Board and Staff

Dr. Gomes holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in conducting from the University of Houston where he studied with Dr. Charles Hausmann, and a Master of Music degree from Boston University where he received the Departmental Honor Award for outstanding achievement under the tutelage of Dr. Ann Howard Jones, David Hoose, Craig Smith and Joseph Flummerfelt.

Dr. Gomes is the Director of Choral Music at Blinn College, Brenham Campus, and Artistic Director and Founder of Houston Camerata. During his studies in Houston, Dr. Gomes served as the Assistant Director of the Houston Symphony Chorus and the Moores School of Music University Men’s Chorus and Choral Artists. In Massachusetts, Dr. Gomes served as a Visiting Professor and Director of Choral Activities at Clark University and Worcester State University.

Dr. Gomes was born in Brazil, and has conducted in his country as well as in Italy and the United States. In 1992, he received a second prize on the Premio Vicenzo Valenti conducting the orchestra and choir Josquino Salépico in Molffetta City, Italy. As a performer, Dr. Gomes advocates for a cappella choral music and choral/orchestral works, and his research interests focus on Brazilian colonial music.

Since making her debut at age 13 performing Schuman’s Piano Concerto with Korean Symphony Orchestra, pianist Jayoung Hong has performed widely to critical acclaim in concerto, recital, and chamber music performances throughout Asia, North America, and Europe.

Dr. Hong has performed solo recitals at Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, and Lincoln Center in New York, Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., New School at Princeton in New Jersey, Mayfest in Canada, Kulturhaus Konzertsaal in Berlin, Germany, Royal Festival Hall and St James’s Piccadilly in London, U.K., Pretoria City Hall in South Africa, Taipei National Hall in Taiwan, and Seoul Arts Center in S. Korea as the winner of the New York Concert Artist and Associates Rising Artist Award, New York Concerti Sinfonietta Concerto Competition, and IBLA Grand Prize International Competition in Italy.

An avid chamber musician, Dr. Hong has collaborated internationally with such prominent musicians such as Jeff Nelson, Allen Vizzuti, Eph Ehly, Andre Thomas, Rollo Dilworth, René Clausen, Mack Wilberg, and Youngmin Park, and has been heard in radio broadcasts for NPR and Korean Broadcasting System.

In the 2019-2020 season, she will be performing at the Salzburg Dome in Austria, Musikverein in Vienna, Austria, Münster University in Germany, Carnegie Hall in New York City, and Busan Cultural Center and Seoul Arts Center in S. Korea.

Dr. Hong has previously served on the piano faculty of the Korea National University of Arts in S. Korea, Brandon University in Canada, and the University of Nebraska in the U.S. A popular clinician and adjudicator, she has presented masterclasses throughout the U.S., Canada, S. Korea, and China. Her students are consistently top prizewinners at major regional, provincial, and national Canadian, Korean, and U.S. competitions such as MTNA, NMTA, American Protege International Competition, Tokyo International Competition, and Korea Chopin Competition.

She spends her summer teaching piano at the University of Minnesota International Piano Camp as a Pre-College Program Coordinator