David Shunskis is a pianist who appears frequently as a soloist, chamber musician, and accompanist. His principal teacher was the late Vladimir Sokoloff of the Curtis Institute with whom he studied for over ten years. He has also studied with such legendary artist-teachers as Donn-Alexandre Feder, Orlando Cole, Edgar Ortenberg, Harvey Wedeen, and Tana Bawden.
Mr. Shunskis has taught piano and chamber music at Settlement Music School for over fifty years. Many of his students have become successful musicians. Mr. Shunskis regularly presents recitals and children’s concerts.
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As a church musician, he has conducted performances of works by Fauré, Schubert, Gounod, and Menotti as well as Bach’s Keyboard Concerti. Mr. Shunskis’ performances at weddings and memorials have been favorably received.
Travis is an active freelance percussionist and educator in the Philadelphia area performing with a large variety of musical institutions. He received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Music Performance from Temple University where he studied with notable percussionists Christopher Deviney and Alan Abel.
Since graduation in May of 2019, Travis has performed with the Northeast Pennsylvania Philharmonic, Reading Symphony, Fulton Theatre of Lancaster, Broadway Live, Steve Wiess Mallet Festival, Bay-Atlantic Symphony, and Symphony in C, among others. A versatile percussionist, timpanist, and drum-set player, Travis studies all styles to be ready for any and every opportunity that comes his way from playing with an orchestra to performing with a contemporary dancer.
Currently, Travis holds teaching positions at Ancillae Assumptua Academy and Chestnut Hill College, and as a section coach/teaching artist at Symphony in C Youth Orchestra. In addition to his teaching, Travis leads a percussion quartet through Symphony in C’s outreach program “Classroom Symphony,” which provides instrument demo programs to Catholic Promise schools in Camden County and special needs facilities across the South Jersey area.
Travis currently resides in the Manayunk section of Philadelphia with his Girlfriend and their service dog Evie, often baking and enjoying their collection of old vinyl records.
Pianist/vocalist/composer Andrew McMaster has extensive experience in the pop/jazz genre. As a long time member of The Flamin’Caucasians, Andrew performed with Warren Zevon, David Bromberg, Julian Lennon, Tom Jones, and Jon Anderson and Bill Bruford from the band, Yes. He has also played keys with local artists such as the Hooters and Tommy Conwell.
Andrew has composed for and performed as a member of the contemporary Christian band, “For The Spirit”.
His compositions span various genres and instrumental ensembles as well as choral works. Well versed in the land of electronics, video, and midi, Andrew also composes music for and produces multimedia presentations and writes for film.
Florence Ierardi received Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in percussion performance at Temple University, where she studied with Alan Abel and Glenn Steele. She has performed with The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Kennett Symphony, Pennsylvania Ballet, Delaware Symphony, and the Philadelphia Chorus. Flossie has worked collaboratively with movement artists, including Eiko Fan, Moving Target Dance Company, and ZeroMoving Dance Company. She is a faculty member at Drexel University, where she teaches Clinical Musical Improvisation.
Rahel Inniger received her “lehrdiplom” (teaching diploma) in 1979 from the Konservatorium Bern (Switzerland) where she was a student of Rosemarie Stucki. As a recipient of a Kiefer/ Hablitzel Stiftung scholarship she was able to come to the United States to continue her education. She majored in piano performance at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, from which she received a Master of Music degree in Performance and Literature in 1982. Ms. Inniger's piano teachers at Eastman included Barry Snyder and Barbara Lister-Sink, and chamber music coaches included Abram Loft, Peter Salaff and Rebecca Penneys. Further studies included vocal accompaniment with Daphne Ibbott in Sussex, England and music pedagogy workshops in Stuttgart and Bad Hersfeld, Germany.
In 1982 Ms. Inniger accepted a teaching position at the Musikschule Kandertal in Frutigen, Switzerland where she remained until 1986. During this time she served as accompanist at the Konservatorium Bern in the master classes of clarinetist Jost Michaels and cellist Siegfried Palm and in the studios of clarinet professor Kurt Weber and violin professor Igor Ozim. Ms. Inniger has been employed as staff accompanist at the Settlement Music School as well as collaborating in recital with instrumentalists and vocalists both in the United States and abroad. She is currently on the faculty at Settlement Music School in Philadelphia where she teaches both piano and chamber music, and also maintains a private teaching studio in Ardmore, Pa.
