The FIU School of Music is pleased to announce the hiring of exceptional faculty this 2019 – 2020 academic year.
- Avi Nagin, Visiting Instructor of Violin & Second Violinist of the Amernet String Quartet
- Maria Guinand, Adjunct Professor of Choral Conducting
- Maibel Troia, Adjunct Professor of Choral Conducting
- Jessica Gloria, Adjunct Professor of Music Business
- Antonia Wilson, Adjunct Professor & Director of the FIU Gospel Choir
Avi Nagin has been appointed as an instructor teaching violin and chamber music students and will join the acclaimed Amernet, FIU’s Artist-in-Residence Ensemble, as second violinist. He is an active chamber musician and educator who graduated from The Colburn School and the Yale School of Music and has appeared at prestigious venues across the country including Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall and Seiji Ozawa Hall. Prior to joining the Amernet, Nagin was Principal Second Violin of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra, Principal Second Violin of Symphony in C, section violin with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, and regularly performed with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. His principal teachers include Ani Kavafian, Robert Lispett, Ann Setzer, and Daniel Phillips, as well as violin and chamber music studies with Arnold Steinhardt of the Guarneri Quartet.
Maria Guinand, newly appointed Adjunct Professor of Choral Conducting, will lead the Latin American Choral Festival and FIU Choir Productions in addition to teaching conducting courses at FIU. She serves as artistic director of Schola Cantorum of Venezuela and conducts choral projects throughout Latin America, Europe, the United States, and Asia. Renowned as an authentic interpreter and trainer of Latin American choral music of the 20th and 21st centuries, she is a recipient of the Helmuth Rilling Preis (2009), the Robert Edler Preis für Chormusik (2000), and the Kulturpreis of the InterNationes Foundation (1998), three of the most distinguished prizes in choral music conducting. Currently, she conducts two of Venezuela’s most prestigious choirs, the Schola Cantorum de Venezuela and the Cantoría Alberto Grau, with both of whom she has toured extensively and won many awards.
Maibel Troia is a Venezuelan born musician, choral and orchestral director, pianist, composer, arranger and educator who will begin her appointment as adjunct professor of choral conducting. She is an internationally renowned choral conductor who worked with José Antonio Abreu to create the National Choral System for El Sistema. She is a also member of the Committee in the Caribbean and Small Antilles Area of the International Federation of Choral Music IFCM and guest clinician of “Conductors Without Borders Program” of IFCM. She is also the founding director of Encantus Voices & Ensemble and choral teacher of the “Strategic Alliances Program” of the Miami Symphony Orchestra.
Jessica Gloria comes to FIU as an adjunct professor of Music Business. She is a theater administrator that has accumulated more than 13 years of experience working in the Arts and serving in key roles at various organizations including Gables Stage, the Adrienne Arsht Center, Columbia Artists Management, Miami-Dade College’s Koubeck Center, and the City of Miramar Cultural Center.
Antonia Wilson is Adjunct Professor and Director of the FIU Gospel Choir, which is open to anyone of any faith and any singing ability at FIU. She is a true legend in the making of gospel and inspirational music and is frequently called “Ms. Toni” by those that work with her. Born in Nassau, Bahamas, this gifted songwriter, vocal arranger, vocal coach, pianist and singer is currently working on several projects including a new album release. She has traveled extensively to Russia, Spain, France, Mexico, Cuba, and the Bahamas conducting workshops, shows, and choral arrangements.
