​Jiannan Cheng
Music Director and Conductor

Jiannan Cheng is the Director of Orchestral Activities at Rowan University and was appointed Music Director and Conductor of Orchestra Concordia in 2024. Before joining Rowan's music faculty, she held the position of Director of Orchestral Ensembles at Fordham University and served as an Adjunct Professor of Orchestral Conducting at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Cheng’s conducting career spans both opera and symphonic repertoire, having worked with prestigious orchestras such as the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne, Stuttgart Philharmonic, Sofia Philharmonic, Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini, Georgian Chamber Orchestra Ingolstadt, and Munich Chamber Orchestra. In 2024, Cheng won 1st Prize at the Hugo Alfvén International Conducting Competition in Sweden and 2nd Prize at the Orchestra’s Conductor Conducting Competition in Romania. She was also a Finalist at the Arthur Nikisch Conducting Competition and won 2nd Prize in the 4x4 Competition for Composers and Conductors in 2016. Since 2023, she has served as a Cover Conductor for the Philadelphia Orchestra, with prior appointments as the Conducting Fellow for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the Miami Symphony Orchestra. In the 2024-25 season, she will undertake a two-week residency with the Dallas Opera through the Hart Institute For Women Conductors. Cheng completed her undergraduate studies at the China Conservatory of Music in Beijing. She holds a Master’s degree from the University of Washington in Seattle and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Additionally, she has been mentored by world-renowned conductors such as Riccardo Muti, Kurt Masur, Johannes Schlaefli, and Nicolás Pasquet.

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Orchestra Concordia Members

• Suzanne Carpenter, Violin
• Betsy Clark, Violin
• Nancy Connell, Cello
• Craig Cleveland, Bass Trombone
• Eric Daugherty,  Horn
• Brand Davis, Trumpet
• Dorothea DiGiovanni, Violin
• Nora Anne DiLemmo, Bassoon
• Kim Eberle-Wang, Viola
• David Esqueda, Violin
• Gail Frederick, Violin
• Mark Froehlich, Violin
• Meredith Gilna, Bass
• John Griffin, Viola
• Greg Grimshaw, Percussion
• Grace Janney, Bass
• Alison Hicks Greifenstein, Cello
• Ken Hennessey, Trombone
• Margaret Holland, Cello
• Joe Hrin, Clarinet
• Mary Anne Hrin, Percussion
• Chiun-Mei Huang, Oboe
• Catherine Hueston, Cello
• Barbara Jaffe, Violin
• Louise Jaffe, Viola
• Anna Jensky, Oboe
• Laura Beth Jewell, Violin
• Alison Kane, Cello
• Lesley Katz, Violin
• Rebecca King, Horn
• Cheryl Koch, Violin
• Renée Koma, Cello
• Sydney Krisiewicz, Violin
• Ken Laskey, Viola
• Jared Melson, Trombone
• Kristy Mitchell, Cello
• Terry Muhlenberg, Viola
• Patricia Niemann, Violin
• Morganne Obringer, Trumpet
• George Ohsiek, Cello
• Adriana Park, Violin
• Ginyoung Park, Cello
• Joyce Prichard, Violin
• Keeran Ramanathan, Tuba
  
• Eiko Ogiso Reingewirtz, Violin
• Jordana Schaeffer, Flute, Piccolo
• Joanna ShawRuss, Harp
• Nadine Silverman, Clarinet
• Drew Skinner, Horn
• Elaine Sloan, Violin
• Tim Sugrue, Percussion
• Rachel Tannenbaum, Bassoon
• Wendy Tarnoff, Flute
• Dennis Tate, Timpani, Percussion
• Keala TeKolste, Violin
• Elena Trepakova, Violin
• Manny VanderVennen, Horn
• Lynn Van Lenten, Bass
• Jordan Wang, Viola
• Jessica Walther, Viola
• Aiko Whiting, Cello
• Antoinette Lyons Zerweck, Violin

Barbara Jaffe, Concertmaster

Barbara Jaffe was appointed Concertmaster of Orchestra Concordia in 2016. She received her Master of Music Degree in Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music under Donald Weilerstein. She graduated magna cum laude from the Philadelphia College of Performing Arts with a Bachelor of Music degree and was the recipient of the PCPA Book Prize for excellence in the Liberal Arts. A former member of the Shelbourne Quartet in Great Falls, MT, and Bradley University Quartet in Peoria, IL, she has performed locally with Delaware Symphony, Opera Delaware and Pennsylvania Sinfonia Orchestras, Fairmount Quartet, Gabriel Chamber Ensemble, the Monteverde String Quartet, and as a founding member of Elysian Camerata. In summer, Ms. Jaffe serves as Music Director of Vermont Music and Arts in Lyndonville, Vermont, where she is a faculty member, performer, and chamber music coach. Since 2020, she has been teaching Chamber Music Appreciation classes online. 

Orchestra Concordia concertmaster Barbara Jaffe with David Kim, concertmaster of The Philadelphia Orchestra following our November 2022 Concert.

WHAT SOME OF OUR MUSICIANS ARE SAYING:
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"I am very grateful to be part of the wonderful Orchestra Concordia - where I have the opportunity to play with such talented and passionate musicians and under such a gifted director.  It has been a soul-enriching experience for me." ~ Joe Hrin, Clarinet

"I joined Orchestra Concordia as an adult who had recently returned to playing an instrument after some years. It is an honor to play with such talented musicians, and to engage with sophisticated orchestral literature. I am working hard, learning a great deal, and when we perform I find myself with the same goofy grin on my face that I did when I played in youth orchestras in my teens. Award-winning conductor Jianann Cheng is a joy, and what a treat it is have the opportunity to play with such accomplished soloists. I like to think that performers and audience alike go home from a concert a little lighter, a little more young in spirit, with music in their hearts."  ~ Alison G., Cello

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN JOINING THE ORCHESTRA - PLEASE CONTACT US. IF WE DO NOT HAVE AN OPENING FOR YOUR INSTRUMENT, YOU WILL BE PLACED ON OUR SUBSTITUTE LIST.
​WE WILL ASK YOU TO COMPLETE AN INFORMATION FORM AS PART OF YOUR REQUEST TO JOIN. 

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