ALFRED GERSHFELD, our Artistic Director and Principal Conductor, holds advanced degrees in conducting and violin performance from the Kishnev and Moscow Conservatories in the former Soviet Union.
Before emigrating to the United States, Maestro Gershfeld served as conductor of the Moldavian Chamber and Symphony Orchestras, the Moscow Bolshoi Theater, guest-conducted throughout Russia, and made numerous concert appearances as violin soloist. He was elected Honored Artist of the Moldavian Republic in 1977.
In May of 2000, he was invited to return to Russia to conduct an all-Tschaikovsky program in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, and to lead the Moldovian State Symphony in a series of concerts in his former homeland. He returned to Moscow in 2002 to conduct the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra with his student as the featured violin soloist.
Alfred Gershfeld is currently a tenured Professor of Conducting and Director of Orchestras at the New World School of the Arts in Miami, Florida, and also Artistic Director of the Lake Placid Sinfonietta in Lake Placid, New York. Locally, in addition to directing the A.M.I. Community Orchestra & Chorus, he formerly played in the Florida West Coast Symphony, served as Concertmaster of the Venice Symphony, was conductor of the vocal chamber ensemble Gloria Musicae, and was Professor of Music at Manatee Community College.
He has appeared as guest conductor at the Jerusalem (Israel) Academy of Music as well as in the United States with the Crane College of Music, the New York Music Festival, the Quad Cities (Iowa/Illinois) Symphony, the Eastman School of Music, the Miami City Ballet, and the Naples Philharmonic. Maestro Gershfeld conducted several performances of two Russian operas for the Sarasota Opera Association in 1993.
He is the composer of the children’s opera "Karlson on the Roof", which received its United States premiere performance at the Sarasota Opera House.
DR. JON K. MAGENDANZ, Assistant Conductor, retired from his practice of dentistry and dental anesthesiology in Barneveld, New York in 1986 and more recently retired in 2000 as the Director and Orchestral Conductor of the instrumental string music program at the Holland Patent Central School, Jon is presently a free lance musician. In Central New York, he performs with the Schenectady, Catskill and Utica Symphonies and in Florida with the Anna Maria Chamber Orchestra and the Venice Symphony. He has appeared as soloist locally (the Utica Symphony Orchestra, the New Hartford Community Band, the Rome Civic Band, The Boonville Band, the Utica Civic Band, and the Buffalo Concert Band at SUNY/Buffalo), nationally (including Seattle, Boston, Florida, Connecticut, and Michigan), and internationally (including Italy, Austria, Vietnam, and the Philippine Islands). Jon is a regular member of the Ecco Trio, the Boonville Village Band, and is associate concertmaster of the Utica Symphony Orchestra. He is a past president of the Oneida County Music Teachers’ Association and a previous chamber music instructor for the New York String Teachers’ summer music camp at SUNY @ Fredonia, New York. Jon served twelve years in the Navy Dental Corps, resigning as a LCDR following his tour in Vietnam. Last year, he graduated from Kaplan University with a degree in paralegal studies.
A product of musical studies with his parents, Jon began playing the violin at the early age of four years. His trumpet instruction began with Henry Schuler, a former member of the John P. Sousa Band. In strings, Jon’s instruction was received from Louis Krasner at Syracuse University, Bela Urban at the Hart’s School of Music, and Elaine Ritchie at Yale University. Jon is a graduate of Wesleyan University, Connecticut, and of SUNY@Buffalo Dental School.
ANNA MARIA ISLAND 
