Rebecca Herst
Assistant chair - piano, performance classes
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Rebecca Herst earned a bachelor’s of music degree in piano performance at the Hartt School of Music, University of Hartford. She studied with Leonard Seeber and Paul Rutman, with a concentration in collaborative piano. Herst formerly was a faculty member at the Fairfield County School of Music and the Community Music Center of Boston. A teacher for more than 20 years, she has worked extensively with young children.
Abigail Charbeneau earned a bachelor’s degree in music from Skidmore College, and a master’s degree in piano performance and piano pedagogy from the University of Illinois. She has studied with Pola Baytelman, William Heiles, Arkady Aronov, Adaleina Krivosheina, Kenneth Drake, and Reid Alexander, and has been on the faculty of Millikin University and the University of Illinois. Charbeneau also teaches at St. Paul’s School.
Nancy Colter began her piano studies in the San Francisco Bay Area with Norma Brown and Carlo Bussotti, and then continued as a graduate student with Bernhard Abramowitsch in Berkeley and Katja Andy at New England Conservatory. Colter earned a B.A. in music from Sonoma State University, where she graduated with honors and distinction, and an M.F.A. in chamber music performance from Bennington College. As a recitalist and chamber musician, she has performed widely on the West Coast and throughout New England, and has presented premier performances of works by contemporary composers. Colter has performed as an accompanist and soloist on national television and public radio, as well as with the Bennington Choral Society in Vermont and the Acadia Choral Society in Maine. Colter's teaching credits include Santa Rosa Junior College, as well as Mills, Williams and Bennington colleges. She is currently the artistic director for Arthur Russell Strings, a summer student chamber music program in Southwest Harbor, Maine.
Catharine Quillen Dornin, NCTM (Nationally Certified Teacher of Music), studied with John Perry at the Oberlin Conservatory, where she earned a bachelor of music degree. She teaches at St. Paul’s School and formerly taught at Hochstein and Pittsfield community music schools and Notre Dame College. Dornin is a former president of the New Hampshire Music Teachers Association and received its Teacher of the Year Award in 1996. She placed third in the 2011 Piano Concerto Division of the American Prize and was a finalist in the Piano Solo Division. She debuted at Carnegie Hall in 1990 and has performed with the New Hampshire Music Festival, Louisville Symphony, New Hampshire Philharmonic and Lakes Region Symphony. She serves as choral pianist at St. Paul’s Church in Concord and accompanied the annual Concord Community Chorus’ production of Messiah from 2003 to 2007. Dornin joined the Music School faculty in September 1984.
Paul Dykstra earned a bachelor’s of music degree from the University of Alberta and holds associate degrees in piano performance and piano pedagogy. He studied with Lillian Upright, Helmut Brauss, Anton Kuerti, Gyorgy Sebok, and Abbey Simon, and has toured Western Canada in solo, duo, chamber, and orchestra performances. Dykstra has served as an examiner of piano and pedagogy for Conservatory Canada and as an adjudicator for the New Hampshire Music Teachers Association.
Calvin Herst, director of education and community partnerships, earned a bachelor’s of music degree, magna cum laude, and a master’s of music degree in piano performance, from Ithaca College. He also holds a Dalcroze Eurhythmics teaching license. He studied conducting extensively at Ithaca and at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria and toured China with tenor Michael Calmes. Herst performs frequently as a collaborative pianist. In addition to his favorite pastime of accompanying students and faculty on stage at the Music School, he has appeared in concert at the Kennedy Center and the Philadelphia Academy of Music. His most recent recording is with Peggo Horstmann Hodes on her Summer Nights CD. He has been a member of the faculty of the Ithaca College School of Music, the CommunityMusic Center of Boston, and Buckingham Browne & Nichols School. Herst regularly serves as a guest panelist, speaker, adjudicator, and clinician for state and national arts organizations.
Jacqueline Morin earned a M.M. in piano pedagogy from West Chester University and a B.A. in piano performance and pedagogy from Plymouth State University. During her graduate studies, she participated in the 2008 Oxford Summer Program in residence at Lincoln College of Oxford University. Morin is an active member of the Music Teachers National Association and currently serves on the New Hampshire chapter board. She is the pianist/organist for St. Luke's United Methodist Church in Derry and a member of the New Hampshire Master Chorale. Morin joined the Music School faculty in summer 2009.
Gregg Pauley earned his bachelor of music degree from the University of Southern California, where he studied with James Bonn. He earned a master’s degree at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts, studying with Ilana Vered. In addition to many appearances at the Rutgers Summerfest, Pauley has performed in the Alice Tully Hall in New York City and at the Steinway Hall in Los Angeles. He has been presented in recital by the Steinway Society of Princeton, the University of Southern California, the Southwestern Youth Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, and the Music Teachers’ National Association Convention, among others. Pauley has performed on WQXR radio in New York and on WKPM in Portland, Maine, where he was the featured soloist in a live broadcast of Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto. He also has been a top prizewinner at many competitions, including the Johanna Hodges International Piano Competition, the Portland Symphony-Priscilla Morneault Piano Competition, and the Hampton Summerfest Competition. He teaches at St. Paul’s School.
Peggy Senter, founder and president of the Music School, is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of North Carolina in music education. She also holds a master's of music degree in piano performance from the University of Wisconsin. She has received the New Hampshire Governor's Award for Arts Education, the University of North Carolina Distinguished Alumna Award, and other honors. Senter serves frequently as a guest panelist, speaker, and evaluator for state and national arts organizations, government agencies, and foundations. Her teachers include Michael Zenge, Howard Karp, and Victor Rosenbaum, and her previous faculty positions include the Rivers Music School, North Shore Community College , and St. Paul ’s School. She has performed in recital and as concerto soloist and chamber musician in North Carolina, Wisconsin, and New England, including many premieres of new works with Composers in Red Sneakers, Nuclassix, and the Musicians of Wall Street.
Anita Yu earned a bachelor of music degree from the University of British Columbia and a master of music degree in piano pedagogy and performance from Westminster Choir College of Rider University. She studied with Louise Goss, Phyllis Lehrer, Ena Barton and Michael Lewin of the Boston Conservatory. Yu is a former faculty member at the Community Music Center of Boston, St. Paul’s School and the New School for Music Study. She has had solo performances in Boston, Florida, New York, New Jersey and Vancouver, and is a former assistant musical director and accompanist for the Papermill Theatre in Lincoln, N.H. She also adjudicates for the MTNA. Yu joined the Music School faculty in fall 1999.