ASSISTANT TO THE CONDUCTOR (1996 to Present)
DR. BARBARA PODGURSKI
A native of New York, pianist and teaching artist Barbara Podgurski holds a DMA in piano performance from The Graduate Center (CUNY) as well as a BM in piano performance and an MM in both piano performance and music theory from the Mannes College of Music. Dr. Podgurski has performed as soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Caribbean and Europe, including a number of performances at Carnegie Hall. She has been featured in television and radio broadcasts which include appearances on WQXR’s Young Artists Showcase, WNYC’s “Soundcheck”, NPR, WPLN Nashville’s “Live from Studio C”, WQED and numerous others. Dr. Podgurski was featured on the 2015 television documentary for NHK in Japan with her touring partner violinist Elizabeth Pitcairn and the famed “Red” Mendelssohn Stradivarius. Past collaborations with renowned artists include violinists Philippe Graffin, Grammy-award winner Jenny Oaks Baker, and the late Lorand Fenyves, flutist Harold Jones, clarinetist Charles Neidich, pianists Diane Walsh and Seymour Lipkin, and cellists Manfred Stilz, Marcy Rosen and the late Paul Tobias. Dr. Podgurski has premiered numerous new works including a concerto by Pulitzer-Prize winning composer George Walker.
Dr. Podgurski is currently the Executive and Artistic Director of Musica Reginae Productions in Queens, NY and is a member of the Pitcairn-Podgurski-Drachman Piano Trio which recently finished their first US tour. A former faculty member at The Mannes College of Music, Hunter College and Mercy College, she is currently an Adjunct Assistant Professor at BMCC (CUNY), Staff Pianist for the Strings Department at NYU, and is on the faculty of the RiverArts Music Program in Hudson Valley. Barbara is a consultant for the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs as well as for the Board of Education in both NYC and NYS. By invitation in 2014, Dr.
Podgurski became a Steinway Teaching Artist. She recently performed with rock band Evanescence on their 2017/18 Synthesis Tour and with legendary vocal group Il Divo on their 2019 “Timeless” Tour and 2022 Greatest Hits Tour. Barbara is currently a contributing writer to Cambridge’s Nineteenth Century Music and has been an Arts Commissioner Advisor for the Queens Council on the Arts. Barbara is the organist and music director at Trinity St. Andrews Evangelical Lutheran Church in Maspeth, Queens.
ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR
DR. SUNG JIN PARKDr. Sung Jin Park is an experienced conductor, seasoned classical singer, and dedicated educator, celebrated for her captivating performances. Dr. Park has extensive experience in producing, directing, and conducting classical music performances. Her technical brilliance, emotional depth, and stage presence have earned her numerous accolades.
Dr. Park maintains a prolific academic career, with more than ten years of experience as faculty in leading institutions, including Seoul National University. Her pedagogy blends classical music theory and performance experience, providing practical performance lectures for both professional and non-professional singers. In addition, Dr. Park’s research gained recognition in academia for its in-depth analysis of classical elements with contemporary interpretation, resulting in winning prestigious grants from Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture and National Research Foundation of Korea.
Dr. Park has performed leading roles in major operas, including Violetta in La Traviata, Adele in Die Fledermaus, and Mimi in La Bohème. She starred in the world premiere of Opera Bari with the Seoul Metropolitan Opera, demonstrating her entrepreneurial approach to opera. Beyond opera, Dr. Park excels as a concert artist, having performed as a soloist with the Pacific Symphony and Gangnam Symphony Orchestra.
Dr. Park earned her Doctorate of Musical Arts from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Master of Music from Binghamton University, and Bachelor of Music from Seoul National University.
The Oratorio Society of Queens is delighted to have extended an invitation to gifted composer, Yunhee Cho, to create and arrange music for OSQ’s choral performances.
COMPOSER IN RESIDENCE
YUNHEE CHO
Born in Seoul, South Korea, composer, music theorist, and accompanist Yunhee Cho earned a Bachelor's degree in composition from Chung-Ang University. She pursued Master's degrees in music theory and composition at Ewha Womans University and Mannes College of Music. To further her studies in composition, she enrolled and studied in the doctoral program at Rutgers University. Cho has been honored at the 5th Jean Schneider Goberman Composition Competition and the 44th Seoul Composition Festival. Additionally, she won the Mannes Orchestra Composition Competition in 2010. Currently active in both the United States and South Korea, Cho primarily focuses on composing and arranging for solo, choir, chamber, and orchestral works. Her compositions are performed by various city chorales and orchestras in Korea, as well as professional ensembles in the United States, with many of her choral works being professionally published and recorded. Yunhee Cho has been serving as the resident composer of Oratorio Society of Queens since February 2024.