The Manhattan School of Music has announced four new faculty appointments: VC Artist Jordan Bak (viola), Ha Young Jung (double bass), Jack Li Vigni (tenor), and Cyndia Sieden (soprano). They will be joined by cellist Tommy Mesa, whose appointment was previously announced, and will begin teaching at the opening of the 2025/26 academic year.

A graduate of The Juilliard School and New England Conservatory, where he was a student of Hsin-Yun Huang, Dimitri Murrath, and Samuel Rhodes, Jordan Bak is a former major prize winner at the Sphinx Competition and the Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition, as well as a former recipient of a Sphinx MPower Artist Grant and the Samuel Sanders Tel Aviv Museum Prize.

In May 2022, Bak released his debut album IMPULSE (Bright Shiny Things). The disc features newly commissioned works by Tyson Gholston Davis, Toshio Hosokawa, Anne Leilehua Lanzilotti, Quinn Mason, Jeffrey Mumford, and Joan Tower — and received more than one million streams on major digital media platforms.

Bak has appeared as a soloist with the Sarasota Orchestra, London Mozart Players, New York Classical Players, Juilliard Orchestra, and Brandon Hill Chamber Orchestra, among others.

"We are absolutely delighted to welcome these accomplished artist-teachers to MSM’s distinguished Vocal Arts and Strings faculty," said Joyce Griggs, MSM Executive Vice President and Provost. "I have enjoyed the opportunity to spend time with each of them and to discuss their educational philosophy and perspectives. They have each expressed an outlook that beautifully aligns with MSM’s dedication to fostering excellence and a rich, supportive educational environment that values students’ creative risk-taking."