Meet Our Teaching Artists

Bronx Native, Isis is an alum of NYU Tisch’s drama department. She is an artist, choreographer, director and writer.  Her art sits at the intersection of a 4 year old who believes in fairy tales and a twenty something queer Black-woman who believes in revolution. She applies this politic in her work   “untitled”, a choreopoem about the maturation of  Black love most recently put up at Hickory Playground.  Other credits include performer in Theater Mitu’s Utopian Hotline, a step choreographer/Adelaide’s u/s/ featured ensemble in  the Guthrie Theater’s production of Guys and Dolls and Danielle in Black Spectrum Theater’s production of Bring it On. 

Gia holds a MM in Music (choral conducting) from the University of Cincinnati’s Conservatory College of Music and a BA in Arts (orchestral conducting) from Beijing’s Central Conservatory of Music. Gia was an assistant conductor at the Young People’s Chorus of New York City, assistant conductor of the Children and Young Women’s Choir of the China National Symphony Orchestra. associate music director at the Beijing Children’s Theatre Arts, and participated in music preparation for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She has also directed the music in such New York City productions as Wizard of Oz Jr., Peter Pan Jr., Children of Eden, Godspell, and I Do! I Do!, among others.

As a composer, Gia’s works has been performed internationally. She has written two full- scaled children’s musical – Midnight Puppet the Musical and Pixies the Musical. Midnight Puppet was selected to perform at the Korea Daegu International Youth Musical Festival 2010 and has toured Korea, China and South East Asia. Gia was also an in-house arranger and orchestrator for the Young People’s Chorus of New York City where her works have been performed at various places and events, including the SAMSUNG Gala, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and David Geffen Hall Lincoln Center. In 2020, her new musical about losing a love one to Alzheimer’s, “Where are you?,” co-written with lyricist Nichun Shih and playwright Natalie Yao has been selected as one of the three finalists at Shanghai’s International Musical Festival. She has also recently been commission by Brooklyn Children’s Theater to write a short musical “New Dimension” along with lyricist and playwright Gini Chang. Gia is also a composer at the Advanced BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop.

Composer: The Movie Star & The Mammy (Joe’s Pub), The Sugar Hill Sisters (NYMF). Composer & Lyricist:”Not So Fair-y Tales,” ”The Beautiful Son,” Rainbow Lullaby (Broadway Records), The Harriet Holland Social Club (Movement Theatre Company), The Taming of Romeo & Juliet, Rice & Rocks (Brooklyn Children’s Theatre), Going Home: Movement of Voices (N.Y. Philharmonic’s New World Initiative), This One Girl’s Story (NC A&T, NYMF, Gayfest, GLAAD Media Award nominee). Music direction: The Color Purple (Cape Fear Regional Theatre),Passing Strange (UNCSA), “Queering The Canon: Kander & Ebb” (Ring of Keys), Brecht on Brecht (Off-Broadway) Spiritual Uprising (People’s Light & Theatre), Black Queens Screen Test (The Tank), ”Turn The Volume Up!- Amplifying Black Keys” (Ring of Keys), For Colored Girls (Public Theatre), The Addams Family, We Got Beth, Billy Ragamatag and the Shadow Circus, Shrek, Beauty and The Beast (Piper Theatre), The Fourth Wall (Off-Broadway). Bring The Beat Back (Polyphone Theatre Festival). BMI Lehman Engel Advanced Musical Theatre Workshop & Steering Committee. TGBTG!

Nicky holds an Associate’s Degree in Theatre from Borough of Manhattan Community College. Nicky was in BCT as a high school student and has gone on to stage manage 9 Teen Players productions. He has also, at various times, served as BCT’s Wardrobe Supervisor, costume designer, OASIS chaperone and teaches BCT’s Sunday Show In A Season class. Much love to his family, his cats, and the love of his life, Te-J. “Express yourself, don’t repress yourself.”

Jen has been an educator for children and adults of all ages for 25 years. Trained in classical piano, as child she hid show tunes inside her sheet music. She was thrilled to find BCT in 2005 and since then, has been a music director for BCT’s after-school programs and in-school residencies. When she’s not playing the piano, you can usually find Jen in Prospect Park, leading running groups and teaching outdoor fitness classes. Jen has a Master’s of Education and Media from Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Walker, native of Atlanta, GA, is a versatile singer, musician, and music director living in NYC. He wears many musical hats, as he can be seen working as a choral educator, private vocal coach, church musician, cabaret pianist and singer, and freelance opera singer. Originally trained as a classical tenor, he has twice soloed in Carnegie Hall, performed opera and concerts in Germany, Austria, Greece, and Mexico; and has collaborated with: the New York Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Mostly Mozart and Lincoln Center Festivals, the Princeton Festival, Spoleto Festival USA, Cincinnati Opera, Sarasota Opera, the Martina Arroyo Foundation, Phoenicia Festival of the Voice, and the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company in NYC.

Also a pianist of 20 years, he made his Off-Broadway music directing debut at the Castillo Theater in NYC.  He is a pianist at Uncle Charlie’s Piano Lounge, as well as the Monster Bar in Manhattan.  He has worked extensively with youth choruses over the years and specializes in training adolescent voices.

Walker studied Voice, Piano, Music Theory, Dalcroze Eurhythmics, and Conducting at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Indiana University, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and the Interlochen Arts Academy. For more information, www.walkerjermainejackson.com.

Adam is an actor/musician based in Brooklyn NY.  He started his journey into the fine arts through Amy Graves and BCT back in 2011 and has been hooked ever since! BCT has encouraged and guided Adam to expand his interests, not only in instrumental music but to vocal productions, movement and drama as well. He is a 2018 graduate of LaGuardia High school and has had the opportunity to work with and on numerous projects across NYC. He is super excited to be able to pass on some of the things he’s learned to the next generation of artists and collaborators with the most important being to have fun, own your work and remember, no one can do it quite like you 🙂

Originally from Idaho, Deidre moved to New York City in 1997 to play keyboards for the Big Apple Circus, after receiving a Master’s Degree in Jazz Studies from the University of North Texas. Soon after, while touring with his critically-acclaimed show Fire at Keaton’s Bar and Grill, (featuring vocalists Elvis Costello and Debbie Harry), Deidre formed an ongoing musical collaboration with Jazz Passengers saxophonist/composer Roy Nathanson.

In 2017, Deidre joined Rebecca Pronsky as MD/collaborator  in Witness: A Hillary Clinton Song Cycle, which played to rave reviews at several Fringe Festivals. Each summer finds Deidre Musical Directing and writing at Ballibay Camp for the Fine and Performing Arts. In addition, she is longtime Teaching Artist for Carnegie Hall’s renowned Lullaby Project. She has 3 jazz CDs out on the Sunnyside label, and recently joined forces with the Lumineers’ Byron Isaacs to write and release a pop CD under the moniker Tiny Language. She is thrilled to be writing and playing for BCT!  Deidre hosts workshops and a podcast about the craft of songwriting. Find her at www.thesonginside.me.

Adam is an actor/musician based in Brooklyn NY.  He started his journey into the fine arts through Amy Graves and BCT back in 2011 and has been hooked ever since! BCT has encouraged and guided Adam to expand his interests, not only in instrumental music but to vocal productions, movement and drama as well. He is a 2018 graduate of LaGuardia High school and has had the opportunity to work with and on numerous projects across NYC. He is super excited to be able to pass on some of the things he’s learned to the next generation of artists and collaborators with the most important being to have fun, own your work and remember, no one can do it quite like you 🙂