Waypoint strives to offer opportunities that expand and build upon our students’ musicianship. Students participating in Waypoint’s program will participate in a large ensemble, chamber groups, masterclasses, “crash courses,” and technique classes. The masterclasses will include special guests from different areas of the music world, like performance, education, music therapy, and more! Additionally, our crash courses allow students a chance to step away from their instruments and learn more about topics like conducting, music theory/history, and other subjects outside of the traditional offerings.
Staff Bios:
Mae Cooke is a New England based pedal harpist. They are the harp professor at Westfield State University, and they teach private lessons and harp ensemble classes at both the Hartt School Community Division and at the Community Music School of Springfield. They are pursuing a Masters of Music in harp Performance at the Hartt School of Music and graduated in 2023 from Eastman School of Music with their Bachelors of Music in Harp Performance and Bachelors of the Arts with Studio Art. They gig in the Connecticut and Massachusetts area, and have played with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Hartford Independent Chamber Orchestra, and Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra. Cooke has extensive solo, ensemble, and orchestra experience. they have a wide variety of experience with different genres such as atonal, classical, and jazz.
Chinese-Canadian harpist Sunshine Quan currently resides in Rochester NY, where she is pursuing a DMA degree in Harp Performance at the Eastman School of Music. Since she arrived in the United States in 2021, Sunshine has been extensively involved in the various ensembles in Rochester and surrounding regions, regular appearances include the Rochester Philharmonic, The Syracuse Orchestra, Binghamton Philharmonic, and beyond. She has attained fellowships at the National Orchestral Institute and Mostly Modern and gave solo and chamber recitals in North America and China. Winner of the 2024 American Harp Society’s Grandjany Memorial Competition, Sunshine was also National Gold Medalist for her ARCT performance recital at the Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto, ON) in 2021. A passionate advocate for new music, Sunshine has played with Eastman Musica Nova and OSSIA New Music since 2021, and she composes and arranges for solo harp and harp ensemble. Besides the harp and classical music, Sunshine also plays the Chinese zither (Guzheng), and she is an active performer of traditional Chinese music and Irish/Celtic music. Sunshine is currently on faculty at the Greatbatch School of Music at Houghton University, Eastman Community Music School, and Kanack School of Musical Artistry.
