Our Faculty - Music

Cellist Benjamin Swartz has concertized extensively in the United States and Europe with particular emphasis on historically-informed performance and contemporary performance practice. Equally at home on cello, Baroque cello, and viola da gamba, he has gained increasing recognition for multi-instrumental virtuosity spanning the Ars Subtilior to the present day. As a recitalist, chamber musician, and orchestral player, recent engagements have included Carnegie Hall, Philharmonie de Paris, Berliner Philharmonie, Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, and Boston Symphony Hall. 

As an advocate for 21st-century music, Ben performs regularly with Sound Energy, a dynamic string trio which commissions & performs works by living American composers. An active studio artist, Ben has two dozen film & video game soundtrack credits, including recordings with Bent Knee and Tredici Bacci. His festival credits include Aspen, Tanglewood, Kneisel Hall, Lucerne, Aurora, London Master Classes, and Manchester.

Originally hailing from Richmond, VA, Ben is an honors graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, Johns Hopkins University, and Peabody Conservatory. He further studied and researched in Amsterdam as a Woodrow Wilson Fellow (historically-informed performance practice of the Bach Cello Suites with Anner Bijlsma and Pieter Wispelweij) and to Germany as a DAAD Scholar (proportional ratio systems of extended Just Intonation).

A much sought-after teacher and clinician in the Boston area, Ben currently teaches at BSU, South Shore Conservatory, Community Music Center of Boston, Ipswich High School, Rockport High School, and as cellist-in-residence with the Martha's Vineyard Chamber Music Society. He teaches from a method book of his own authorship, The Essential Technology of the Cello: A Textbook of the Efficient Cellist (2016).

Vocal pedagogue Kristy Errera-Solomon serves on the voice and theater faculties at Bridgewater State University and South Shore Conservatory (SSC), teaching private students as well as class voice and musical theater courses. She has also directed at SSC's Summer Vocal Institute.

Mrs. Errera-Solomon served as the Director of Admissions at The Boston Conservatory for several years, a position through which she was able to help thousands of young aspiring musicians, actors, and dancers take steps closer to their professional goals. While at The Boston Conservatory, she served on the voice faculty of the Boston Conservatory Vocal/Choral Intensive in the summers of 2008 and 2009. Mrs. Errera-Solomon has adjudicated thousands of auditions and has presented her knowledge of Performing Arts Admissions at a number of national Classical Singer Conventions.

As a soprano, Mrs. Errera-Solomon has performed throughout the country with such groups as Orange County Opera, South Orange County Chamber Orchestra, Metro Stage West, the Chance Theater, the Zeltsman Marimba Festival, and Cohasset Dramatic Club. Past highlights include Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Olympia in Les Contes D'Hoffman, Emmie in Albert Herring, Frasquita in Carmen, Musetta in La Boheme, Gianetta in the Gondoliers, Gabrielle in La Vie Parisienne, Maria in West Side Story, Wicked Witch in Shrek the Musical, and Cunegonde in Candide.

Mrs. Errera-Solomon, a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, holds a Bachelor's degree in vocal performance from Boston University and a Master's degree in vocal pedagogy from The Boston Conservatory. Mrs. Errera-Solomon specializes in CCM pedagogy, and has held a private studio for many years, also offering additional services as a private college admissions/auditions counselor. She lives in Hull, Massachusetts with her husband, percussionist Samuel Solomon, and sons Nicolas and Leo.

Donald Zook, flutist, made his solo debut at Orchestra Hall in Chicago.  He earned his Bachelor of Music from the American Conservatory of Music, where he received the John Conterio Award in recognition of his outstanding ability in performance.

Mr. Zook appears as a soloist and in chamber ensembles throughout New England, the midwest and New York, delighting audiences with his flawless technique, passion, and virtuosity.  His frequent performances have included the concert series of the Chicago Artist Association, Harvard University, Endicott College, the Old South Church in Boston, the Morris Museum in New Jersey and the Donnell Library in New York.  He was also featured on the 1988-89 Arts Alive Concert Series in the Virgin Islands.

Mr. Zook is a former Vice President and Artist in Residence of the Chicago Flute Society.  He has acted as a music consultant for WTTV television studios and has recorded for three major dance studios.  An advocate of new music, Mr. Zook has premiered several new works for the flute, winning him critical praise from Chicago and New York reviewers.

Mr. Zook has taught on the faculties of the American Conservatory and the Park Forest Conservatory, and currently teaches on the faculty of the South Shore Conservatory of Music and the Middleboro Public School System.

John Krivit is Past-President of the international Audio Engineering Society (www.aes.org). He was the Chair of the AES Education Committee from 2010 to 2016 where he proudly built a vibrant global community of educators, students and institutions. John also served as an elected Governor of the Society from 2012-2014. His work as an educator at Emerson College, Bay State College, Bridgewater State University and the New England Institute of Art has been defined by a passion for connecting his many students to gainful and rewarding careers in all facets of the audio industry. John is the founder of the Boston Area Definitive Audio Student Summit, an annual AES gathering of hundreds of audio students, faculty, professionals and enthusiasts. He served as Chair of the 2018 AES Conference on Audio Archiving, Preservation & Restoration at the US Library of Congress and was Chair of the 2018 AES High School Audio Educators Conference. Currently, he is Director of Education at Professional Audio Design of Hanover, Massachusetts. John chronicles the events and opportunities available to audio students of all ages through his "Hey Audio Student" Facebook group. He has spoken at audio events around the world.

Elana Lorance received a Bachelor's Degree in Music Education from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and a Masters of Education degree with a concentration in Curriculum and Instruction within the Creative Arts from Lesley University.  In 2001, Ms. Lorance joined the staff of the Norwood Public Schools as an instrumental music teacher, and is responsible for the instrumental program in three elementary schools.  In addition to her school schedule, Ms. Lorance founded and directs an extra-curricular town-wide honor band.  The Norwood Public Schools Fifth Grade Honor Band has received numerous awards and medals at state festivals and has been a featured ensemble at the Massachusetts All-State Music Conference, both in concert and clinic.

Ms. Lorance has studied oboe with UMASS faculty member Fred Cohen, Frank Charnley of the Boston Ballet, and most recently Barbara Lafitte of the Boston Ballet and Boston Pops.  An active free-lance musician in the Greater Boston area, Ms. Lorance is equally comfortable playing musical theater as she is with classical repertoire.  She has played over 75 musicals with area theater companies, and is currently in her ninth season with the Metropolitan Wind Symphony, where she plays principal chair.  Ms. Lorance has been a featured soloist with the Symphony in 2004 and again in 2012.

James Hay has a Graduate Performance Diploma (with Distinction) in Collaborative Piano from Longy School of Music.  Previously, he studied Piano Performance at New England Conservatory of Music.  His piano teachers include Wayman Chin, Yoriko Takahashi, and Gabriel Chodos.  He has performed in Master Classes with Aube Tzerko, Victor Rosenbaum, Joan Panetti and Warren Jones.  He was Music Minister at St. Basil's Chapel in Bridgewater, Organist at Universalist Unitarian Church of Brockton and Studio Accompanist at the Voice Studio of Lin Schuller.  Presently, he is on the faculty as both Part-Time Faculty and Staff Accompanist at Bridgewater State University and as Staff Accompanist at UMass Dartmouth.  He is Accompanist of the Jubilate Chorale, Bridgewater State University Chorale, and UMass Dartmouth Chorale and Organist at First Baptist Church and Pearl Street United Methodist Church in Brockton.  Mr. Hay is the Resident Accompanist for the McClosky Institute of Voice and an accompanist for Mass Theatrica.  He is also the Recital Accompanist for several voice studios in Southeastern Massachusetts.  He has performed at the Music Mansion in Providence, Rhode Island, and the Longfellow House in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  Mr. Hay was a winner of the Longy School of Music Honors Competition in 2006.

Mary Jo Running has been serving as an adjunct professor for Bridgewater State University since 2009. She is currently in her tenth year as director of the Norwell Middle School music program.  Before coming to Norwell, Mrs. Running taught elementary, middle school and high school Band and General Music in the suburbs of Minneapolis, and in Salem (OR), where her groups were consistently awarded for superior performances at local and state festivals.  She received her bachelor’s of Music Education from the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire in 1996 and a master’s in Education (Music Emphasis) from the University of Minnesota in 2006. She is currently the Vice President for the Southeastern Massachusetts School Bandmasters Association, and has served as the Southeast District Junior Jazz Ensemble Manager.

After graduating from UMass Lowell, Roy Campbell toured for two years with the stage orchestra for "Milton Berle's Vaudeville Tour."  He returned to Boston to play for Concerts in Black and White, the Handel Haydn Society, and Boston Pops "Adventures in Music" under Newton Wayland.  He became second trombonist with the Boston Opera Company under Sarah Caldwell and house trombonist for the Colonial Theater.  Roy was also house trombonist for the Cape Cod Melody Tent and performed frequently with the South Shore Music Circus, the North Shore Music Circus, and the Braintree and Saugus Chateau de Ville.  For several years he performed as principal trombonist with the L.A. Opera A La Carte on their New England tours.  Roy is presently principal trombonist with the Cape Cod Symphony.  Other orchestras Roy has been or is a member of are the Simon Symphony, the Indian Hill Symphony, The Nashua Symphony, the Manchester Symphony, and the New Bedford Symphony.  He has conducted shows for Bridgewater State University, Ohio State University at their summer home on the Cape (the Monomoy Theater) at the Harwich Jr. Theater, and Sandwich High.
Roy's teaching positions have included Brown University, Norwood High School, Weymouth High, Dennis/Yarmouth Regional, South Shore Conservatory, and Cape Cod Conservatory.  As pianist, Roy is accompanist for Leslie Loosli, a frequent soprano recitalist and formerly a performer of opera in New York.

Vocalist and conductor, Ed Milham currently serves on the faculties of Bridgewater State University and the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, teaching various general studies courses, voice class and studio voice.

An active concertizer, he has performed as a vocalist with LiveARTS, the Franklin Performing Arts Company, the Lowell Opera Company, the Merrimack Valley Broadway Ensemble, the Savoyard Light Opera Company, the Newport Music Festival and the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra.  As a conductor, he has served as director of Swanhurst Chorus, and Interim Director of the Bridgewater State University Alumni Choir, has worked as music director in several area churches, and has taught conducting clinics for the Unitarian Universalist Musicians Network.  He has toured in Russia and Eastern Europe, and Scotland and England.

In addition to his vocal and conducting activities, Mr. Milham is a multi-instrumentalist, composer and arranger.  He plays bass and sings in the rock band The Strattones, gigging regularly around South County, Rhode Island.  A dedicated computer geek, he serves as Technology Consultant and Coordinator of Social Media Activities for the Bridgewater State University Music Department.  He also does extensive work in the field of graphic design and digital printing.

Maryte Bizinkauskas began her operatic vocal training at the Boston Conservatory of Music where she graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Opera Performance under the guidance of John Moriarty and Iride Pilla.  She acquired her Master of Music in Opera Performance under the tutelage of Boris Goldovsky at the esteemed Curtis Institute of Music and National Winner of the Metropolitan Opera Auditions.  She performed in concert at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City and went on to apprentice at the Santa Fe Opera.  She has performed leading roles at the Vilnius Opera and Kaunas Music Theater in Lithuania and performed lead roles in German and Canada.  She has been a guest artist with the Kaunas Philharmonic Orchestra, South Jersey Symphony, Brockton Symphony and Boston Bel Canto Opera.

Her most recent performances include an October benefit concert for the Knights of Lithuania New England District Scholarship Fund and a benefit concert for the Baltic-American Society of New England.

Ms. Bizinkauskas teaches Voice Class I and Voice Class II as well as Performance Studies Voice at Bridgewater.  She is also a member of the Bridgewater State University Music Scholarship Committee. 

Ms. Bizinkauskas follows the lead of her father, the late Dr. Peter A. Bizinkauskas, at Bridgewater State University, where he ran the Reading Lab for 20 years.  Her sister, Veronica (Bizinkauskas) Cote is a faculty member of the Aviation Department at Bridgewater.  Her other family members include her mother Veronica, a retired nurse, daughter Vilija, who studies in the Coordinated Program in Nutrition at Framingham State University, Dr. Paul Bizinkauskas of Hyannis, Attorney Peter M. Bizindauskas of Duxbury and the late Andrew Bizinkauskas of Weymouth.