Piano

Shea Velloso is an organist and church musician from central New Jersey. He is a graduate of Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in organ performance. Shea’s teachers have included Antonius Bittmann, Mark Trautman and Paul Hoffman. He has pursued post-graduation studies with critically acclaimed organists Paul-Martin Maki and Gordon Turk. In 2004, Mr. Velloso was the recipient of The Elizabeth W. Durham Award for Excellence in Performance. He has performed recitals throughout the Tri-State Area and New England. He has appeared in-concert on the national public radio show “Pipedreams” and on Metuchen Television.

Shea is the Minister of Music at Faith Lutheran Church in New Providence, NJ, where he directs three choirs, coordinates the concert series, and is working on a choral scholarship program to help high school and undergraduate students who are interested in pursuing a career in church music. Shea previously served as Director of Music at United Methodist Church at Milltown and at the Presbyterian Church of Jamesburg. He is also a past dean of the American Guild of Organists.

Shea is also the director of the Highland Park Chorus; a 40-50 voice choir which performs a wide variety of classical choral repertoire.

In addition to his work, Shea enjoys composing choral music, woodworking, gardening, baking, and cooking. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Jamesburg, where he is in the ongoing process of restoring their Victorian era home.

composer

Born in Australia and raised in an immigrant family, Melissa Dunphy herself immigrated to the United States in 2003 and has since become an acclaimed composer specializing in vocal, political, and theatrical music. She first came to national attention in 2009 when her large-scale work the Gonzales Cantata was featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, National Review, Fox News, and on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, where host Rachel Maddow described it as “the coolest thing you’ve ever seen on this show.” Other notable works include Totality, commissioned by The King’s Singers and VOCES8 and premiered at the BBC Proms 2024, song cycle Tesla's Pigeon, which won first place in the NATS Art Song Composition Award, and What do you think I fought for at Omaha Beach? which won the Simon Carrington Chamber Singers Competition and has been performed around the country by choral ensembles including Chanticleer, Cantus, and the St. Louis Chamber Chorus.

In 2024, Dunphy was awarded an Independence Foundation Fellowship in the Arts. She received a 2020 Opera America Discovery Grant for Alice Tierney, a commission for Oberlin Opera Theater that premiered in 2023 and received its professional debut at Opera Columbus. She has been composer-in-residence for the Immaculata Symphony Orchestra, Volti, and the Saint Louis Chamber Chorus, and her commissions include works for the BBC Singers, VOCES8, Cantus, Mendelssohn Chorus, Seattle Pro Musica, Chor Leoni, La Caccina, Skylark, Experiments in Opera, and the Kennett Symphony. Dunphy is also a Barrymore Award-nominated theater composer and sound designer, and served from 2014-2024 as Director of Music Composition for the National Puppetry Conference at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Connecticut.

Dunphy has a Ph.D. in composition from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.M. from West Chester University and is on faculty at Rutgers University. She is president of the boards of directors for Wildflower Composers and Lyric Fest. Melissa and her husband Matt are also avid citizen archaeologists and co-hosts of the popular podcast The Boghouse about their adventures in Philadelphia colonial archaeology; they are currently developing the Necessary Museum, which they hope to open in 2026 to showcase their local discoveries.

violin

Lindsey Zagorodnev is a professional violinist, conductor and educator living in New York City. She is currently a PhD candidate in Musicology at Rutgers University, studying music historiography projects by women in the mid-20th century. Lindsey graduated magna cum laude from the University of South Florida with a M.M. in Violin Performance with a concentration in Instrumental Conducting, and summa cum laude from Western Connecticut State University with a B.M in Violin Performance. Lindsey has extensive teaching experience at universities and in public and private schools, and holds certifications in Orff, Music Together and Suzuki pedagogies. Lindsey has performed in numerous conferences and festivals around the world including The Brancaleoni Music Festival in Piobbico, Italy and the Prague Piano Festival in Prague, Czechia. She has performed on stage with notable artists including Pascal and Ami Rogé, Josh Groban, Il Volo, Il Divo, Michael Bolton, Mark O'Connor and Jay Ungar.

violin

Zoë D’Amico is the 6-12 Orchestra Director in the East Windsor Regional School District, and a professional violinist based in central New Jersey. She graduated with a double major in Violin Performance and Music Education from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University in 2024, studying with Brennan Sweet, Associate Concertmaster of the New Jersey Symphony. Zoë currently  performs with several regional orchestras, including the East Brunswick Symphony Orchestra and the New Brunswick Chamber Orchestra. She was recently a featured soloist with the Rutgers University Symphonic Winds, and will be a performing artist at the InterHarmony Music Festival in Acqui Terme, Italy this summer.

viola

A native of Taiwan, violist Hsuan Chen (Abby) has been a featured artist in concerts across the U.S, Europe, and Asia. Her recent collaborations have brought her to venues such as Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully, Hall, The Metropolitan Museum, the Gerald W. Lynch Theater, and the Brooklyn Museum. Among some of her most recent collaborations include an online project entitled Broadcast from Home by New York composer Lisa Bielawa, a film-music collaboration with acclaimed cellist (former Assistant Principal of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra) Michael Nicolas of Brooklyn Rider, chamber music performances in NYC with cellist Mihai Marica of the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society, violinist Sami Merdinian of the cutting edge crossover group Sybarite 5, and superstar violinist Stefan Jackiw.

Abby received her Master of Music degree in 2018 and Professional Studies diploma in 2020 from the Mannes School of Music where she studied with Daniel Panner. She is currently a doctoral candidate at the Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University where she studies with Daniel Panner, and her previous teacher Rebecca Young. Abby currently resides in New York City.

cello

Egil Rostad (cello) is an accomplished classical cellist who has performed both nationally and internationally. His performances include a live taping with the artist H.E.R. on a televised special hosted by Jake Tapper. His collaborations with dance have included Martha Clarke’s acclaimed dance-theater masterwork “The Garden of Earthly Delight,” and Alvin Ailey II Dance Company's "Intimate Voices," where he gave a performance of the Bach Suites hailed as "vibrant" by the New York Times. Egil has performed at a variety of venues, including the Joyce Theatre, Carnegie Hall, the Knitting Factory, Joe's Pub, Merkin, Town Hall, Guggenheim, and MOMA. His performances have appeared on numerous recordings by labels such as EMI, Ajna Records, Compass Records, and Vitamin Records.

Norwegian-Japanese cellist Egil Rostad received his bachelor's degree in Cello Performance from the Eastman School of Music, and his master’s degree in Music Education from University of Georgia. He began his Suzuki teacher training at the Colorado Suzuki Institute and completed his full training with Pamela Devenport at the renowned School for Strings. Upon completing his suzuki training at the School for Strings in Manhattan, he was invited to join the cello faculty. Egil now resides in New Jersey and teaches exclusively in New Jersey. He is the orchestra director for the New Providence School District Elementary Schools and teaches private cello at the New Jersey Academy of Music.

french horn

Dr. Rebecca D. Karu is a French hornist, educator, and researcher based in New Jersey. She currently serves as Adjunct Professor of French Horn. As an active performer, she has appeared with ensembles including the Hollywood Film Orchestra, Adelphi Orchestra, MidAtlantic Philharmonic, and Opera Italiana Orchestra.

Rebecca earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Rutgers University, with research focused on inclusive brass pedagogy and the relationship between maxillofacial anatomy and embouchure development. She also co-founded Brass Out Loud, a non-profit organization dedicated to diversity, equity, inclusion, and wellness within the brass community. Through her teaching, research, and performances, Rebecca is committed to fostering artistry, accessibility, and innovation in music education.