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ARTS PROGRAMS


Meet Our Staff

Bill Roche

Bill Roche – Technical Director, Homewood Arts Programs
410-516-4610
wroche@jhu.edu

Mattin 142 Swirnow Theater Scene Shop

Oversees Swirnow Theater and technical elements for all student theater productions; provides technical support to all co-curricular arts groups

Bill earned his M.F.A. from the Yale School of Drama and has worked at many theatres and venues, in various capacities.

Bill has worked at Playwright's Horizons on 42nd St., The Santa Fe Opera, The American Stage Festival, Lakewood summer Theatre, Merrimack Regional Theatre, Mystic Scenic Studios, The Baltimore School for the Arts, and several colleges including Brown University where he was a member of the faculty for twelve years, serving as Technical Director, Scenic and Lighting Designer, Production Manager,and Director for a Brown Summer Theatre production of 'CLAPTRAP'.

Bill has also worked at several major casinos as a stage hand, carpenter, stage manager, light board operator, and decorator of theme parties and Miss America floats.  Among Bill's interests are teaching, fishing, playing music, and creating theatre.


Craig Hankin

Craig Hankin – Art Workshop Director
410-516-6705
chankin1@jhu.edu
Mattin Ctr. Ross Jones Bldg. 207

Oversees all academic fine arts classes; teaches courses in drawing and painting

Craig Hankin has taught drawing and painting at Johns Hopkins since 1980. He has also taught at the Maryland Institute College of Art (1979-86) and the College of Notre Dame of Maryland (1980).

His paintings, drawings and photographs have been exhibited at various local venues, including Artscape, the Contemporary Museum, Galerie Françoise et ses Frères, Columbia Art Center, Johns Hopkins University, Peabody Institute, Park School, and Maryland Art Place (MAP).  In addition to his work as a painter and instructor, Hankin has collaborated with Tom Chalkley on projects ranging from Normal, a comic strip which ran daily in the Baltimore Evening Sun from 1990-91, to Bruce Springstone: Live at Bedrock, a musical parody dubbed “the novelty record of the year” in 1982 by Musician magazine.  Earlier that year, Hankin and Chalkley published their first collaborative comic strip in R. Crumb’s Weirdo comix.

As guest curator at School 33 Art Center, Hankin has mounted numerous exhibitions including RAW: Images From The Graphix Magazine That Overestimates The Taste Of The American Public (which traveled to the Kansas City Art Institute and the New York Institute of Technology in 1987), and The Art of City Paper, a 20th anniversary celebration of photography and illustration from Baltimore’s weekly alternative newspaper (1997).  In 2002, he was the curator of Works by Eugene Leake, a retrospective exhibition at the Maryland Institute College of Art.

Hankin was a co-founder of City Paper and served as art critic for that publication (1977-78) and the Baltimore News American (1979-80).  His book, Maryland Landscapes of Eugene Leake, was published by The Johns Hopkins University Press in 1986.  He is currently working on a series of drawings based on antique Popeye toys and a screenplay, Degas in the Evening.

Hankin earned a B.A. in the history of art from Johns Hopkins University (’76) and an M.F.A. in painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art (’79).


David Saenz

David Saenz – Director, JHU Jazz Bands
410-516-8208
david@cmsband.us
Shriver Hall 201

David Saenz, a Texas native, is JHU Jazz Ensemble Director and Director of bands at Chinquapin Middle School in Baltimore City. David plays alto saxophone with S-quire (a Baltimore area jazz quartet) and plays lead alto with the Whit Williams Big Band.

Beginning in fall 2006, David directed the Chinquapin Champion Band in the annual Baltimore City Concert Band Festival, at yearly Winter and Spring Concerts, and in numerous Pep Band performances. David also lead the Chinquapin Jazz Band in performances for Baltimore City Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake at City Hall and for Juror Appreciation Week at the Clarence Mitchell Courthouse.

David specializes in jazz saxophone and earned a BFA at Carnegie Mellon University and an MM from New England Conservatory of Music. He has performed with notable players in the Boston and Pittsburgh areas including Darren Barrett, Roger Humphries and Jason Palmer. His 2003 recording, Disparate Impact, features Jason Palmer (trumpet), Warren Wolf (drums), and Peter Slavov (bass).

David is a member of MENC, MMEA and is a four year resident of Baltimore City.


Edie Stern

Edie Stern – Hopkins Symphony Orchestra
General Manager
410-516-6542
hso@jhu.edu
Shriver Hall 201

Oversees all administrative elements of the Orchestra

A native New Yorker, Edie Stern got her start in arts management hauling around sweaty tutus for the Maryland Ballet. She is grateful that the Hopkins Symphony requires hauling around only music stands.

Edie has been leading a double life. By night she has sung and played viola and violin for, among many worthy organizations, the Peabody Renaissance Ensemble, Baltimore Folk Music Society, Amherst Early Music Festival, Baltimore Choral Arts Society, Baltimore Symphony Chorus, Young Victorian Theatre Company, Collegiate Chorale, UMBC Symphony, and, best of all, the Hopkins Symphony. She has done volunteer work for most of these groups, as well as for Center Stage and the Baltimore Consort.

Because she was told not to give up her day job, she spent 25 years at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions as an award-winning medical writer and editor. She edited a slide-tape continuing education series for physicians; the “Osler” textbook, The Principles and Practice of Medicine, 23rd edition; and a series in the Journal of the American Medical Association. She teaches scientific writing skills for Hopkins and the American Medical Writers Association.

A child of the ‘60s, Edie served as a VISTA Volunteer and managed to attend 4 colleges in 3½ years, eventually earning a BA in music history and theory from NYU.


Eric Beatty

Eric Beatty – Director of Homewood Arts Programs
410-516-8208
ebeatty@jhu.edu
Mattin Ctr.154

Oversees Hopkins Symphony Orchestra and Homewood Art Workshops; staff liaison for all co-curricular student arts groups

Eric Beatty is the first Director of Homewood Arts Programs and has been at JHU since the summer of 2000.

Eric received his MFA in Theatre Arts from Towson University where he was an adjunct professor in the Theatre Department for 4 years, teaching acting, mime and ensemble theatre. He has also taught classes and directed at Lehigh University and led workshops at numerous colleges and theatres on the East Coast.

He was a member of Touchstone Theatre, in Bethlehem, PA for six years, where he was an actor, writer, director and administrator. For three years he performed with Mummenschanz, the Swiss Mime-Mask Theatre Company, both on Broadway and on US and International tours. He has worked in theatres and film and on television in Boston, NYC and Baltimore. His undergraduate degree is in Comparative Literature, from Dartmouth College.

He has written three solo shows for children and family audiences and continues to perform them at elementary schools, festivals, and libraries throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. Eric lives in the Baltimore area, with his wife and three children.


Jari Villanueva – Director, JHU Wind Ensemble & Pep Bands
410-516-8208
jari.villanueva@gmail.com
Shriver Hall 201

(no photo available)

Jari Villanueva holds degrees from the Peabody Conservatory of Music of the Johns Hopkins University and Kent State University. He has taught in the Baltimore City and Baltimore County school systems, Goucher College, Loyola College and Catholic University and has performed with the Baltimore Symphony, Annapolis Symphony, Western Maryland Orchestra and Baltimore Opera Company.

He served as Music Director for musicals at Dundalk Community Theater, Catonsville Summer Theater, The Young Victorian Theater and The Peabody Ragtime Ensemble. Jari served as assistant music director for the film Gods and Generals and helped produce music for various film projects. Jari serves as music director of the National Civil War Field Music School, having formerly served in that capacity at the Eastern Field Music School and the Don Hubbard Field Music School.  He also is Artistic Director of The National Association for Civil War Brass Music, Inc.

Since 1998, Jari has been a member of the music faculty at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where he has directed the Wind Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble and Pep Band. He is a member of the MENC and The College Band Directors National Association.

His published works include many for band, brass ensemble and brass quintet. Publishers include Ludwig Music, Musicians Publications, Music Express and JV Music. These publications include Goin' Home, Honor With Dignity, The Music From Titanic (the movie), American Revolutionary War Medley, Amazing Grace, Overture from H.M.S. Pinafore, and English Folk Song Suite by RV Williams. He also arranged two volumes of Civil War Music for Brass Quintets. Many of his arrangements have been recorded. 

Jari retired from the United States Air Force in 2008 after twenty-three years as a trumpeter, bugler, drum major and staff arranger with The United States Air Force Band.  He led the USAF Band in ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery, the Pentagon and the White House plus served as the Non-commissioned  Officer In Charge for the Arrival and Departure ceremonies for former presidents Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford.  Jari currently works for the Maryland Military Department as Director of Veterans Affairs, Maryland National Guard Honor Guard, where he oversees the conduct of military honors for veterans' funerals and other ceremonial functions throughout the state. Jari holds a commission in the Maryland Defense Force (MDDF), Maryland's volunteer militia, and is planning to start a band that will represent the MDDF. 

His military awards and decorations include the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Air Force Commendation Medal, Air Force Achievement Medal with three oak leaf clusters, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Air Force Organizational Excellence Award with three oak leaf clusters, Air Force Good Conduct Medal with six oak leaf clusters, National Defense Service Medal with one service star, and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. He is an honorary member of the USAF Honor Guard and is a member the American Legion Post 109 in Arbutus, Maryland, the Air Force Musicians Association, the Maryland Military Historical Society, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and an affiliate member of the Society of the Honor Guard – Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

He lives in Catonsville, MD with his wife, Heather and two cats.


Jed Gaylin

Jed Gaylin – Music Director & Conductor
410-516-8208
jedgaylin1@verizon.net
Shriver Hall 201

Conductor; oversees all artistic elements of the orchestra

In the U.S. and Europe, Jed Gaylin is praised for performances characterized by insight, powerful sound, clear baton work, expansive phrasing, and conviction. As Hopkins Symphony Orchestra Music Director, he has forged a strong bond between the HSO and Baltimore life since 1993. Mr. Gaylin has given the HSO a reputation for possessing the precision, artistry, and zeal to bring musically and intellectually stimulating concerts to life. The orchestra has been chosen for repeat engagements with violinist Hilary Hahn, and has been commissioning new works since 1992, many from Maryland-based composers. Mr. Gaylin’s special ability to excite young listeners about music makes HSO’s annual kids’ concert a hit.

Since 1997, Mr. Gaylin has also been Music Director of the acclaimed Bay-Atlantic Symphony in New Jersey, where he is credited with forging a formidable ensemble. In 2004, National Public Radio’s "Weekend Edition" featured an in-depth profile of the Bay-Atlantic Symphony. NPR aired selections of the orchestra’s live performance of Petrouchka and Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 to four million listeners. Mr. Gaylin also holds the post of Principal Conductor of the prestigious Cape May Music Festival, where the Bay-Atlantic Symphony has been orchestra in residence since 2003. He also works regularly with the Sibiu State Philharmonic (Romania), where he is Principal Guest Conductor.

A much sought-after guest conductor abroad, Mr. Gaylin has appeared with orchestras including the Academia del Gran Teatre del Liceu (Barcelona, Spain), the Bucharest Radio Orchestra and Sibiu State Philharmonic (Romania), the Lodz Philharmonic and Pomorska Philharmonic (Poland), and the Gnessin Institute Orchestra and Moscow Chamber Symphony (Russia), as well as the Orquesta Sinfonica de Guanajuato (Mexico).

Other radio broadcasts include the Voice of America airing the Bay-Atlantic Symphony throughout Europe and the former Soviet Union, a 2003 Bay-Atlantic Symphony performance aired repeatedly on NPR, and an all-Schubert concert with the Bucharest Radio Orchestra, played nationally in Romania.

Mr. Gaylin has received numerous awards as a conductor. He was chosen to work with Leonard Slatkin and the National Symphony in the first National Conducting Institute. Other awards include a National Endowment for the Arts grant, a Conducting Fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival, the Presser Music Award, and membership in the National Musical Honors Society.

Mr. Gaylin earned both a Bachelor of Music in piano and a Master of Music in conducting at the Oberlin Conservatory, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in conducting at the Peabody Conservatory. His conducting teachers have included Frederik Prausnitz, Jahja Ling, Murry Sidlin, Paul Vermel, and Michel Singher, and, for piano, Lydia Frumkin. Mr. Gaylin lives in Baltimore with his wife and their son.


Mark Hardy – Director, JHU Choral Society
410-516-8208
markahardy@yahoo.com
Shriver Hall 201

(no photo available)

Dr. Mark Hardy is a native of the Boston area, where he received musical training in piano theory and composition. Dr. Hardy holds a BM degree in Composition from the University of Massachusetts and MM and DM degrees in Choral Conducting from Indiana University.

In addition to the JHUCS, Dr. Hardy currently conducts the Annapolis opera Chorus and is the director of Choral activities at the Baltimore School for the Arts. He is also active as a composer of choral, chamber and orchestral works published by Cantate Press. Dr. Hardy has had works premiered by the Indianapolis Symphony Choir, The Lehigh festival singers, and the Indiana University Oratorio Chorus.

Phyllis Berger

Phyllis Berger – Photography Instructor
410-516-6705
pberger1@jhu.edu
Mattin Ctr. Ross Jones Bldg. 207

Phyllis Berger oversees the Art Workshops' photography program and teaches four courses per semester