American. Nee Andrea Jill Gersten. Pianist, composer, teacher, director. Born, Manhattan. Grew up in White Plains, NY. Graduated, B.A. in Composition from Mills College (1963), where she studied under the mentorship of Darius Milhaud; harmony and counterpoint with composer-performer, Morton Subotnick; and keyboard performance with Russian concert pianists Alexander Leibermann and Bernard Abramowitch. Jill was employed as a Faculty Associate at Lyric Opera Theatre in the Music Department at Arizona State University from 1969 to 1974, during which time she pursued graduate studies and earned a Master of Music Degree in Musical Theatre Direction. From 1975 to 1977, she was employed as a Visiting Faculty member in the Music Department at Scottsdale Community College where she taught a variety of music courses, and directed several musicals. In 1977, Jill became the Director of Music for Temple Solel synagogue in Paradise Valley, Arizona, where she continues her duties as director of the temple’s adult and junior choirs, producer of the Temple’s music program, and arranger and composer of sacred music. Jill has been both a composer and publisher member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) for many years, and numerous of her works have been published and are performed in many venues in the U.S., Canada and Israel. She also serves on the URJ Commission on Worship, Music and Religious Living, and is a member of the Guild of Temple Musicians’s Executive Board. Some of her music can be seen, and snippets heard, atTranscontinental Publishing‘s website. Andrea Higgins may be contacted directly atAndrea Higgins