Our faculty and staff are committed to developing the next generation’s composers, performers and arts advocates.
Faculty and staff take an active role in Walden’s community life by living alongside the students in dormitories. They eat meals together, participate in various school-wide recreational activities, and share the tasks that maintain the school and assure the safety of all it members. Our philosophy is that by participating together in all levels of community life, faculty, staff, visiting artists, and students can create an environment where close relationships develop and creativity flourishes.
Outside of the summer session, our leaders are distinguished in the fields of composition, theory, arranging, performance, pedagogy, arts administration, and arts advocacy. Our staff holds degrees from institutions such as Eastman School of Music, Mills College, Yale University, Williams College, University of Washington, Luther College, New England Conservatory, College of Wooster, University of Michigan, Peabody Conservatory, Northwestern University, Columbia University, Oberlin College Conservatory, University of California, Swarthmore College, University of Southern California, SUNY-Buffalo, University of Cincinnati Conservatory, SUNY-Stony Brook, New England Conservatory, Harvard University, and Duke University.
Meet the 2024 Young Musicians Program Faculty & Staff
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Cara Haxo
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Carlos Henrique Pereira
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Francesca Hellerman
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Kari Francis
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Kittie Cooper
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Luke Schroeder
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Nate Trier
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Paul Zito
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Sammi Stone
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Seth Brenzel
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Theo Trevisan
Cara Haxo
Academic Dean, Young Musicians Program
At the encouragement of her mother, Cara Haxo begrudgingly attended Walden as a student in 2004. As soon as she arrived on campus, she immediately fell in love with everything about Walden and came back for another five summers. She is thrilled to return to Walden more recently as a faculty member and academic dean. Cara is the winner of the 2022 National Women’s Musical Festival Emerging Women Composers Competition. She was also awarded the 2019 International Alliance for Women in Music Libby Larsen Prize, the 2013 National Federation of Music Clubs Young Composers Award, and the 2013 IAWM Ellen Taaffe Zwilich Prize. Her works have been premiered by the May Festival Youth Chorus, Hub New Music, Quince Ensemble, and Splinter Reeds, amongst other ensembles.
Cara is a Visiting Assistant Professor at The College of Wooster in Ohio. She earned her Ph.D. in Composition at the University of Oregon, where she worked as a Graduate Teaching Fellow in Music Theory. She also holds degrees from Butler University and The College of Wooster. She previously taught courses in composition and theory as an Adjunct Instructor of Music at Notre Dame College (Ohio), and private piano, theory, and composition lessons through the Butler Community Arts School in Indianapolis. When she is not composing, Cara enjoys baking desserts, going on long road trips, and hanging out with her cat, Pippin. For more information, please visit http://chaxomusic.com.
Carlos Henrique Pereira
Carlos Henrique Pereira is an accomplished composer, performer, educator, and music producer. Alongside his thriving career as a musician, he has been deeply committed to educating students since the age of 18 when he began teaching at the music conservatory in his hometown. Carlos draws from his extensive studies in classical music, Brazilian music, popular music, and jazz to enrich his teaching, exposing his students to a diverse range of musical styles. He firmly believes in the inherent musicality of every child and sees it as his duty to nurture and develop their musical abilities. Carlos’s teaching approach focuses on instilling joy and fun into music, fostering a sense of accomplishment through personalized and attainable goals for each student.
Carlos’s journey as a composer started at a young age, and despite the absence of formal training, he made history by becoming the youngest composer to have a work selected for the Brazilian Contemporary Music Biennial in Rio de Janeiro in 1983. His compositions were featured alongside those of renowned Brazilian modern composers. Throughout his career, Carlos has composed and recorded four albums of original compositions, with his fifth album currently in progress. His musical contributions have garnered numerous awards and recognition. Notably, Carlos has composed and arranged music for various dance companies in New York and has performed at venues such as Carnegie Hall and Merkin Hall. He has had the privilege of collaborating with many esteemed jazz artists. During his time in New York, Carlos also produced a diverse catalog of original music that has been featured in numerous movies and TV shows worldwide.
In 2009, Carlos received a grant in Brazil to compose his third album, titled “Minas, Gerais,” which was released in 2011. Dedicated to his home state, the album received widespread acclaim from critics and fans, earning a nomination for the 24th Brazilian Music Awards.
Since relocating to California, Carlos has captivated audiences through various performances, including appearances at the Healdsburg Jazz Festival and the Blue Note in Napa. His musical endeavors have been acknowledged and supported by organizations such as the San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music, where he was awarded the 2016 Music Grant Program, and Creative Sonoma, which honored him with the 2019 Next Level Grant award. Carlos takes immense pride in being a father to his nine-year-old son and eleven-year-old daughter, whom he affectionately considers his favorite students.
Francesca Hellerman
Staff, Creative Musicians Retreat
Faculty, Young Musicians Program
Francesca Hellerman is a composer whose works joyfully uncover the tactile richness of gestures and sounds made by instruments, electronics, and found objects alike. Her work has been performed by the PRISM Quartet, members of the International Contemporary Ensemble, the Walden School Players, and TAK Ensemble. Her music has been heard in a variety of spaces, from concert halls or museum galleries (at the Williams College Museum of Art) to outdoor stages (at Mostly Mozart Festival), a cabin on a lake (at New Music on the Point), or a patch of grass under a tree (at the Clark Art Institute). Francesca also performs as a choral singer and on electronics, piano, and more, having appeared in or alongside the Williams Chamber and Concert Choirs, Peabody Camerata, the Williams Percussion Ensemble, and New Music Williams.
Francesca is currently pursuing a M.M. in composition from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, where she studies with Sky Macklay. She previously obtained her B.A. in music from Williams College. Francesca first fell in love with composition and group music-making at The Walden School’s Young Musicians Program, which she attended as a student for eight summers and whose warm community she is thrilled to have returned to as a teacher.
Kari Francis
Choral Director, Young Musicians Program
Kari Francis (she/her) is a vocalist, arranger, and choral music educator who has shared the stage with Imogen Heap, competed on Season 3 of NBC’s The Sing-Off with Kinfolk 9, and can be heard beatboxing on Grammy Award-winning pianist-composer Cory Smythe’s album Accelerate Every Voice. Currently a choral conducting doctoral student in the Sacred Music program at the University of Notre Dame, her past teaching includes choral arranging, ear training, music theory, and directing vocal ensembles at the College of Saint Rose, Mannes School of Music, CUNY Hunter College, and Teachers College Columbia University. Kari was previously a conducting fellow with the Young People’s Chorus of New York City and has taught in NYC public schools as a Midori & Friends vocal teaching artist. Her writings on contemporary a cappella have been published by GIA Music and NATS, and she frequently leads workshops on arranging, vocal percussion, and group vocal improvisation at music festivals and conferences around the world. Kari holds degrees in music education from the Eastman School of Music, Teachers College Columbia University, and music theory/composition from the University of California, San Diego. Her research interests include choral improvisation, collaborative learning, and popular music in the choral classroom.
Kittie Cooper
Director of Composers Forums
Faculty & Academic Dean, Young Musicians Program
Kittie Cooper is a sound and intermedia artist, performer, and educator based in Vancouver, BC. She makes work that explores the spectrum between silliness and seriousness, and in particular where those two things overlap with spookiness. Much of Kittie’s work looks at the messy insides of people, places, and things. Their work has been called “highly original and wonderfully fun”. They are interested in text and graphic scores, improvisation, and DIY electronic instruments. They have performed and presented at a variety of festivals across the United States and Canada, and perform regularly as a guitarist, electronic musician, and improviser. Kittie’s music has been commissioned and performed by International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), Ensemble Dal Niente, Splinter Reeds, Popebama, and Warp Trio. She serves as Director of Composers Forums, Academic Dean, and Faculty for The Walden School Young Musicians Program—this will be Kittie’s tenth summer working at Walden! They hold a BM from Northwestern University in music education and guitar performance, and an MEd in teaching students with visual impairments from George Mason University. They are currently working toward an MFA in interdisciplinary arts at Simon Fraser University. They also like ghost stories, chili, and cats.
You can find more information and documentation of Kittie’s work at kittiecooper.com.
Luke Schroeder
Staff, Creative Musicians Retreat
Faculty, Young Musicians Program
Luke was born in Fairbanks, Alaska, but grew up and currently lives in Wichita Falls, Texas. In the fall, Luke will be entering his Senior year at Texas Tech University, where he majors in Music Education. He hopes to become a teacher one day and share his passion for music with his students. At Texas Tech, Luke plays Viola in the University Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Bravura, and New Music Ensemble. He has played with the Wichita Falls Symphony Orchestra as well. Luke also works for the Texas Tech String Project. String Project is an organization funded by Texas Tech University that allows string music education students to teach beginner string players. Luke enjoys listening to a wide range of music and spending time with good friends. His hobbies include collecting records, discovering different coffee shops, and watching sports. Luke is looking forward to a fun and exciting summer at Walden!
Nate Trier
Faculty & Academic Dean, Young Musicians Program
Nate Trier is a composer and producer, based just outside of New Haven, CT, who creates electronic music that features lyrical piano and accordion melodies over churning soundscapes of buzzing drones, fuzzy drums, and crackling static. He describes his music as “classical ambient beats;” others have described it as “quite engrossing” (KFFP) and “like looking into your soul” (Raighes Factory). His music has travelled worldwide: abstract visual artist Sergei Petrov used Trier’s music for installations in Zelenograd, Russia, and the 48th International Summer Course for New Music in Darmstadt, Germany distributed a recording of Trier’s fixed-media piece, “Serial Parameter Shift,” to attendees. Trier has released several collections of electronic music, including singles, EP’s, and albums.
Paul Zito
Young Musicians Program staff
Paul was born in Mayfield Heights, Ohio and is going into his Junior year as a Music Education major at The College of Wooster. He plays the clarinet and has participated in Wooster’s marching band, symphonic band, musical pit, and premiered compositions of his peers as well as one of his own. As a singer, Paul has sung in the Wooster Chorus and was provided the opportunity to sing with Cleveland Orchestra Chorus during their Holiday Concerts the past two years, and in the Blossom Festival Chorus last summer. He has toured with both the Scot Symphonic Band and Wooster Chorus over the past two years during spring break, performing in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Indiana. In addition, he music directs two a cappella groups at Wooster and loves every opportunity he can get to be in front of a group and direct. When he’s not doing music, Paul enjoys playing video games, playing tennis, getting food with friends, and attending concerts. He is excited to work with so many new faces at Walden this summer!
Sammi Stone
Director of Operations
Sammi Jo Stone is an oboist and saxophonist from Baker City in rural northeastern Oregon. She holds degrees in music from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts and the University of California San Diego.
Sammi is passionate about learning and teaching music, going on hikes, and knowing which birds are which.
Seth Brenzel
Executive Director & Director, Young Musicians Program
Seth Brenzel, Executive Director, has been associated with The Walden School for more than 30 years. He was fortunate to be a student at Walden for six magical summers (1985-1990), and since 1994, has served the School as a staff member, faculty member, Director of Operations, and as the Associate Director from 1996 to 2003, when he became the School’s Executive Director. Since 1995, he has sung tenor with the Grammy Award-winning San Francisco Symphony Chorus, and is currently a professional member of that ensemble.
Seth has served as the co-clerk of the Board of Trustees of the San Francisco Friends School, and in the past, he has served on the boards of The Walden School, Swarthmore College, and Earplay, a San Francisco-based new music ensemble. Seth received his B.A., with degrees in Music and Political Science, from Swarthmore College, where he served as President of the College’s Alumni Association. He received an M.B.A. from the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, with a focus in non-profit management and marketing; he has also served on the Haas School’s Development Council. He is a 2012 graduate of Leadership San Francisco, where he serves as an alumni advisor.
Prior to becoming Walden’s first full-time Executive Director, Seth worked part-time for Walden during the year and held positions as a senior consultant at Deloitte Consulting, in marketing and public relations at the San Francisco Symphony, and led both the marketing and the enterprise sales teams for an internet software company, now part of Adobe. When not at Walden, Seth lives in San Francisco with his husband, Malcolm Gaines, and their daughter, Cora.
Theo Trevisan
Faculty, Young Musicians Program
As a child, Theo sang at the American Boychoir School, performing in 30 states and South Korea with world-class conductors and ensembles. Theo received a B.A. from Princeton, studying composition, computer science and consort singing. He studied composition with Jeff Snyder, Dan Trueman, Donnacha Dennehy, and Dmitri Tymozcko; voice with Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek; and conducting with Gabriel Crouch. He is currently pursuing his Masters in Composition at USC, studying with Ted Hearne, Donald Crockett, and Andrew Norman.
Theo’s music has been performed by many collaborators, including the International Contemporary Ensemble, TAK Ensemble, Mivos Quartet, Antioch Chamber Ensemble, Princeton University Glee Club and Chamber Choir, Princeton Laptop Orchestra, DJ Sparr, David Friend, Matthew Gold, and Soo Yeon Lyuh. He has sung with the choir of St. James in the City LA, Tonality, C3LA, Gallicantus, USC Chamber Singers, various Princeton choirs, and the Princeton Katzenjammers acapella group. Additionally, he sings in the recently founded octet Exilio, which is dedicated to programming new music and composers from historically underrepresented groups. Theo contributed to software development of Dan Trueman’s bitKlavier app and Jeff Snyder’s Vocodec instrument, and he has been teaching ear training classes for National Children’s Chorus since 2024.
Other interests include reading obscure history, playing strategy games, telling bad puns, skiing, and vegetarian cooking. Theo has been a part of the Walden community for many years: he attended the Young Musicians Program from 2014-2017 and the Creative Musicians Retreat from 2019-2021, and he has worked at the Young Musicians Program in various capacities since 2019. Learn more at theotrevisan.com
Summer 2024
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