Graduate Students 2023–2024
Jordan Baker has a M.M. in musicology and a Ph.D. in philosophy, both from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. His musicological work focuses on how the stabilization of Gregorian chant modes in the early Middle Ages was an intentional project for unifying Western Christian identity. Similarly, his philosophical work focuses on individuals’ identity as agents and the nature of mental actions. These academic concerns with identity formation now inform his vocational discernment for ordained ministry in the Lutheran Church (ELCA). At the ISM he hopes to explore how liturgical practices shape people’s sense of agency, especially communal agency.
Eliana Barwinski is a versatile Mezzo-Soprano celebrated for her captivating performances and extensive musical expertise. Currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Religion and Music at Yale University’s Institute of Sacred Music, Barwinski has completed two years of her DM in Voice Performance from Indiana University and graduated with an MM and BM in Voice Performance with honors from the University of Michigan. Eliana’s stage presence spans a variety of roles, from Tebro in “O come e chiare e belle” to Alto soloist in Bach’s, St. John’s Passion, and has been showcased on both national and international stages. Her research encompasses early and Sacred music, Central/Eastern European vocal repertoire, Chinese folk and art songs, and Anglican choral traditions. In addition to her compelling performances, Eliana is a dedicated educator and skilled arts administrator. Her teaching experience ranges from university guest lectures to private voice instruction. Eliana’s ongoing journey serves as an inspiration as she contributes to the world of music through her artistry and commitment.
Salvadoran-American baritone, Fredy Bonilla comes from Houston, Texas where he received his Bachelors of Choral Music Education from the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music. At Moores he studied voice under Hector Vasquez and was a member of the Moores School Concert Chorale, Moores Opera Center, and various other organizations. While at Moores he competed with Concert Chorale in Wales, France, and Germany. After undergrad he taught high school choir in the Houston area for 7 years. Choirs under his direction received “Superior”, “Sweepstakes”, and “Best in Class” awards at state UIL and area festivals. Outside of teaching Fredy performed with vocal ensembles in the Houston area including Cantare Houston, the Houston Chamber Choir, and the Houston Grand Opera Chorus. He has also sung in local area churches including Christ Church Cathedral (Episcopal) in Houston, and has sung in evensongs in England, Scotland, and Ireland as ensemble member, soloist, and cantor. He is currently in his first year at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music studying for a Masters of Music in Early Music Voice with professor James Taylor.
Luke is a first year student at Yale University in the studios of Carole Terry and James O’Donnell pursuing his Master of Music (M.M.) in organ performance. He is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, formerly in the studios of Anne Laver and Nathan Laube, with a Bachelor of Music (BM) in Organ Performance as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics (BA) from the University of Rochester. He has had the good fortune to work in masterclasses with artists including Nathan Laube, Bruce Neswick, Isabelle Demers, Simon Johnson, Raul Prieto Ramirez, and others. He is also a winner of the 2019 RCYO Potomac Chapter and Mid-Atlantic Regional Competitions. In his free time, Luke enjoys learning foreign languages, finance, playing soccer and is a huge ice hockey fan.
Holly is from Perth, Western Australia and is an incoming organ student. She received her undergraduate degree in Composition and Master of Teaching from the University of Western Australia and received a First Class Honours degree in Organ from Edith Cowan University. While in Australia, Holly held an organ post at St. George’s Cathedral, performed with the Australian Youth Orchestra under the baton of Sir Mark Elder, and competed as a finalist in the Sydney International Organ Competition for which she was a prize winner. Previously in 2023, Holly was selected to work with Juilliard’s Organ Professor, Paul Jacobs, as part of the Oregon Bach Festival.
Lucasen received his M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary in 2020 and a B.A. from Vassar College. He is a painter and an independent art dealer and curator and is pursuing hospital chaplaincy. He is interested in the intersection of art and faith. While studying at ISM and YDS, he will pursue research and complete a series of paintings on sacred textiles, ritual, and mourning. A native New Yorker, for most of his career he owned an art gallery in the city. His artwork has been the subject of a number of solo shows and they have been included in many group exhibitions. He divides his time between New Haven and New York City.
Konstantza was born and raised in Sofia, Bulgaria, but the Holy Spirit brought her to the U.S. through music. She earned her B.M. and M.M. degrees in piano performance at Queens College and her D.M.A. in collaborative piano from UNCG. A classical concert pianist and a church music director, she aspires to become a chaplain with a concentration in end-of-life counseling. Conscious, compassionate living, holistic healing, quality end-of-life care, and the afterlife interest her deeply. Music, literature, the arts, scientific facts, and cosmology are her passions, along with love bees, alpacas, and horses. She’s an Eastern Orthodox Christian who serves as a musician in a Catholic Parish, but also finds inspiration in the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda, and the books of rabbi David Aaron. Recently, Konstantza developed a fascination with Muslim culture, including Sufi poetry and wisdom.
Joseph Ferguson is an organist and pianist from Little Silver, New Jersey. Currently a graduate student of organ at Yale University in the studio of James O’Donnell, he maintains keen interests in improvisation and Catholic liturgy. Joseph is currently Organ Scholar at Church of the Heavenly Rest in Manhattan, New York. His past organ instructors include Martin Jean, Vincent Carr, and Renée Anne Louprette, and he has pursued study of Catholic sacred music, particularly Gregorian chant, at St. Joseph’s Seminary & College in Yonkers, New York and St. Patrick’s Seminary & University in Menlo Park, California. Previously, Joseph earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in Piano from Rutgers University and McGill University respectively, cultivating a passion for the historical performance practices documented on recordings of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Notable performances include Dohnányi’s comic piano concerto, Variations on a Nursery Theme, Op. 25 with Rutgers Sinfonia as winner of the ensemble’s annual concerto competition, and a recent performance of Fauré’s Requiem, Op. 48 alongside chamber orchestra at Church of the Heavenly Rest.
Madeleine received her B.A. in Philosophy from Eastern University and has spent several years serving in the Episcopal Service Corps in Philadelphia, PA, where she was the program director of the Welcome Table at St. James School in North Philadelphia. She is a Postulant for Holy Orders in the Diocese of Pennsylvania and am M.Div. candidate at the ISM and Berkeley Divinity School. She is thrilled for the opportunity to continue discerning her call to the priesthood alongside such talented artists and fellow theologians.
Lauren received her BA from W&L University in May of 2022 where she earned a double major in English and Medieval and Renaissance Studies as well as a minor in Classics. She works primarily in the literature and history of the early modern period with particular attention to the intersections between personal faith and the tangible world and the ways that the literature of the period can reflect the conflict in the early modern world. This conflict was defined by religious changes and wars for religious freedom that raged on the battlefields, in royal courts, obscure towns and villages, and in the hearts of those who lived during this time. After completing her M.A.R. in Religion and Literature, Lauren hopes to earn her Ph.D. and pursue a career in higher education.
Ariana is a second-year student currently seeking ordination in the United Church of Christ. For Ariana, home is the rural Midwest where she first learned the sacredness of both land and community. Before coming to Yale, her focus was on youth development and environmental advocacy and policy. She is continuously curious about how artistic and faith practices can be used as tools to stretch collective imagination.
Madeleine is a Mohegan student whose work focuses on Indigenous lifeways and story medicine, though they also maintain an avid interest in bioethics. Madeleine is particularly interested in Indigenous media and is/has been involved with several Indigenous storytelling projects, including the Yale Indigenous Performing Arts Program. Prior to returning to study at YDS/ISM, Madeleine worked for the Tantaquidgeon Museum in Uncasville, CT and continues to integrate her work with her tribe with her work at YDS and the ISM. In her limited-but-glorious free time, Madeleine enjoys reading Indigenous fiction, plants, walks, and The Twilight Zone.
Jacob is studying at Yale Divinity School and the Institute of Sacred Music. He graduated from Brown University in 2018 with an AB in Classics and Medieval Cultures. He’s looking forward to studying how liturgy, sacred music, religious art and architecture, and literature intersect with and inform each other.
Terrance currently works at Yale Divinity School’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion as a community equity and belonging liaison. He is a chapel minister on the Marquand Chapel team and director of the Yale Black Seminarians Gospel Choir. Terrance has an M.A. in higher education from the University of Michigan and a B.A. in sociology from Morehouse College. He is a Raymond Preaching Fellow, Horatio Alger Scholar, and Gates Millennium Scholar. Terrance attributes his success to his parents, his hometown of Fort Pierce, FL, and faith in God.
Sharla Moody (M.A.R. religion and literature ‘25) comes to the ISM after working as a nonprofit administrator. Prior to that, she received her B.A. from Yale in English. A native of Appalachia Ohio and West Virginia, she is interested in aesthetics, poetry, genre, and writing as a way of understanding imago dei.
Kathryn grew up in Evansville, IN and studied English Literature and Medieval and Renaissance Studies at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, VA. Her research interests lie in Christian mysticism and mystical theology, especially how theology flows from the experience of God and the world. At the ISM, she hopes to continue finding points of connection between theology, liturgy, the arts, and the life of faith.
Will is an award-winning musician and teaching artist, specializing in musical and theatrical improvisation, songwriting, and performing music for young people. He aims to help reimagine the church with the arts and improvisation as central tools for facilitating community-making and transformation. He is an affiliated teaching artist with Arts for Learning Connecticut, and he regularly performs with his wife, Cecelia, as their band, BlueRaspberry. https://www.willparker.com/
Nathan is originally from the Atlanta suburbs but comes most recently from Boston. He holds a B.Mus. in Organ from Samford University and an M.S.M. in Organ from Boston University. While in Boston, he was Organ Scholar at Trinity Church, Copley Square. Nathan’s academic interests are in liturgical studies, homiletics, and history. In addition to singing with Yale’s Schola Cantorum, he maintains an active schedule as an organist and tenor. Nathan plans to pursue ordination in The Episcopal Church. During his free time, he enjoys taking walks, drinking coffee, exploring museums, and going to the symphony.
Nathaly is a conceptual artist primarily working in performance and installation. Their work focuses on demystifying the place of love and role of power in our everyday lives. Through extensive research, personal contemplation, and playful pop cultural analysis, their practice forgoes traditional approaches to education and fine art, placing it squarely in the realm of Social Practice.
Matthew is a postulant for holy orders in the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland. He is jointly resident at the Institute of Sacred Music and the Berkeley Divinity School. Matthew came to New Haven from Baltimore, where he remains on the faculty of musicology at Johns Hopkins University. Matthew completed his undergraduate degree at the College of William and Mary, and his masters and doctoral degrees in musicology at the University of Oxford; there, he focused on American musical culture at the fin-de-siècle. Matthew is active as a professional choral singer and conductor, having directed the Oxford University Philharmonia, Consortium Novum, the Washington Young Sinfonia, and the Choir of Pusey House, Oxford.
Lily is from New York City and is fascinated by the connection between art, religion, and nature. During her master’s in Modern Languages at Oxford, she wrote her dissertation on the German Romantic conception of self, other, and the divine, particularly in the prose work of Hölderlin and Novalis. She received a B.A. in Comparative Literature and German Studies from Brown University in 2018, where she wrote her thesis on Virginia Woolf and Novalis, and worked as a freelance writer and novelist for the past few years. She enjoys gardening and is learning to play the banjo.
Peter Schertz is a Baritone from New Jersey. A regular church musician and choral singer, Peter has sung in ensembles in central New Jersey and Philadelphia, including the Philadelphia Orchestra Symphonic Choir, the Princeton Festival Baroque Chorus, and most recently The Lotus Project of New Jersey, a non-profit ensemble that partners with charitable humanitarian organizations. Peter holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sacred Music from Westminster Choir College, where he performed choral works regularly with The Philadelphia Orchestra, and New York Philharmonic.
Trevor Scott recently received his Masters of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, where he studied under the direction of Professor Stanford Olsen. This past summer, he was honored to sing as a studio artist with the Chautauqua Opera Company, where he performed in their productions of Sweeney Todd and La Tragédie de Carmen. He also recently performed the role of Don Ottavio in UM Opera Theatre’s production of Don Giovanni. He completed his undergraduate degree at the Eastman School of Music, where he studied under Professor Robert Swensen. In January 2023, he was honored to have received an encouragement award in the Iowa District of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, and in 2022, he was a finalist and recipient of the Kaprálová Award in the American International Czech and Slovak Voice Competition in Green Bay, WI. During his time at Michigan, he was selected as one of nine vocal fellows in the University of Michigan’s prestigious American Song Institute, where he studied for four days with renowned baritone Thomas Hampson. Other recent operatic roles include the Schoolmaster/Mosquito in Cunning Little Vixen (UM Opera Theatre), Reverend Rankin in Adolphus Hailstork’s Rise for Freedom (UMOT), The Lyric Tenor in Dominick Argento’s Postcard from Morocco (Eastman Opera Theatre), and Little Victor Farrel in Kevin Puts’ Elizabeth Cree (EOT). Trevor is originally from St. Louis, Missouri, and is an avid cyclist; one of his life’s goals is to ride his bike across all 50 states!
Augie is a first year M.A.R. student in the comprehensive program, where he hopes to explore his interests in early church history, sacred music, and liturgical theology and practice. He earned his B.A. from Bowdoin College in 2023, where he majored in classics and music, and hopes to continue this kind of interdisciplinary work at Yale. In addition to his academic interests, Augie is also a trained organist and singer, and currently serves as cantor and section leader at St. Peter Church (Danbury, CT). He has previously served as interim organist at First Parish Church (Brunswick, ME), and as singer in the St. Mary Schola (Falmouth, ME), the Bowdoin Chamber Choir (Brunswick, ME), and the St. Thomas Choir of Men and Boys (New York, NY).
Mezzo-soprano Sandy Sharis comes from Atlanta, Georgia and especially enjoys performing early music, chamber music, and concert repertoire. Recent solo engagements include Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang at Norfolk Chamber Music Festival (Dr. Jeffrey Douma), Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music with Seraphic Fire and the New World Symphony (Patrick Quigley) and concert solos at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, including Bach’s Magnificat (Dr. Felicia Barber), Bach’s Weihnachtsoratorium (David Hill), and Amy Beach’s Canticle of the Sun, which was recorded by Hyperion Records in the spring of 2023. Sandy has also performed with ensembles such as the VOCES8 US Scholars, Seraphic Fire, and Servire. While studying at The Ohio State University, she was selected a winner of their Concerto Competition, the Wilson Vocal Competition, the Graduate Vocal Achievement award, and the regional NATS Artist Awards competition (Great Lakes). At OSU, she performed as a soloist and chorister in Corigliano’s Fern Hill and Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb with the Symphonic Choir, and as a soloist with the Men’s Glee Club at the 2020 OMEA Conference. She also performed the roles of Cherubino in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro and Le Prince Charmant in Viardot’s Cendrillon. Sandy holds a Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance from Furman University and a master’s degree in voice performance and pedagogy from The Ohio State University. Sandy is currently studying for her M.M.A. degree in Early Music, Oratorio, and Art Song at Yale’s Institute of Sacred Music.