SouthEastern Young Artists (SEYA) elevates access, quality and responsiveness of the performing arts by bridging the gap between the community and visiting artists in North Georgia. We achieve our mission by growing the cultural arts through performances and education workshops.
SEYA was founded in 2018 after a successful exploratory recital presented at the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Gainesville, GA. Since then, SEYA has invited artists each year to perform in North Georgia. To support its continued growth, the organization was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit in 2022. In the 2024 performing season, SEYA presented programming to over 1,000 audience members, and currently puts on approximately six educational events, three community engagement events, and twelve performances each year.
Inviting artists from across the United States, SEYA has performed at the Smithgall Arts Center Pavilion, the Boot Barn Hall at Bourbon Brothers, the Historic Ritz Theatre, the Quinlan Visual Arts Center, First Baptist Church of Gainesville as well as other churches, retirement communities and private homes.
Enthusiastic about the opportunities for music education, SEYA partners with other educational organizations to provide masterclasses and workshops. Our recent partners included RISE, a learning-loss prevention program in Gainesville bringing social-emotional learning through music to at-risk youths, Hall County Library, and Lakeview Academy.
Dede Gossage – Board Chairperson
Richard Kronk – Board Treasurer
Barbara Vonderheid – Board Secretary
Dr. Charles Nash – Director
Dr. Anup Lahiry – Director
Lyn Froehlich – Director
Our Board
Passionate about chamber music, Ben Kronk founded SouthEastern Young Artists Inc. (SEYA) in 2018 to bring people together through music. A violinist based in Iowa, Ben competed in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition in May 2024, and previously won the 2023 Texas Rising Stars competition. He is the grand-prize winner of the 2022 American Opera Society of Chicago’s Scholarship Competition. As soloist, he has appeared with Austin Unconducted, SouthEastern Young Artists, the Caroga Lake Music Festival, the Austin Civic Orchestra, the Toccoa Symphony, the National Repertory Orchestra, and the Central Texas Medical Orchestra.
He is a member of the Iris Collective and has played with Artosphere, the Austin Symphony, the Chicago Philharmonic Society, the Folks’ Operetta, the Wisconsin Philharmonic, and the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra. Notably he has performed with celebrated artists including Bion Tsang, Sandy Yamamoto, Matthew Lipman, Anna Petrova, Janet Sung, Stephen Balderston, Daniel Ching, Rose Ambrust Griffin, and Liang-yu Wang.
He holds degrees from the University of Texas at Austin (Doctorate ‘24), DePaul University (Post Master’s Certificate ‘22), Mcgill University (Master’s ‘19), and the Eastman School of Music (Bachelor’s ‘17). He has taken masterclasses from Midori and Pinchas Zuckerman among others.
CEO & Founder | BEN KRONK
Anna has been bringing performing arts to life both on and off stage since her earliest memories, most recently in the live theatre and music scene of Atlanta. Working with dedicated artists from all over the globe to create beautiful and meaningful art is her dream, both as a creative and administrative professional.
For several years, she organized and instructed live performance workshops for high-school students across North America while serving as Director of Operations for an international non-profit headquartered in her hometown of Gainesville. An actor, singer and writer, she loves to engage audiences with stories through many mediums, especially in small, personal settings. Not one to forget what it takes behind the scenes, Anna has also worked in props, costuming, set, and administrative roles for theatrical and musical performances.
Though life has moved her to many locales, currently southeastern Connecticut, her family, school, and the wide community of extraordinary people in Gainesville keep her closely connected to the North Georgia foothills. Anna is thrilled to be working with Southeastern Young Artists to bring exceptional artists and memorable performances to the growing city of Gainesville.