NEWS RELEASE:
NEW YORK, August 21, 2026 – Renowned international music conservatory Manhattan School of Music (MSM) today announced two new chair appointments: Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Principal Trumpet David Krauss will serve as Chair of the Orchestral Performance Program (OP), and New York Philharmonic Trumpet Ethan Bensdorf will serve as Chair of Brass. Both Mr. Krauss and Mr. Bensdorf are current members of the OP faculty. Mr. Krauss succeeds departing OP Chair David Chan, and Mr. Bensdorf succeeds departing Chair of Brass Michelle Baker, who will remain on the Brass faculty. The two newly announced OP faculty members are: Metropolitan Opera Orchestra members Jeremías Sergiani-Velázquez (PS ’18) and John Upton. Julia Choi (PS ’17), also a member of the Met Opera Orchestra and currently on the MSM Precollege faculty, will join the College Classical Division faculty teaching Orchestral Repertoire.
“The MSM Graduate Program in Orchestral Performance is the first accredited degree program of its kind in the country,” says MSM Executive Vice President and Provost Joyce Griggs. “Students receive intensive preparation for lives as working musicians, including in-depth training in performance and repertoire but also other nonmusical aspects of life as a career musician. David’s depth of experience as a longtime musician in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, combined with his extensive teaching background and dedicated mentorship make him a wonderful fit for this important role.”
Mr. Krauss’s appointment as Chair of MSM’s OP program further strengthens the School’s commitment to providing young musicians with exceptional training and mentorship from leading musicians in the field. Along with running a successful trumpet studio at MSM, Mr. Krauss joined the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra trumpet section in 2001 and currently occupies the Beth W. and Gary A. Glynn endowed Chair.
“David brings a thoughtful and forward-looking perspective to orchestral training,” says JT Kane, Dean of The Kanter Family Instrumental Studies and Orchestral Performance Division. “Throughout his time at MSM, he has demonstrated a deep commitment to our students and to the continued growth and vitality of the Orchestral Performance program. I am confident that his leadership will not only build upon the strong foundation that already exists but will also introduce new ideas and opportunities that will further strengthen our work together.”
The OP program, which was inaugurated in the 1991–92 academic year, provides graduate students with individual instruction from some of the leading players on the classical scene, while allowing its students to form the core unit of key MSM ensembles, including the MSM Chamber Sinfonia and MSM Symphony Orchestra. Students are seated in leadership roles through competitive auditions.
Ethan Bensdorf, a member of the OP faculty and the newly appointed Chair of Brass at MSM, is a member of the New York Philharmonic trumpet section. A graduate of Northwestern University, he has performed with leading ensembles including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and New World Symphony, and has appeared as a soloist and master clinician nationwide.
“We are absolutely thrilled that David and Ethan are assuming these important leadership roles,” says MSM President James Gandre. “And Julia, Jeremías, and John will add tremendous depth of knowledge and experience to MSM’s distinguished faculty.”
Julia Choi, a violinist and member of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra’s First Violins, has performed with leading orchestras around the world and is an experienced educator. A graduate of the Juilliard School and the Manhattan School of Music OP program, where she studied with Glenn Dicterow, Ms. Choi is also an active chamber musician and recording artist.
Jeremías Sergiani-Velázquez, Principal Second Violin of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, is an accomplished soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral performer who has performed in 16 countries across four continents. A graduate of New England Conservatory, the Juilliard School, and Manhattan School of Music where he studied with Sylvia Rosenberg, he has performed with leading ensembles including the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, while maintaining a passion for chamber music and tango.
John Upton, Principal Oboe of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, has performed with leading ensembles including the New York Philharmonic, New York City Ballet Orchestra, and The Knights. A graduate of Eastman School of Music and the Juilliard School, Upton is also a first-prize winner of the International Double Reed Society’s Young Artist Competition and has performed and taught at festivals around the world.
Bios and further information about MSM and the OP program can be found below.
For further information, please contact Katharine Burns, Marketing and Public Relations Manager, at kburns@msmnyc.edu or (917) 493-4132.
ABOUT THE MANHATTAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC GRADUATE PROGRAM IN ORCHESTRAL PERFORMANCE
In 1991, Manhattan School of Music inaugurated the Graduate Program in Orchestral Performance, the first accredited degree program of its kind in the United States. Chaired by Glenn Dicterow for its first three decades, followed by David Chan, and currently welcoming David Krauss as its newly appointed Dean, the program seeks to produce polished musicians of the highest artistic caliber, who are prepared intensively in the orchestral repertoire for careers as symphonic players. Students are trained to participate fully in both performance and other nonmusical aspects of life in the modern orchestra, such as orchestra governance, artistic planning, community engagement, and audience development. Since the program’s founding, alumni have earned hundreds of orchestral positions in orchestras across the U.S. and worldwide. Its faculty include musicians from the Met Opera Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.
ABOUT THE APPOINTEES:
David Krauss joined the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra as Principal Trumpet in 2001 and occupies the Beth W. and Gary A. Glynn endowed chair. He has performed with James Levine in the Met chamber series at Carnegie Hall and has appeared as guest principal trumpet with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and New York Philharmonic. A native of Long Island, he earned both Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Juilliard School as a student of William Vacchiano and Chris Gekker. He also studied trumpet with James Pandolfi and Wynton Marsalis. David coproduced and played on three recordings featuring the brass section of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and was praised by the American Record Guide both for his “singing tone which is luxurious and inviting” and “effortless handling of difficult runs, trills and soaring tessitura.” He teaches trumpet at Manhattan School of Music (MSM), the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, Mannes School of Music at the New School, Queens College, and in the precollege division of the Juilliard School. He is the incoming Chair of Manhattan School of Music’s Orchestral Performance Program. During the summer, Mr. Krauss is the head brass coach and trumpet teacher at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute and has his own music program, Berkshire Summer Music, which he cofounded with his wife Kristen. Alongside performing and teaching, David is the prodigious host of Speaking Soundly, a podcast featuring insightful conversations with today’s top performing artists.
Ethan Bensdorf joined the New York Philharmonic’s trumpet section in June 2008, after spending the 2007–08 season as acting Assistant Principal trumpet with the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra in Naples, Florida. He received his Bachelor of Music degree from Northwestern University in 2007, where he studied with Barbara Butler, Charles Geyer, and Christopher Martin. While a student at Northwestern, Mr. Bensdorf spent two years performing with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the training orchestra for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and also performed with the New World Symphony and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s contemporary ensemble, MusicNOW. In May 2005, Mr. Bensdorf was selected to perform at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts representing Northwestern University as part of The Conservatory Project recital series.
In September 2006, Mr. Bensdorf received the Armando Ghitalla International Trumpet Classic Award, which included solo appearances with the United States Coast Guard Band and the Berkshire Symphony Orchestra in Massachusetts. He also spent two summers as a participant in the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan, and one summer at the National Orchestral Institute in Maryland. In the summers of 2006 and 2007, he was selected as a Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, where he received the Voisin Trumpet Award.
Mr. Bensdorf has given master classes around the country at some of the most renowned educational institutions, including Manhattan School of Music (MSM), Northwestern University, and the Juilliard School, and was the featured guest artist at the 2011 Trumpet Festival at the University of Southern Mississippi. In September 2026, he will assume the role of Chair of the Brass department at MSM. Mr. Bensdorf has performed at the Grand Tetons Music Festival and can be heard with the Metropolitan Opera Brass on their CD Waltzes, Songs, & Festive Scenes. In addition, he has appeared as soloist with the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra and has recorded numerous television and film soundtracks, including the NBC Sunday Night Football theme music. He is also a member of the Principal Brass Quintet of the New York Philharmonic, which performs all over the world.
Praised for her “delightful idiosyncrasy” and “narrative sweep and involving performances” (The Classical Source), Korean-American violinist Julia Ahyoung Choi is active in many spheres of the music world today. A member of the First Violin section of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra since 2019, Ms. Choi has also performed as a guest musician with many leading ensembles, including the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Verbier Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony, and San Diego Symphony.
Beyond her orchestral career, Ms. Choi is an active chamber musician. She performs regularly with her acclaimed trio, Ember, alongside harpist Emily Levin and cellist Christine Lamprea. She also frequently collaborates with her sister, cellist Jennifer Choi, as well as her distinguished colleagues from the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, presenting innovative programs at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall each season. In 2025, Ember released its debut album, Birds of Paradise, on the Azica Records label. Julia’s performances have taken her to prestigious concert venues and festivals across North America, Asia, and Europe.
Notable festival appearances include recital and chamber music performances at Newport, Caramoor, Lyric Chamber Society at the Kosciuzsko Foundation, Westside Concert Series, Verbier, Music Academy of the West, Pointeworks presented at The Conrad/La Jolla Music Society, Tongyeong, GatherNYC, Fine Arts Chamber Players, Trinity Concert Series, Chamber Series at Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico, Friends of Cathedral Music, and the Rutenberg Chamber Series, among others. A prizewinner of competitions including the LISMA International, Music Academy Concerto, and Caprio Young Artists Competitions, her concerto performances included engagements with the Vilacello Festival Orchestra, Northport Symphony, CIMF Artist Chamber Orchestra, and the Music Academy Festival Orchestra. Also deeply committed to contemporary music, Ms. Choi enjoys close collaborations with the composers of today, and has premiered numerous works by many longtime composer colleagues and friends. She is a former member of the New Juilliard Ensemble and AXIOM.
Equally devoted to education and performance, Choi maintains a thriving private studio in New York City, serves on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music (MSM) Precollege Division (since 2023), and is an Artist-Faculty member at the Charles Ives Music Festival since 2020. In September 2026, she will join MSM’s College Classical Division faculty. She has presented master classes and coachings at universities, festivals, and institutions nationwide and previously served as a Teaching Assistant in the Ear Training Department at the Juilliard School.
Born in Korea and raised in New Jersey, Ms. Choi began her intensive violin studies at the Juilliard Pre-College Division. She earned Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the Juilliard School and holds a Professional Studies Certificate in Orchestral Performance from Manhattan School of Music. Her principal teachers include Glenn Dicterow, Lisa Kim, Sylvia Rosenberg, and Sally Thomas. Julia was recently featured on the cover of Real Woman Magazine in recognition of her inspiring musical journey. She is a Larsen Performing Artist, performing on a Fiorini violin.
Violinist Jeremías Sergiani-Velázquez has performed classical, contemporary, and tango music around the world. As soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral performer, he has been heard in 16 countries across four continents. In 2021, he was appointed Principal Second Violin of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra by Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
Born in Córdoba, Argentina, Jeremías left his home country at the age of 18 and developed a deep orchestral resume: in addition to the Met, he was a member of both the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Chicago’s Grant Park Symphony, toured extensively with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and has served as concertmaster of the New York Classical Players. As a soloist, recent performances include an Argentine tour alongside Camerata Rosario performing Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Piazzolla’s Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, in addition to solo performances with the Ridgefield Symphony and the Northport Symphony. Throughout his career, Jeremías has been invited to the world’s most elite summer festivals, including the Perlman Music Program, Music@Menlo, Taos, Kneisel, Aspen, and Schleswig-Holstein. He is an Artist Faculty member of the Charles Ives Music Festival.
Outside the orchestra, Jeremías remains an active chamber musician. In 2021, he made his Weill Hall debut performing works for violin and piano by Florence Price alongside Yannick Nézet-Séguin as part of The Met Orchestra Chamber Ensemble concert series, and is a former member of the Frisson Ensemble—with whom he was featured in NPR’s Performance Today. Holding close to his Argentinian roots, Jeremías enjoys playing tango. He is a former member of the Pedro Giraudo Tango Quartet, winners of the 2018 Latin GRAMMY® Award. Currently, Jeremías is a member of the NYC-based Sonora Collective, a musicians’ collective that creates vibrant performance experiences in special venues and art installation spaces.
In 2016, following the previous year’s devastating earthquake, Jeremías joined the acclaimed violinist Midori in Nepal for a benefit string quartet tour of refugee camps, hospitals, and schools, culminating in a performance at the United Nations in Kathmandu. Later in 2017, the same group would conduct a quartet tour across Japan, with feature performances in Tokyo’s Oji Hall and Osaka’s Phoenix Hall.
After picking up his violin at the age of 3, Jeremías first toured his home country as a soloist at age 10, and returned to win First Prize at the Argentine Hebrew Foundation Competition. He owes much of his great fortune to the violinist Miriam Fried who, upon their meeting at a music festival in Brazil, encouraged a young Jeremías to study with her at the New England Conservatory, where he received his Bachelor of Music. Jeremías holds additional degrees from the Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music and is also deeply grateful to his other primary teachers: Ronald Copes, Glenn Dicterow, Fernando Hasaj, Lisa Kim, Sylvia Rosenberg, and Fabricio Valvasori.
In September 2026, he will join the faculty of Manhattan School of Music’s Orchestral Performance Program.
John Upton is Principal Oboe of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Prior to that appointment, he freelanced extensively throughout New York City, performing frequently with the New York Philharmonic on both oboe and English horn. He has also performed with the New York City Ballet Orchestra, the American Ballet Theatre Orchestra and The Knights.
Before moving to New York City, Mr. Upton was Principal Oboe of the Florida Orchestra. He was also a member of New World Symphony and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. He has performed as guest principal oboist with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. Other guest performances include the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, and the Minnesota Orchestra.
Mr. Upton began his studies at Eastman School of Music, earning a Bachelor of Music degree. Upon graduation, he was awarded the prestigious Performer’s Certificate, the school’s highest performance prize. Mr. Upton continued his studies at the Juilliard School, where he received his Master of Music degree. His most influential teachers include Nathan Hughes, Richard Killmer, and Nancy Ambrose King.
After receiving first prize in the International Double Reed Society’s biennial Young Artist Competition, Upton was awarded a solo recital at the 2010 International Double Reed Society conference. He was also a featured soloist with The Florida Orchestra, performing the Mozart Oboe Concerto, as well as a featured soloist at the New World Symphony Gala in 2020.
Mr. Upton keeps a busy summer schedule and has performed at many summer festivals including the Verbier Festival, Tanglewood Music Center, Mainly Mozart, Classical Tahoe, and the Sun Valley Music Festival. Last summer he performed and taught at the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan.
ABOUT MANHATTAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC
Founded as a community music school by Janet Daniels Schenck in 1918, today MSM is recognized for its more than 1,000 superbly talented undergraduate and graduate students who come from more than 50 countries and nearly all 50 states; its innovative curricula and world-renowned artist-teacher faculty that includes musicians from the New York Philharmonic, the Met Orchestra, and the top ranks of the jazz and Broadway communities; and a distinguished community of accomplished, award-winning alumni working at the highest levels of the musical, educational, cultural, and professional worlds.
The School is dedicated to the personal, artistic, and intellectual development of aspiring musicians, from its Precollege students through those pursuing doctoral studies. Offering classical, jazz, and musical theatre training, MSM grants a range of undergraduate and graduate degrees. True to MSM’s origins as a music school for children, the Precollege Division is a professionally oriented Saturday music program dedicated to the musical and personal growth of talented young musicians ages 8 to 18. The School also serves some 2,000 New York City schoolchildren through its Arts-in-Education Program, and another 2,000 students through its critically acclaimed Distance Learning Program.
MSM LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Manhattan School of Music acknowledges that we gather on the traditional land of the Lenape and Wappinger past and present, and honor with gratitude the land itself and the people who have stewarded it throughout the generations. This calls us to commit to continuing to learn how to be better stewards of the land we inhabit as well.
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