Massachusetts’ Boston Conservatory at Berklee has appointed 15 new faculty members including seven music teachers in the voice, violin, contemporary music, and musicology. 

Among the appointees are Julia Glenn and Yonah Zur, who will both be serving as associate professors of violin. A graduate of the Juilliard School and the New England Conservatory, Glenn recently joined the Lydian String Quartet. Having also studied linguistics at Harvard University, she draws on phonology and language to explore new avenues in perception and performance.

Zur has served on the staff of the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra for over a decade. He has performed with A Far Cry, Boston Lyric Opera, Boston Ballet, Boston Chamber Music Society, the Lydian Quartet, and DeCoda chamber music collective. 

A graduate of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and the Juilliard School, Zur was formerly a member of the Carmel Quartet and the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. Glenn and Zur will be joining 14 other faculty members in the string faculty. 

The new appointments for assistant professor of voice include April Lisette Ball and Noel Smith. Previously a teacher at the Berklee College of Music, Ball specializes in voice and piano, with a focus on musical theater. Smith holds over 25 years of experience in musical theater, pop, and classical voice. The founder of Noel Voice Studio, she also serves on the National Board of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. 

Specializing in musical works with electronics, Keith Kirchoff has joined the school as assistant professor of contemporary music. He is the pianist for the Boston-based Hinge Quartet as well as the cofounder and president of SPLICE Music. He holds degrees from the University of Oregon and the New England Conservatory.

The two assistant professors of core studies are Michael Goetjen and Nima Janmohammadi. Goetjen, whose research focuses on 18th-century opera and the music of Mozart, will teach coursework in musicology, and Janmohammadi will draw on his research, performances, and composing background to teach coursework in ethnomusicology.