Jan Forester

Dr. Jan Forester received a doctorate in piano pedagogy and performance from the University of Miami, with master's and bachelor's degrees from the University of Texas. She has studied internationally at the Royal College of Music, London; Salzburg College, Austria; and the Moscow Conservatory. She has taught at Broward College in Ft. Lauderdale and East Texas Baptist University. She now has a private studio in Longview, Texas, having returned to her East Texas roots. Dr. Forester and husband, Sam, have a daughter who is a singer-songwriter in Nashville.

Jerry Steichen

Maestro Gerald Steichen has established himself as one of America's most versatile conductors. He currently holds the positions of Principal Pops Conductor of the Utah Symphony and Music Director of the Ridgefield Symphony (Connecticut), and completed fifteen seasons as Principal Pops Conductor of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra.

Steichen is a frequent guest conductor for the Boston Pops and the New Jersey Symphony, and has appeared with the symphonies of many other cities nationally and worldwide. He spent ten years as the conductor of the New York City Opera, and performed as pianist for the New York City Opera's acclaimed productions of Porgy and Bess and Carmina Burana.

Steichen toured nationally as the associate conductor of The Phantom of the Opera, The Secret Garden, and Peter Pan, and conducted Cats in New York for two years. He has also appeared on Broadway, portraying Manny, the Accompanist in the Tony Award-winning Master Class. Pursuing his passion for education, Steichen also spent eighteen years with the "Meet the Artist" series at Lincoln Center as conductor, clinician and pianist.

Originally from Tonkawa, Oklahoma, Maestro Steichen holds degrees from Northern Oklahoma College, Oklahoma City University and the University of Southern California. He currently resides in New York City.