Amanda Gookin
Amanda Gookin (Music Director) received her Bachelor of Music from the Mannes College of Music and spent two years as a professional performing cellist in Barcelona, Spain. She is currently a teacher, chamber musician, and orchestra player in New York, and is the cellist/program director of The Harmony Effect, the chamber ensemble-in-residence at the Harlem School of the Arts, where she is also curating a concert series featuring monthly portraits of local emerging composers. The Harmony Effect is devoted to serving and celebrating the cultural environment of the diverse community of New York by giving exciting performances of both masterworks and new works, and also provides challenging music education programs of the highest standard for people of all ages, regardless of their economic status. Amanda is an active collaborator with Mortal Folly Theatre and Bushwick Shakespeare Repertory, and recently wrote music, which she performed live, for productions of an all-female Romeo and Juliet and As You Like It. She is excited about two upcoming performances featuring her work, Macbeth and BSR’s all-female Julius Cæsar. This year she recorded albums for New Amsterdam Records and Atomic Tom, and has collaborated with such diverse musicians as Olivia Newton John, William Britelle, Tiff Barbour, and El Quinteto Sur in Barcelona.