Malcolm J. Merriweather, Music Director
Stevie Ryan, Accompanist
Seth Velez, Assistant Conductor
Kimberley Cohan, Operations Director

Barbara Scharf Schamest, President
Jon Lowy, Vice-President
Lynn Clark, Secretary
Christopher Platt, Treasurer
Chris Chalfont, Board Member
Don Harrison, Board Member

Helen Kapstein, Board Member
Amanda Kelly, Board Member
Ryan Mesina, Board Member
Cyndee Socci, Board Member
John Stolen, Board Member
Diana Young, Board Member

Malcolm J. Merriweather, Music Director

GRAMMY nominated conductor Malcolm J. Merriweather is Director of the New York Philharmonic Chorus and Music Director of New York City’s The Dessoff Choirs and Orchestra. He is an Associate Professor and the Tania León Endowed Chair at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York.

He is a sought-after interpreter of symphonic choral works most recently conducting grand performances of Bach’s St. John Passion, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and Handel’s Messiah. In addition to core symphonic repertoire, he is known for the world premiere recordings of The Ballad of the Brown King, Credo, and Simon Bore the Cross by Margaret Bonds (AVIE Records) with The Dessoff Choirs and Orchestra. A frequent guest conductor, he has conducted the Choir of Trinity Wall Street and Novus Orchestra, Chineke! Orchestra, and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.

Ensembles under his baton have performed at venues that include The Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Madison Square Garden, Brooklyn Academy of Music Westminster Abbey, and at the Vatican before Pope Francis. At the invitation of Solange Knowles, he joined the interdisciplinary studio and creative agency, Saint Heron, for performances with Voices of Harlem and The Clark Sisters in Glory to Glory: A Revival of Devotional Art.

Merriweather has earned degrees from Eastman, Manhattan School of Music, and Syracuse University and was a fellow at Tanglewood. Connect with him on Twitter and Instagram.

Steven Ryan, Accompanist

Steven Ryan has been Dessoff’s accompanist and featured keyboard soloist since 1997. He has played celesta with the Berlin Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall; piano, harpsichord, and organ with Dessoff; and synthesizer with the Moody Blues. Conductors he has collaborated with include Vladimir Ashkenazy, Charles Dutoit, Neeme Jäarvi, Sir Neville Marriner, Gerard Schwarz, and Maxim Shostakovich.

In 2012 Steve was a featured artist in Dessoff’s first Midwinter Festival, performing Robin Holloway’s Gilded Goldbergs at Weill Recital Hall with Catherine Venable. In 2011–12 he also appeared on the Stamford Symphony recital series, performed Grammy Award-nominated composer Robert Aldridge’s Piano Trio, and toured in Austria.

Steve is a regular accompanist at Montclair State University, working with the choirs and in voice studios. In recent years he has performed in Russia and France, and played several solos with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and the Greater Trenton Symphony Orchestra. In 2000, he won second prize at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs, and in 2001 he took first place in the Concours des Grand Amateurs de Piano in France.

Kimberley Cohan, Operations Director

Operations Director Kimberley Cohan is a nonprofit professional, actor, singer, dancer, and teaching artist. She has worked at nonprofit organizations and theatre companies throughout the country, including serving as the Programs Director at Theatre Bay Area (TBA) and the Director of Operations at the Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA). While at TBA, Kimberley helmed the creation of the Performing Arts Worker Relief Fund at TBA — ramping up an entirely new emergency relief fund over several weeks; collaborating with partner organizations, funders, and media relations to successfully raise over $650,000 and distribute nearly 800 grants in less than a year. Having joined The Dessoff Choirs as Operations Director in April 2022, Kimberley has overall responsibility for chorus operations of The Dessoff Choirs, reporting to the President of the Board of Directors and working with the Music Director, the Board, the marketing and development committees. She collaborates with the Music Director on all operational details related to concerts, rehearsals, and events, while also serving as the administrator for all technology used by Dessoff.

Kimberley has Bachelor of Arts degrees in Music, Economics, and Environmental Studies from the University of California Santa Cruz. As a performer, Kimberley recently made her NYC theater debut in the new musical Holiday In Heaven at Theater for the New City. www.kimberleycohan.com

Seth Velez, Assistant Conductor

Seth Velez is an accomplished bass-baritone, conductor, and music educator. Seth has extensive touring experience as a chorister on National and International stages. He has competed in international competitions in Wales, France, and Germany, has headlined international choral festivals in Sardinia, Italy, and has sung mass by invitation at St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome, Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, and St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin. In the US, Seth has been a featured performer at conferences for both the National Collegiate Choir Organization and American Choral Directors Association. Seth’s solo work includes experience in Classical and Musical Theatre styles with featured solos at the 2015 NCCO Conference, tours of the western U.S., and a tour to South Korea. Most recently, Seth competed as a finalist in the 2023 “Voice of Musical Theatre” competition in Llangollen, Wales.

Seth’s conducting portfolio includes podium experience with collegiate, community, and professional ensembles. Alongside his position with the Dessoff Choirs, he currently serves as the Faculty Assistant Conductor for the Montclair State University Chorale and as a Training Division Conductor for the Brooklyn Youth Chorus. Seth’s previous conducting and assistant conducting experience includes Syracuse University Choirs, the Sterling Ensemble, Ensoma Creative, and the California Children’s Choir.

As a music educator, Seth has held positions with the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, Syracuse University, and Azusa Pacific University along with several private studios in the Los Angeles Area. Seth currently has a flourishing private voice studio in which he serves clients of all ages and ability levels. His research centers around the flexibility and versatility of the human voice, with recent presentations on the differences in vocal production and technique necessary to seamlessly move between solo classical, choral, and musical theatre vocal styles.

Seth holds both a Master of Music in Choral Conducting and a Master of Music in Voice Pedagogy from Syracuse University and holds a Bachelor of Music Performance from Azusa Pacific University. He is an inducted member of Pi Kappa Lambda and holds active memberships with the American Choral Directors Association, the National Association of Teachers of Singing, and the College Music Society.