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Michael Jamanis, President
b. Concord, New Hampshire
B.S., The Juilliard School
M.S., The Juilliard School
At Juilliard, pianist Michael Jamanis was a scholarship student. After earning his master's degree, he pursued further study at the Fontainebleau American School for the Arts in France under a Walter Damrosch Memorial Scholarship. He and his wife, Frances Veri, studied with Gabi and Robert Casadesus. As duo-pianists, Veri & Jamanis made their Lincoln Center debut in 1970. That was followed by an active career in touring internationally under Columbia Artist Management, recording with Philips, EMI and Connoisseur, and varied television and radio work. For the Book-of-the-Month label, the duo-pianists made the world premiere recording of the entire piano literature of George Gershwin. Veri & Jamanis received special commendation from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for excellence in cultural programming for the PBS special, "Carnival of the Animals."He and his wife founded the Pennsylvania Academy of Music with community support in 1989. He has served as president of the Academy since then.
Frances Veri, Dean
b. Lancaster, Pennsylvania
M.S., The Juilliard School
At Juilliard, pianist Frances Veri won first prize in the Mozart Concerto Competition. After earning her master's degree and teaching at the Hartt College of Music, she pursued further study at the Fontainebleau American School for the Arts in France. As duo-pianists, Veri & Jamanis, she and her husband made their Lincoln Center debut in 1970. That was followed by an active career in touring internationally under Columbia Artist Management, recording with Philips, EMI and Connoisseur, and varied television and radio work, featuring especially the works of George Gershwin. Veri & Jamanis received special commendation from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for excellence in cultural programming for the PBS special, "Carnival of the Animals." Frances Veri composed and recorded the soundtrack for a further PBS special, "Like the Wind." She and her husband founded the Pennsylvania Academy of Music with community support in 1989. She has been a faculty member and the dean of the Academy since then.
Jack Behrens, Dean of Advanced Academic Studies
b. Lancaster, Pennsylvania
B.Sc. The Juilliard School
M.Sc. The Juilliard School
Ph.D. Harvard University
Prior to joining the Pennsylvania Academy of Music, Jack Behrens was Director of Academic Studies at The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. Previous administrative posts included serving as Dean of the Faculty of Music at the University of Western Ontario (1980-86) where Dr. Behrens was named Professor Emeritus in 1998.
A composer, pianist, educator and administrator, Dr. Behrens studied composition at Juilliard (William Bergsma, Peter Mennin, Vincent Persichetti), Harvard (Leon Kirchner, Roger Sessions) and at the Aspen Music Festival with Darius Milhaud. He has received commissions from such organizations as the American Dance Festival, the Canada Council, the Ontario Arts Council and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and has been awarded residencies at centers such as the Wolf Trap Farm Park for the Performing Arts, the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Northwood University's Alden B. Dow Creativity Center, the Banff Centre in Alberta and the Eduard van Beinum Foundation in Breukelen, Holland. He regularly reviews new books for Choice.
He is represented as composer and/or pianist on several record labels. Current publishers include The Avondale Press, Mayfair Music and the Canadian National Conservatory of Music; many of his scores are available from the Canadian Music Centre. At the University of Alberta Dr. Bianca Baciu based her doctoral thesis on his "Homage" compositions for piano; Dr. Karin Di Bella of Brock University is preparing a catalog of his compositions. Dr. Behrens is on the faculty of The Royal Conservatory of Music Community School and joined the Academy's faculty in 2007.
Ronald E. Fink, Chief Operating Officer
B.A. Gettysburg College
M.A. Pennsylvania State University
Mr. Fink graduated from Gettysburg College with a B.A. in Business Administration, and later earned his Master of Administration degree at Pennsylvania State University. He completed the Executive Development Program at Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School. He has received certification as a Business Enhancement Consultant (BEC) and as a Senior Business Analyst (SBA). He worked for Armstrong World Industries, Kerr Glass Manufacturing Corporation, and Irex Corporation. He is also a Principal in Marston Group, Ltd., a regional mergers and acquisition firm. He also has been an adjunct professor at Franklin and Marshall College, and has served on the Boards of several community nonprofit organizations such as the Lancaster Symphony, the Fulton Opera House, Homestead Retirement Village, and others.
Mr. Fink joined the Academy’s staff in 2005 as Vice President of Finance and was instrumental in assisting to structure the financing of the new $25 million Pennsylvania Academy of Music building. Mr. Fink was appointed Chief Operating Officer in December, 2008.
