freiheitskonzert (Freedom Concert) in what was then East Berlin, on Christmas Day l989, an event he regards as one of the musical highlights of his life.

Aaron A. Flagg was named dean of The Hartt School of the University of Hartford in March of 2009 by President Walter Harrison and Provost Lynn Pasquerella. As dean, he oversees a performing arts college for music, dance, and theatre with approximately 750 undergraduate and graduate students and 250 faculty and staff.

Originally from Baldwin Park, CA, Dr. Flagg is a professional trumpet player and received his undergraduate and master's degrees from The Juilliard School and his doctorate from the University of Michigan. His diverse experience includes concerto, recital, orchestral, and chamber music performances in classical, jazz, and new music.

Prior to his appointment at the University of Hartford, he was Executive Director of Music Conservatory of Westchester (2005-2009), a graduate faculty member and Director of Educational Outreach at The Juilliard School (2000-2005), and Director of the Jazz Studies program at the University of Connecticut (1999-2000).

As a trumpet player, Dr. Flagg has given concerto and other solo performances with orchestras, toured with chamber music groups, and performed numerous recitals. He has given master classes and recitals at Jackson State University and Fayetteville State University, and presented lectures at the Curtis Institute, Oberlin College, and Carnegie Hall.

His jazz performances include the Illinois Jacquet Big Band, the Music Outreach Jazz Ensemble, and the Aaron Flagg Quartet. He has toured with the Tania Leon's Son Sonora Ensemble; recorded with Roberta Flack and operatic soprano Barbara Conrad; and performed with the New York Philharmonic, Manhattan Virtuosi, Lansing Symphony, Brooklyn Philharmonic, Wynton Marsalis, Gladys Knight, and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, among others.

Dr. Flagg is currently a board member of the League of American Orchestras in New York. He has served on numerous grant panels and was New York Metro Area chapter chair for the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts. He has been a consultant with arts presenting organizations and universities around the country, while also being a teaching artist for 15 years with organizations including the Lincoln Center Institute, Carnegie Hall Education, New York Philharmonic Education, Memphis Arts Council, Guggenheim Museum, and the New York City Opera. He was named a national spokesman for the Music Educators National Conference in Virginia in 1999 and received the Rising Star Award for Westchester's "Forty under Forty" in 2008.

Sarah Johnson came to The Philadelphia Orchestra as the Director of Education and Community Partnerships in December 2003. In addition to her responsibilities for the Orchestra’s wide range of education and community programs, Ms. Johnson plays a leadership role in an organization-wide initiative designed to deepen the musical experiences of existing audiences and bring new audiences into the concert hall. Under this initiative, entitled “Raising the Invisible Curtain,” she has played a key role in initiating a number of exciting programs, including the in-depth School Partnership Program for elementary school children; the Access Series, an adult subscription concert series for curious listneners; and the Camden Community Partnership Initiative, an in-depth community engagement program with residents of Camden NJ.

Developing imaginative programming to connect with young audiences is one of Ms. Johnson’s key skills, honed during the several years preceding her arrival in Philadelphia when she worked in music education for major music institutions in New York City, both as an administrator and a teaching artist. At New York City’s cultural icon, the 92nd Street Y, she served as program associate for the educational outreach program, writing curriculum and other educational materials, leading professional development sessions for teachers and teaching artists, and working in program creation, development, and assessment. She also helped to develop and/or lead teaching and outreach programs for musicians from the Saint Louis Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, and Tanglewood, among others. From 1999 to 2002 Ms. Johnson worked as a teaching artist with the New York Philharmonic School Partnership Program and Lincoln Center Institute.

A graduate from the Juilliard School, Ms. Johnson received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in oboe performance in 1997 and 1999. She is also a founding member of Ariel Winds, a wind quintet dedicated to educational outreach.

[b]Molly Sheridan[/b] rejoined the American Music Center staff in September 2003 as managing editor of [l=http://www.newmusicbox.org/index.nmbx]NewMusicBox[/l] , having held the position of associate editor at the webzine from July 2001 to December 2002. She is also a contributing writer to the [i]New York Press[/i], [i]Time Out New York[/i], [i]SYMPHONY[/i] magazine, and the [i]Pittsburgh Post-Gazette[/i].