University of Rochester

Matt Carlin

Major:Trombone Performance/Music Education

Hometown: West Islip, NY

How long have you been singing and how did you get started?
I have been singing for as long as I can remember and have always loved it. I started in elementary school in the choir and then decided to continue by doing school musicals and show choirs.

What three artists take up the most space on your iPod?
I would have to say Billy Joel, Beethoven, and Greenday.

What do you want to be doing in five years? In fifty?
I feel truly blessed that I have been fortunate enough to experience so many amazing opportunities within the field of music. Whether it be playing the piano, singing, playing the trombone in an orchestra, or composing I know that music will always be my life. In five years I hope to be teaching at a high school as a band director as well as producing and composing music for myself or other artists.

Abhishek Sharma

Major: Neuroscience and Psychology

Aden Brooks

Major: Trombone Performance

Hometown: Schenectady, NY

How long have you been singing and how did you get started?
I started singing in middle school for my school’s musicals which led to my involvement in my high school’s theatre program and madrigal choir.

What is the best class to take at UofR and why?
The Quantum Mechan... Haha, no. Anything music.

Write the newspaper headline for the story of your life so far.
Short Guy with Great Hair Starts Ridiculous Music Career

What does it feel like when you sing?
Singing is one of the most fun ways to express emotion. Not only do I try to get my audience to feel something, but I have a great time doing it.

What do you want to be doing in five year? In fifty?
Five years? Making music. Fifty? Ditto.

Christopher Young

Major: History (BA), Secondary Education (MS)

Hometown: Birmingham, AL

How long have you been singing and how did you get started?
I began singing when I was in the 3rd grade when I joined the Birmingham Boys Choir in Birmingham, AL. At Mountain Brook High School, I co-founded the school's first a cappella group called "A Bunch of Guys."

What is the best class to take at UofR and why?
My favorite class was Marketing 213. The entire course is based around a field experience where students work with a company in the Rochester area to develop an effective marketing plan for a service or product that that company is currently working in. It is a very real class that provides practical, real-world experience, plus the professor is great! (Prof. George Cook)

Write the newspaper headline for the story of your life so far.
“What a Summer!” - “A University of Rochester student graduates, travels to Kenya, and films a primetime national television reality show all in 3 months!”

Kieran Kriss

Vocals: Bass

Ross Pedersen

Major: Economics

Hometown: Fairport, NY

Jamal Moore

Major: Vocal/Opera Performance

Hometown: Augusta, GA

Write the newspaper headline for the story of your life so far.
Opera, R&B and Gospel OH MY!

What is the best class to take at the UofR and why?
The best class at the Eastman School of Music is Lyric Theatre with Professor Steve Daigle. He is awesome teacher and director who listens to his students and pushes them to be their best on and off the stage.

What does it feel like when you sing?
When I sing I feel indestructible with a huge sense of humility. I always relate my singing to my beliefs and I truly believe that I am just a vessel that God is working through. Before I sing, I always pray that he will use me to not entertain people but to move them in a way that allows them to see how he can bless people that live for him. I believe that I have a gift, but I want the world to know that is not from me or a teacher, its from Him.

John Geenhalgh

Major: History

Hometown: Rochester, NY

How long have you been singing and how did you get started?
I started singing in elementary school as a boy soprano, and I was recommended by my music teacher to sing in the Children's Choir at the Eastman School of Music. I haven't stopped singing!

What is the best class to take at UofR?
History of Jazz with Dean Burgett. He is so passionate about this subject that I was literally captivated every minute of the class. I was also able to learn about a style of music that I really never explored before, and now I am hooked!

Write the newspaper headline for the story of your life so far.
Incredibly Handsome Rochester Grad Saves City from Zombie Invasion!

Is Ben Folds even cuter in person?
Really? I would have guessed you would ask that about Nick Lachey. It was hard to tell what the other judges looked like because I was continuously blinded by Sara Bareille's beauty.

David Gleichman

Eastman School of Music

Aaron Sperber

Major: Vocal Performance, International Relations

Galen Dole

Major: Music and Math

Hometown: Mukilteo, WA

What does it feel like when you sing?
Singing, especially in harmony with male voices, makes my hair stand on edge. To hear these amazing overtones and then realize that I am the one producing them is a surprise and a delight every time I open my mouth to sing. It's the best feeling in the world.

Is Ben Folds even cuter in person?
Haha! He’s the nerdiest guy I can imagine, but in a good way. He loves music more than anything else, and he lets that love come across strongly. It’s inspiring to see someone taking his passion to its limit.

What three artists take up the most space on your iPod?
Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles

What do you want to be doing in five years? In fifty?
In five years? I have no idea. And in 50 years? Well I hope to get married, have kids, and settle down in a nice house by the beach, maybe with a white picket fence, or whatever the flavor of the week is by 2061. And I'll still be singing.

Michael Pittman

Major: Environmental Science

Nicholas Wiggins

Major: Vocal Performance, Economics