Faculty
Patrick Clifford – Violin/Viola
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Belen Clifford
Violin/Viola
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Renata Guitart
Violin/Viola
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Kelsey Lin
Violin
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Susan Snow
Violin
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Joe Goering
Cello
Education:
Lynn University
Bachelor of Music Performance
Lynn University
Master of Music Performance
Mount Royal University
Artist Diploma in Music Performance
The Glenn Gould School of Music at The Royal Conservatory
Artist Diploma in Music Performance
About:
Joe Goering soloed with the Kansas City Symphony at the age of sixteen after winning the Regional Competition for Young Performing Artists. Playing in the Lyric Theatre, Joe played Saint-Saens’ First Cello Concerto in A Minor under the baton of Timothy Hankewich.
Mr. Goering has continued to perform for audiences. He was featured in the Artists of Tomorrow’s program at the Bowdoin International Music Festival in 2013. He premiered Noam Faingold’s Prelude for Cello and Piano with Daniel Rorke and also performed music of Shostakovich. Music festivals are an important part of Joe’s life and include appearances at Meadowmount, Encore, Bowdoin, St. Lawrence String Quartet Seminar, Domaine Forget, Atlantic Music Festival and Toronto Summer Music Festival. His summer festival teachers include Hans Jorgen Jensen, Melissa Kraut, Orlando Cole, Stephen Geber, David Ying and David Requiro. He has also performed publicly with acclaimed string musicians like Paul Coletti, Pedja Muzijevic, David Hetherington, David Louie, and Jonathan Crow.
Joe has a Bachelor and Masters degree from Lynn Conservatory in Boca Raton, Florida where he studied with David Cole. He continued his studies in Canada by earning a Performance Certificate from Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta. In addition, he received an Artist Diploma from The Glenn Gould School of Music at The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Canada where he studied with John Kadz and Desmond Hoebig. Joe has also collaborated with the most distinguished artists of our time including masterclass appearances with Lynn Harrell, Raphael Wallfisch, Johannes Moser, Mischa Maisky, Matt Haimovitz and Richard Aaron.
After completing his education, Joe began his career as an orchestral musician and was a member of Sudbury, Thunder Bay and Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestras in Ontario, Canada. After several years of performing, Mr. Goering transitioned into teaching full time. He is currently on faculty in the preparatory department at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, Florida and has devoted his time to teaching young cello students in South Florida. He plays on a cello from 1899 by the Italian maker Stefano Scarampella and a Victor Fetique bow.
Dr. Claudio Jaffé
Cello/Bass
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Dr. Erikson Rojas
Piano
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Dr. Rosalyn Soo Mauldin
Piano
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Dr. Joseph Kingma
Piano
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Dr. Jackie Yong
Piano
Education:
Florida State University DM in Piano Performance
University of Tennessee (Knoxville) MMus in Music Performance
About:
Dr. Jackie Yong, a versatile Malaysian pianist, serves as Assistant Professor of Piano and Coordinator of the Keyboard Division at Palm Beach Atlantic University. Approaching music teaching and learning as a form of discipleship, Dr. Yong emphasizes student-centered, comprehensive and sustainable methods that encourage a thorough and practical understanding of music.
As a celebrated performer, Dr. Yong is recognized for his thoughtful programming and ability to engage audiences with repertoire that spans from Bach to Bernstein, Boulez to Bright Sheng, captivating listeners across Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Germany and the United States. He has excelled in numerous international competitions, winning awards at the Rockwood Piano Competition, Asia-Open International Piano Competition, Charleston International Piano Competition, ASWARA International Piano Competition and Young Person’s Piano Competition. A passionate advocate for new music, he has premiered works by living composers and performed at major events like FSU’s Biennial Festival of New Music and UTK’s New Sound Concert Series. His artistry has been featured in broadcasts and interviews, including on WUOT 91.1 FM’s UT Concert Hall Series and 988 FM.
In scholarship, Dr. Yong’s research covers a range of topics crucial to today’s music educators and performers: teaching collegiate piano literature, recital programming, musical hermeneutics, performance techniques, historical pedagogy and career development for musicians. He regularly presents at national and regional conferences organized by the College Music Society, the Music Teachers National Association and the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy. A two-time recipient of the David Z. Kushner Paper Award from the CMS Southern Regional Conference, Dr. Yong’s commitment to academic excellence is reflected in awards like the FSU Dissertation Research Grant and UTK Diversity Enhancement Fellowship, along with inductions into the honor societies Pi Kappa Lambda and Phi Kappa Phi.
An MTNA-certified adjudicator, Dr. Yong has judged numerous events, including the Tallahassee Sonata and Sonatina Festival and he is frequently invited to lead masterclasses and workshops on topics ranging from piano technique to hymn playing and improvisation. Beyond the concert stage and classroom, Dr. Yong is deeply involved in church music. Since becoming a Christian as a teenager, he has served as a pianist, organist, conductor and worship leader across various denominations, including Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian and non-denominational congregations. His dedication to outreach is evident in his workshops and lectures on hymn playing, where he aims to make music accessible and meaningful to diverse communities.
Dr. Yong earned his Doctor of Music degree in Piano Performance from Florida State University, along with three specialized certificates in Piano Pedagogy, Music Theory Pedagogy and College Teaching. He also holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from the University of Malaya and a Master of Music in Piano Performance from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His training with esteemed mentors, including Dr. Read Gainsford, Dr. Diana Dumlavwalla and Dr. Chih-Long Hu, as well as masterclasses with Jerome Lowenthal, Hung-Kuan Chen, Bernd Goetzke, Robin McCabe, Craig Sheppard and Angela Cheng, have shaped his holistic approach to teaching and performance.
Prospective students will find in Dr. Yong a dedicated mentor who combines a rich performance background with a passion for education and community, offering a uniquely inspiring environment for musical growth and discipleship.
Website:http://jackieyong.com
Dr. Nicholas Tavani
Music
Education:
University of Maryland DMA in Violin Performance
University of Texas
MMus in Violin Performance
Dr. Lexi Bryant
Music Theory
Education:
University of Maryland
DMA in Music Composition
Rice University
MMus in Composition
About:
Hailed as a “promising composer” by the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Alexandra T Bryant has been lauded for her “ability to convey myriad moods through clear thematic materials and coloristic contrasts.” Inaugurating her compositional commissions, the 2008 world premiere of her piece Apostrophe was presented by the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra in Severance Hall. In addition she has received commissions from ensembles such as the Kronos Quartet, the Aeolus Quartet in collaboration with the Friends of Chamber Music of Reading and through a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts, Katherine Murdock and Mark Hill, Duo Scordatura and Scordatura Music Society, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, the Santa Fe Youth Symphony Orchestra Association, the Tacoma Youth Symphony Association, The Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies, William Preucil (concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra), and the Metropolitan Ballet Theatre & Academy. She has participated in the Cabrillo Festival (2012), is the 2010 winner of the Avalon Composition Competition, and the 2007-2008 recipient of Darius Milhaud Award at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Dr. Bryant has also been a finalist or prizewinner in numerous composition competitions including Morton Gould, Lake George Music Festival, Garth Newel, USA International Harp Society, Flute New Music Consortium, and the Minnesota Orchestra Composer Institute. In the summer of 2011, Alexandra served on the faculty of the Luzerne Music Center as composer-in- residence.
Prior to her arrival in Fall 2024, Dr. Bryant served as Visiting Assistant Professor of Music Theory and Composition at Gustavus Adolphus College in St Peter, MN where she piloted a full theory curriculum revision, pushing students to new standards, increasing standards and learning outcomes. Here at PBA, she is again in charge of the music theory sequence, where she is already implementing changes in the curriculum, raising the bar for student expectations. In addition to Music Theory courses, Dr. Bryant teaches Orchestration & Arranging.
A native of Western Washington, Dr. Bryant is a graduate of the University of Maryland where she taught written theory, aural skills, and music fundamentals. She was a recipient of the school’s Flagship Fellowship and the School of Music’s Dean’s Fellowship and has studied with Mark Wilson and Lawrence Moss. Additionally, Dr. Bryant is a 2010 Master’s graduate of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University where studied under Dr. Pierre Jalbert and Dr. Arthur Gottschalk. In May of 2008, she completed her Bachelor of Music degree in Composition under the guidance of Dr. Margaret Brouwer and Dr. Paul Schoenfield from the Cleveland Institute of Music. During the summer of 2010, she was a Composition Fellow at the Aspen Music Festival and School studying under Sydney Hodkinson. Dr. Bryant has also studied under George Tsontakis at Aspen, the Bowdoin International Music Festival with Samuel Adler, Claude Baker, and Simone Fontanelli, Tyler White at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chamber Music Institute, the Czech-American Summer Music Institute in Prague with Ladislav Kubik, and Dr. Robert Hutchinson at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington.
Beginning her musical studies at an early age on the violin under the direction of her mother, her major private instructors since have included Janis Upshall, Dr. Maria Sampen at the University of Puget Sound, and David Russell at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Participating actively in orchestral and chamber music since a very early age, Miss Bryant has acted as Concertmaster of both the Tacoma Youth Symphony and the Peninsula Youth Orchestra, as well as Principal Second of the University of Puget Sound’s Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Orchestras, in addition to numerous leadership positions in other ensembles. During her studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Dr. Bryant was the only non-instrumental performance major who participated in the orchestral program and in chamber ensembles at the Shepherd School.
She is married to violinist Nicholas Tavani with whom they have three wonderful boys and a very fluffy dog.
Dr. Sam Broomell
Band
Education:
John’s Hopkins University/Peabody Conservatory
DMA-ABD in Wind Conducting; Music Theory Pedagogy
Franklin & Marshall College
MMus in Wind Conducting, John’s BA in Music
Business. Organizations, and Society,
About:
Professor Sam Broomell was appointed Assistant Professor of Music Education, Director of Bands and Division Coordinator of Instrumental Music at Palm Beach Atlantic University in 2024. He previously served as Director of the Johns Hopkins University Wind Ensemble, Assistant Conductor of the Peabody Institute Wind Ensemble and Assistant Conductor of the Franklin & Marshall College Orchestra and Symphonic Wind Ensemble. He has served as an instructor and graduate assistant in conducting, music theory, aural skills and music education.
He has conducted ensembles across the United States, including the United States Army Field Band, The Soldiers’ Chorus, The Delaware Winds, The Newfound Chamber Winds, The Allegretto Orchestra of Lancaster, The Rockville Concert Band and The Hunt Valley Wind Ensemble. Sam previously taught K-12 music and has served as a clinician and arranger for high school music programs across the country.
As both a performer and scholar, Sam’s past research has included “A Conductor’s Guide to Olivier Messiaen’s Et Exspecto Resurrectionem Mortuorum,” “Music and Philosophy: A survey of the philosophical approaches to music analysis from Greek Antiquity through the twentieth century,” and “Identity constructed through choir: The Welsh male chorus during the Nonconformist movement.”
Sam was awarded the 2024 American Prize in Conducting in the College and University Band division. He was selected to participate in the Tidewater Conducting Competition and Fellowship. He reached the semi-final round for a Fulbright Study and Research Grant to Cardiff University, Wales and was a semi-finalist in the National Youth British Brass Band of Great Britain Conducting Competition.
With a desire to bring glory to the Lord through song, Sam has served as a worship director for churches in Florida, Maryland and Pennsylvania. He is a graduate of the Timothy Foundation Fellows program, a leadership training program committed to raising up the next generation of Christian leaders. His hobbies include running, snow skiing, trying new foods and traveling.