The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) in New York has announced four new faculty appointments to its strings and vocal arts departments.
Violist Jordan Bak and double bassist Ha Young Jung join the string faculty, alongside cellist, Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient and MSM alumnus Tommy Mesa, whose appointment to the school’s strings faculty was announced in January.
Gioacchino (Jack) Li Vigni and Cyndia Sieden from the Metropolitan Opera join the vocal arts faculty.
’We are absolutely delighted to welcome these accomplished artist-teachers to MSM’s distinguished vocal arts and strings faculty,’ said MSM executive vice president and provost Joyce Griggs.
’I have enjoyed the opportunity to spend time with each of them and to discuss their educational philosophy and perspectives. They have each expressed an outlook that beautifully aligns with MSM’s dedication to fostering excellence and a rich, supportive educational environment that values students’ creative risk-taking.’
Bak was a prizewinner in the Sphinx, Lionel Tertis, and Concert Artists Guild Competitions and was named recipient of the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s ‘Alexandra Jupin’ Award and former Young Classical Artist Trust’s (YCAT) ‘Robey Artist’.
He is a graduate of New England Conservatory and the Juilliard School, where he earned his master of music degree and artist diploma, and received the Kovner Fellowship.
Upcoming season highlights for Bak include joining the Takács Quartet on a tour of rarely-performed Mozart viola quintets for the 2025-26 season, in addition to making his concerto debuts with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Houston Symphony.
Bak will also give the world premiere of composer Michael Frazier’s new viola concerto, Los quetzales, commissioned by Eastman School of Music, The Sphinx Organization, and the American Composers Orchestra.
Jung served as the principal double bassist of the New Jersey Symphony and was recently announced as principal bass of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
She is a graduate of London’s Royal College of Music, the Juilliard School, Yale University, and Boston University.
Jung is a laureate of many notable competitions, having received first prize at the Koussevitzky Young Artist Award and the International Society of Bassists’ Competition, the grand prize of Moscow’s International String Competition, the silver medal at the Serge Koussevitzky International Double Bass Competition, and Musician of the Year at the Solti Foundation.
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