Meet Our Artistic Directors

Dr. Syneva Colle Hernández is a performer, composer and educator who divides her energies between the worlds of classical and popular music. She is the Teaching Assistant Professor of Cello and String Education at Kansas State University, and Assistant Principal Cellist for the Topeka Symphony. She is a featured soloist on over twenty commercial albums.

Syneva is passionate about making music accessible to communities of all ages. She is the director of the String Academy at K-State, a teacher training program, and previously served as a Teaching Artist with the D.C. Youth Orchestra Program. Active in the world of music arranging and composition, Syneva co-owns Corwin Music Publishing, a platform offering contemporary string ensemble music for performers and educators. She composed original scores for the documentaries By Walking (2025) and Huan Dao (2016), and has created string parts for dozens of commercial albums.

Dr. Madeleine Jansen is a dynamic violinist, educator, and arts advocate, praised by the San Francisco Classical Voice for her expressive interpretations across a wide repertoire. She is currently Assistant Professor of Violin and Viola at Kansas State University. As a soloist and chamber musician, Jansen has performed throughout the U.S., Brazil, and Europe, and is a dedicated champion of contemporary music.

Jansen has given masterclasses at institutions across the U.S. and Brazil including Sam Houston State University, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Oklahoma State University, Washburn University, Colorado State University, and the Corda International Music Festival, and previously taught a thriving private studio in New York City. Her students have gone on to top conservatories and music programs including the Manhattan School of Music and Juilliard pre-college divisions, San Francisco Conservatory, University of Michigan, Boston University, NYU, University of Maryland, and Vanderbilt University, Jansen earned degrees from Boston University, the Royal College of Music, UMass Amherst, and a doctorate from the University of Maryland, where her research focused on audience engagement.