LIPF 2020 FACULTY
Dr. Xun Pan
Dr. Ivo Kaltchev
Dr. Alessandra Feris
Dr. Eric Fung
Dr. Amy Gustafson
Dr. Ai-Lin Hsieh
Dr. Matthew Quick
Dr. Hedi Salanki
Dr. Chenggang Yang
Dr. Xun Pan, Artistic Co-Director
Chinese-American pianist Xun Pan received his early musical training from his grandmother and pianists-parents, Pan Yiming and Ying Shizhen. He continued his studies at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, Syracuse University in New York, and earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Rutgers University in New Jersey.
Mr. Pan has won many international piano competitions and awards, beginning with first prize in the 1986 China National Piano Competition in Beijing, and the "Dr. Luis Sigall" International Piano Competition in Chile in 1987, the International Festival Piano Competition in Korea in 1990, the Frinna Awerbuch International Piano Competition in New York in 1992, and the Artists International Competition in New York in 1993. A student of Theodore Lettvin, Mr. Pan has performed solo recitals worldwide from Carnegie Weill Hall to the Beijing National Center for Performing Arts. He has performed in Moscow, Santiago, Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai, London, Los Angeles, Frankfurt, Taipei, Budapest, Salzburg, Sicily, New York, Seoul, Pyongyang, Biel, Bern, Brussels, Vina Del Mar, Washington DC, Lisbon, Toronto, Boston, San Jose, San Francisco, and many other cities in the world. He “…excites his audience with extraordinary power and masterful technique.” (The Star-Ledger)
A noted chamber musician, Mr. Pan is the pianist of the Newstead Trio and Trio Clavino. Their work has been broadcast live on radio and television, and they have released several highly acclaimed recordings. Trio Clavino toured seven cities in China with Fulbright Grants managed by US Embassy in Beijing in 2014, and again in 2016. Mr. Pan has been served as a judge in many competitions include "Frinna Awerbuch" International Piano Competition in New York, United States Music Open Competition in Oakland, CA, United States International Music competition in Stanford, CA, and Maria Clara Cullell International Piano Competition in San Jose, Costa Rica.
Dr. Pan is the Director of Keyboard Studies of The Tell School of Music at Millersville University of Pennsylvania, and is a visiting professor at many universities and conservatories in China, includes Central Conservatory of Music, China Conservatory of Music, Guangzhou Xinghai Conservatory of Music, Sichuan Conservatory of Music, China Northwest University for Nationalities, Fuzhou University, Yantai University, Shandong University, Qinghai Normal University, and Wenzhou University. He taught and served as the Chairman of the Piano Department at Pennsylvania Academy of Music between 1996 and 2009.
Dr. Pan is one of the founding members and the Artistic Director of the Lancaster International Piano Festival in Pennsylvania, USA.
His next project is going to perform the entire 32 piano sonatas, 10 piano/violin sonatas, and 8 piano/cello works of Beethoven to celebrate his 250th anniversary of birth from fall of 2018.
DR. IVO KALTCHEV, ARtistic Co-Director
Prizewinner of international piano competitions and a Bösendorfer Concert Artist, pianist Ivo Kaltchev has enjoyed a successful performing career as recitalist, soloist with orchestras, chamber musician and recording artist. “Formidable technique” (Piano Journal, England), “possesses the genius of rubato” (Diapason, France), “distinctive and original” (Soviet Culture, Russia), "impressive" (Frankfurter Neue Presse, Germany), "most beautifully and idiomatically played" (International Record Review, England), “glittering,” “ big technique" (The Washington Post, USA), “a master of the whole range of pianistic attacks and coloristic effects” (The Star Ledger, USA) - these are some of the words which music critics have used to describe Mr. Kaltchev’s artistry.
Mr. Kaltchev has performed in musical centers throughout the world, including Carnegie Weill Recital Hall, Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Library of Congress, Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory Malii and Rachmaninov Halls, St. Petersburg State Philharmonic Hall, Warsaw National Philharmonic Hall, Salle Moliere (Lyon, France), Tel Aviv Museum Recanati Auditorium, Mendelssohn Hochschule für Musik Hall (Leipzig, Germany), Princeton University's Richardson Auditorium, and the Bulgaria Great Hall. He has been a guest artist at music festivals in Austria, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Czech Republic, France, Bulgaria, Italy, Portugal, Finland, Ukraine, Korea, China, Singapore, Thailand and the U.S. Some of the highlights of recent seasons include both a solo recital and a concerto performance with the EOS Orchestra in Alice Tully Hall, a concert tour in Asia as well as performances of the complete solo piano works of Claude Debussy. A respected chamber musician, Mr. Kaltchev has collaborated with members of the New York Metropolitan Opera, New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra as well as Essex Quartet, pianists Ilana Vered and Milena Mollova, and French actress Marie Christine Barrault.
Mr. Kaltchev's critically acclaimed commercial recordings for the Bulgarian "Gega New" label include an all-Charles Griffes CD (hailed by the French magazine Diapason as "the most accomplished interpretation known until now"), a CD with the world premieres of solo piano works by the French composer Florent Schmitt as well as a recently released CD with works of Debussy.
Dr. Kaltchev holds degrees and diplomas from Yale and Rutgers Universities, Sofia Academy of Music and the Liszt Hochschule für Musik (Weimar). He is recipient of piano pedagogy awards for teaching excellence and has presented lectures, workshops and master classes in Europe, China, Korea, Singapore, Thailand, the Virgin Islands and the US. Dr. Kaltchev’s students are prizewinners of more than 20 piano competitions and have performed with numerous orchestras including I Solisti di Perugia (Italy). Dr. Kaltchev is an active adjudicator and has judged international piano competitions in Europe, Asia, Latin America and the U.S.
Currently, Dr. Kaltchev is Associate Professor of Piano and Head of the Piano Division at the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. He is co-Director and co-Founder of the Washington International Piano Festival (www.washingtonpianofest.com) as well as Artistic Director of the Bulgarian Music Society Concert Series at the Bulgarian Embassy in Washington DC. He has taught as a Visiting Piano Professor at the Beijing China Conservatory of Music and the Yale University School of Music.
RHIANNON BANERDT
Violinist Rhiannon Banerdt made her solo debut at age 14 with the New England Symphonic Ensemble in Johannesburg, South Africa. She has since given solo and chamber music performances at Philadelphia's Kimmel Center, New York's Weill Hall at Carnegie, and Boston's Jordan Hall, among others. An avid chamber musician, Ms. Banerdt performs regularly throughout New England with a variety of ensembles and is a founding member of the Ulysses String Quartet, winners of the First Prize at the 2018 Schoenfeld International Chamber Music Competition, Grand Prize at the 2016 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, First Prize at the 2017 American Prize Chamber Ensemble, and Silver Medal at the 2017 Osaka International Chamber Music Competition.
A recipient of the 2012 Borromeo String Quartet Guest Artist Award, Ms. Banerdt was invited to perform with the quartet in Jordan Hall. Other collaborations have included performances with the Chiara Quartet, Kim Kashkashian, Paul Biss, and Frans Helmerson. Ms. Banerdt has participated in numerous eminent chamber music festivals including La Jolla Summerfest, Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, Taos School of Music, and the Castleman Quartet Program.
Ms. Banerdt holds the position of Assistant Concertmaster with the Cape Symphony and has served as Principal Second Violin Boston’s Discovery Ensemble. She was one of two Violin Fellowships for the 2013-2015 seasons with the flagship music education organization Community MusicWorks in Providence, RI, where she taught individual lessons and group classes for disadvantaged youth and performed regularly with the Fellowship Quartet and Community MusicWorks Players. Ms. Banerdt is currently a member of the violin faculty at the Bloomingdale School of Music on New York City’s Upper West Side and a Graduate Teaching Fellow at CUNY's Brooklyn College.
A native of Los Angeles, Ms. Banerdt attended the New England Conservatory, where she received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees with honors from the New England Conservatory of Music as a student of Lucy Chapman and Paul Biss, and is currently pursuing doctoral studies at the CUNY Graduate Center studying with Mark Steinberg. She plays on a Guarneri model violin made by Marco Coppiardi in 2012.
Dr. Alessandra Feris
Following undergraduate studies at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Brazilian pianist Alessandra Feris received a fellowship from KAAD (Katholischer Akademischer Ausländer-Dienst) to study at the Hochschule für Musik ‘Franz Liszt’ in Weimar, Germany, where she received the Artist Diploma under the tutelage of Thomas Steinhöfel and the legendary Lazar Berman. As a student in Weimar, she was awarded a Liszt Foundation fellowship to attend the Béla Bartók International Festival and Seminar in Szombathely, Hungary, and also participated in projects such as the entire performance of Bach’s Das Wohltemperierte Klavier. Then she came to the United States as a student and teaching assistant of Réne Lecuona at the University of Iowa. In Iowa she earned a master’s degree in Piano Performance and was awarded the ‘Becker Piano Scholarship’ as well as the prestigious ‘John Simms Piano Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Study of Music.’ Under the direction of Carolyn Bridger and Read Gainsford, Alessandra Feris received a doctoral degree in Piano Performance at Florida State University in 2009. A devoted doctoral teaching assistant at FSU, she was the recipient of the ‘2008 Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award.’
Dr. Feris served as Piano Faculty and Artist-in-Residence of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College for seven years, where she worked with a wide diversity of students. Committed to excellence in teaching, she received the ‘Mississippi Humanities Council Teacher of the Year Award’ in 2012. A sought-after pedagogue, Dr. Feris has been actively adjudicating competitions on both national and international levels, as well as conducting masterclasses at major universities in the U.S. and abroad. She has also been a faculty member and performer at ‘Festival Internacional de Pianistas’ in Mar del Plata, Argentina, since 2011.
Alessandra Feris has as an extensive career as soloist and chamber musician. She has performed widely in Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Costa Rica, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Serbia, and in the United States, making successful solo debuts in major venues such as the Theatro São Pedro in Porto Alegre (Brazil), the Steinway Haus in Frankfurt (Germany), and the Palácio de Bellas Artes (Sala Manuel M. Ponce) in Mexico City. She has recently been a guest artist/teacher at institutions such as Louisiana State University, Montclair State University, James Madison University, Augustana University, Auburn University, University of Southern Mississippi, Kansas State University, Huntingdon College, Chadron State College, University of South Alabama, Universidad de Costa Rica, Southern University, Wayne State University, Universidade de Aveiro in Portugal, Universidad de Buenos Aires in Argentina, Ionian University in Greece, and several universities in Brazil as UNICAMP (Campinas), UDESC (Florianópolis), UFRGS (Porto Alegre), UFSM (Santa Maria), UFPEL (Pelotas), UFOP (Ouro Preto), UNB (Brasilia), UFMG (Belo Horizonte) and others. Additionally, she is devoted to the diffusion of Latin-American music and is often requested to premiere works by Brazilian contemporary composers.
Dr. Feris has joined the Music Faculty of the University of South Dakota as Assistant Professor of Piano in 2016. A passionate collaborative pianist, she enjoys performing with colleagues and is a member of Duo Weimar with cellist Pedro Bielschowsky and Duo Paul-Feris with oboist Jeffrey Paul. She also thrives as a theorist, and has strong music-theoretical interests that vary from Schenkerian Analysis to basic-level theory.
DR. ERIC FUNG
Dr. Eric Fung was the second-prize ex aequo winner at the Thirteenth International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in Leipzig, Germany. He was also awarded first prize at the Corpus Christi Young Artists International Competition (1996), second prize at St. Louis Symphony Concerto Competition (1997), and first prize at the Juilliard School Concerto Competition (2000).
As a performer, Dr. Fung has collaborated with the Juilliard Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Middle Germany Chamber Orchestra, Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, Hershey Symphony Orchestra, Lebanon Valley College Orchestra, the Central Pennsylvania Symphony Orchestra, and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University Orchestra. He has appeared in international music festivals, such as the Israel Festival in Jerusalem, European Piano Forum in Berlin (Germany), the Puigcerda Music Festival (Spain), the Philadelphia Bach Festival, the Kamerman Piano Series in Pensacola (Florida), the Lancaster International Piano Festival, and the Hong Kong Arts Festival. His orchestra debut at Lincoln Center with the Juilliard Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Otto Werner Miller and his Carnegie Hall solo debut won rave reviews from the New York Times and New York Concert Review, respectively. Anthony Tommasini praised his pianism for being “mature, refined, and elegant.” Harris Goldsmith described him as “a pianist with a musical persona akin to Rudolph Serkin” and praised his performance for having “vibrant vitality… unflappable logic, flexibilities in nuances and requisite lyricism.” The Hong Kong Economic Review commended him for being “unique among the contemporary Chinese pianists, for the aesthetic of his music can be traced back to the study and passion for Bach’s works.”
Dr. Fung was awarded Advanced Certificate in Piano Performance from the Associated Board of the Royal School of Music in London at age 15. He later received scholarships to continue his study at the Eastman School of Music where he received his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in Piano Performance, and also a Master of Arts in Music Theory Pedagogy. In 2005, he earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano from the Juilliard School where he was a full-scholarship recipient.
His major piano teachers include Eva Lue, Natalya Antonova, Martin Canin, and Oxana Yablonskaya. He was coached by such prominent piano pedagogues as Boris Berman, Christopher Elton, Claude Frank, and Peter Frankl, and Barbara Nissman in master classes and international music festivals. He also studied analysis with Matthew Brown, Steven Laitz, and Carl Schachter.
Dr. Fung is currently a tenured associate professor of piano at Lebanon Valley College in Pennsylvania. As an educator, he has conducted masterclasses at higher education institutions and professional organizations, including Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance in Israel, Sichuan Conservatory of Music (Chengdu, China), Xinghai Conservatory of Music (Guangzhou, China), National Tainan University (Taiwan), National Chaio Tung University (Taiwan), Soochow University (Taiwan), East Tennessee State University, Hope College (Michigan), University of Illinois at Carbondale, the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, and the Tom Lee Music Foundation. He is also active as an adjudicator in competitions, such as the Lancaster Symphony (PA) Concerto Competition, the Greater Princeton (NJ) Steinway Society Scholarship Competition, the New Jersey Music Teachers Association Piano Competition, and MTNA Competition.
MATTHEW GRAYBIL
Praised by The New Yorker as an “exceptional young artist” and by The Southampton Press as “hypnotic and compelling,” American pianist Matthew Graybil has performed as a recitalist, concerto soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Mexico. He made his orchestral debut at age 14 with Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and has subsequently performed with the Fort Worth Symphony and the National Chamber Players among many others.
Highlights of Graybil’s solo career include recitals in many of the world’s music capitals, including New York, Paris, Chicago, Baltimore, Mexico City, Philadelphia, Toronto and Washington DC in venues such as Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, Subculture, Le Poisson Rouge, Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center and Lincoln Center. In addition, Graybil is an avid chamber musician, with over 200 performances to his credit. As an exponent of music from the 20th and 21st century, he recently gave the New York premier of Walter Piston’s Concerto for Two Pianos Soli, along with Igor Lovchinsky. He has appeared on radio and television, including Vermont Public Radio, Connecticut Public Radio, WNYC’s The Leonard Lopate Show, WQXR’s Young Artist Showcase, WWFM’s The Piano Matters hosted by David Dubal, CBS Chicago and PBS, where he was featured in the documentary Beyond the Practice Room.
He has been a prizewinner in national and international competitions including the New York Piano Competition, the MTNA/Yamaha National Piano Competition, the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts competition, the Juilliard Gina Bachauer Competition, the Nina Wideman International Piano Competition and the Missouri Southern International Piano Competition. Mr. Graybil has been invited to festivals including the Bowdoin International Music Festival, Pianofest in the Hamptons, the Ravinia Steans Institute, the Perlman Music Program, the Sarasota Music Festival and the American Academy in Fontainebleau, France.
Graybil began his piano studies at age 6 and presented his first recital the following year. He was a pupil of Harvey Wedeen for six years and in 2009, received a Bachelor of Music Degree from the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Jerome Lowenthal. In 2011, he completed the Masters program at Juilliard where he continued to work with Mr. Lowenthal as well as Matti Raekallio.
Matthew’s debut album was released in 2012 as part of the Victor Elmaleh Collection. In a review of the album, Fanfare Magazine wrote that “he becomes so at one with the [music] that the line between composer and performer vanishes. Matthew Graybil’s playing marks him … as one of the most sensitive, poetic young pianists to debut on record in recent memory.” A record of Chopin’s Etudes, Op. 10 was released by the Chopin Project in 2016 and his recording, with Larry Weng, of Walter Piston’s Concerto for two pianos soli was released in February 2018 for Steinway & Sons records. He returned to Steinway’s recording studio in August, 2018 to record selections from his Debussy centennial celebration program entitled “Debussy: His friends and his enemies” which was released on Steinway Spirio.
Born and raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Matthew Graybil resides in New York City.
Dr. Amy Gustafson
Praised for her “exquisite sensitivity” and a “style filled with class and elegance” by La Voz de Asturias (Asturias, Spain) and recognized as a “talented player who doesn’t fit the cookie-cutter mold” by Lucid Culture (New York City), American pianist Amy E. Gustafson has performed across the United States and in both Western and Eastern Europe. Her debut album, Reverie, consists of music by Claude Debussy and was released in June 2017.
Recent performances include replacing legendary pianist Abbey Simon in Los Angeles at LACMA’s series, Sundays Live, an appearance with the Sofia Sinfionetta in Sofia, Bulgaria, and a concert tour in Dallas, Texas with her piano duo, Duo Azul. Other recent engagements have taken her to Spain, China, and Canada, and she has also performed New York City venues, such as Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall, Trinity Church Wall Street, the Tenri Cultural Institute, CAMI Hall and the Kosciuszko Foundation.
Born into a musical family, her talent was evident at an early age, and she received much of her beginning piano instruction from her grandmother. By the age of 15, she had won several local competitions, including MTNA’s Baldwin Competition, and her success led her to move to New York City to continue her studies.
Since then, Gustafson has won numerous awards, including the second prize in the International Young Artists Piano Competition, second prize in the Joyce Dutka Arts Foundation Competition, and the Special Presentation Award and the Alumni Award from Artists International Presentations, Inc.
Gustafson completed her studies at the Manhattan School of Music, New York University, and the University of Texas at Austin. Her major teachers have included Julian Martin, Andre-Michel Schub, Anton Nel, Constance Keene, and Miyoko Lotto, and she has benefited from the advice of many renowned pedagogues, including Solomon Mikowsky, Arie Vardi, Veda Kaplinsky, Robert McDonald, Paul Badura-Skoda, Marc Durand, Martin Canin, Leslie Howard, and Luiz de Moura Castro.
In addition to her performing career, Gustafson is on the piano faculty at Millersville University and is Director and Faculty of the Gijón International Piano Festival in Gijón, Spain, as well as Director of the Palmetto International Piano Festival in South Carolina. Previously, Dr. Gustafson directed The Stony Brook International Piano Festival in Stony Brook, New York.
Amy E. Gustafson is a Yamaha Artist.
Dr. AI-lin Hsieh
Dr. Ai-lin Hsieh received her early musical training in both piano and cello. She holds a BM in Cello Performance from Soochow University, Taiwan, a MM from the Eastman School of Music, and a DMA from the University of Maryland, College Park. Her teachers include Steven Doane, Evelyn Elsing, and Kenneth Slowik. She also received coaching from members of the Guarneri Quartet and the Ying Quartet.
Performance highlights include a collaborative performance with legendary cellist Mistislav Rostropovitch in Taipei and a concerto performance with the University of Maryland Philharmonia Ensemble that won critical acclaim from the Washington Post. She was a member of the Maryland Symphony Orchestra, the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, and the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra.
Dr. Hsieh is currently Assistant Principal Cellist of the York Symphony, and is on the music faculty of Messiah College teaching cello performance.
James Jin
James (Xin) Jin
Currently working as Associate Principal Second Violinist in the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra, Director of Auckland Academy of Music, Director of NZ Chamber Orchestra, Director of Asia Pacific Performing Arts, Deputy Director of Flying Dog Artistic Management, and Artistic Director of New Zealand International Young Artists Festival, Xin (James) Jin was born in China and came to New Zealand with his family in 2001.
In New Zealand, James performed regularly in recitals and concerts. Highlights of his performances include Brahms' violin concerto with the Wellington Chamber Orchestra and the Manawatu Sinfonia Orchestra and concert pieces with the Michael Monaghan Young Musicians Foundation Orchestra. James was contracted by the Wellington Vector Orchestra as Principle Second Violinist in 2007, and in the following year he was admitted, with the award of full scholarship, to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music to study with Prof. Ian Swensen.
In America, James has won top prizes in competitions including the Mu Phi Epsilon International Music Competition and the Y.E.S. Foundation Young Arts' Competition. James has also worked with many distinguished teachers, artists, ensembles and conductors in the Tanglewood Music Festival, Music Academy of the West and the Siena International Music Festival.
Returning to New Zealand in 2014, James has won the New Zealand School of Music Concerto Competition and the Waikanae Music Society scholarship. In 2015 James joined the APO as Associate Principle 2ndViolinist and curator APO’s Up-Close Chamber Concert Series. Besides working for the APO, James appears regularly in recitals and concerts throughout the country as a soloist, chamber musician, conductor, and concertmaster.
Jiayin Li
“I have had hundreds of piano students during a lifetime of teaching at Manhattan School of Music, many of them performers who have achieved international recognition. Seldom, though, have I encountered a student with such an artistic pedagogical talent and potential to become an outstanding teacher which, by the way, she already is!” – Solomon Mikowsky.
After just arriving from her native Tianjin in China as a scholarship student in the Doctor of Musical Arts program at Manhattan School of Music in the class of Dr. Mikowsky, Jiayin Li was immediately appointed to the Precollege Piano Faculty by the school`s President and by the Dean of the Division. Her arrival was preceded by the many prizes her students won in national youth competitions in China (Prime Golden Bell Music Award, Steinway, Young Chang, Kayserburg, Hailun and Xinghai) and national and international competitions in Singapore and Imola (Italy) and in New York (Renée B. Fisher and Ann & Charles Eisemann).
As a result, Jiayin Li has been interviewed by the China Educational Television and has been awarded various honorary diplomas on the success of her students. She has been Dr. Mikowsky´s only Assistant in MSM´s Precollege Division since 2016. As such, she was invited in 2019 as a teacher and performer in his lectures and masterclasses in Shanghai and Xiamen, and as a guest Artist-Teacher and Performer at MUSELIT’s 3-day Workshop-Seminar in Beijing, be to broadcast throughout China, covering Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann, French, Spanish and interpretation of the leading “Golden Age” pianists.
Jiayin Li holds BM and MM degrees from the China Conservatory in Beijing, where she was a student and assistant to the former Chairman of the Piano Department, Professor Min Li. She has performed in recital and with chamber music groups throughout China (as a member of the China Conservatory Trio), the Caribbean and in the United States, as well as orchestral soloist in Yunnan, Hebei and with the National Orchestra of Cuba in Havana. She was recently invited for a 2ndrecital in Havana at UNESCO’s landmark Basílica.
CHONGXIAO LIU
Chinese pianist Chongxiao Liu is director of the Middle School Piano Division at Wuhan Conservatory of Music, China. He is enjoying a busy performing career as a solo pianist and chamber musician. He often performs in China and foreign venues. Such as Washington D.C, Lancaster,Pennsylvania(USA),Frankfurt am Main, Wehr(Germany), Shumen,(Bulgaria),Embassy of China in Seoul,(South of Korea), Rachmaninoff hall in Moscow Tchaiovsky Conservatory(Russia),Conservatory of Music and Drama Performance of Cannes(France), and Beijing, Wuhan, Qingdao in China. He has recorded Schubert “Wanderer Fantasy in C Major” D.760 for Hong Kong Radio 4 and has been a concerto soloist with China Philharmonic Orchestra as well as Beijing Film Orchestra. Mr.Liu has been a guest artist and faculty member at Piano Festivals, in Washington D.C, Lancaster(USA), Dreieich, Frankfurt, Wehr (Germany) and China.
He also has been invited to serve on many piano competiton juries, including Catholic University of American International piano competition, Lancaster International piano competition(USA), Korea-China Youth International piano competition(Seoul,South of Korea) and many domestic piano competitions in China.
He graduated with honours from China Conservatory of Music in Beijing receiving BM and MM degrees in Piano Performance, studied in Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory under Prof. Pavel Nersessian as visiting scholar.
SImon Maurer
Simon Maurer grew up in Switzerland in a family of six children, all of whom became professional musicians. He studied violin at the Conservatory in Biel, and continued his studies in the U.S. with Geoffrey Michaels, Joyce Robbins and Claire Hodkins.
Mr. Maurer is an accomplished musician performing chamber music and solo repertoire throughout the eastern United States, Western Europe and China. Solo performances in the US include Schuylkill Symphony Orchestra, Bloomsburg Chamber Orchestra, Louden Symphony, Pennsylvania Sinfonia and Valley Vivaldi. In May 2013 he was the featured soloist with the Shenyang Symphony Orchestra in China. In March 2015 he performed Mozart’s Concertante in Hobbs New Mexico.
He is the founder and artistic director of Sunday Sinfonia, a String Orchestra of enthusiastic amateur string players based in Lancaster, Pa. (sundaysinfonia.org)
Mr. Maurer is the artistic director of the Gabriel Chamber Ensemble, (www.gabrielensemble.org). Committed to performance and education, the group takes pride in bringing classical music to underserved areas. In 2010 the Gabriel Chamber Ensemble took over the leadership of the Schuyllkill Youth Orchestra, newly renamed Gabriel Youth Orchestra.
He is also a member of ‘Trio Clavino’. Simon Maurer plays Violin andViola with Dr. Xun Pan, piano and Doris Hall Gulati, clarinet. The Trio has had numerous tours to Europe and China.
Mr. Maurer also ventures in the practice of jazz and free style improvisation. He has been a featured soloist in Philadelphia area jazz clubs, has performed at “Jazzfest” in Schuylkill County and Reading Pa. He has recorded numerous projects with folk singers and rock groups: Maggie Pierce and EJ; Zen fro Primates, and others.
Francesco Mirabella
Francesco undertook the piano study with M ° Giuseppe Cultrera and subsequently graduated with praise from the Music Institute "V. Bellini "in Catania in the class of M ° Giovanni Cultrera. He then obtained his diploma at the National Academy of Santa Cecilia in Rome in the class of M ° Sergio Perticaroli.
His training featured masterclasses held by notable professors such as A. Delle Vigne, S. Perticaroli, M. Marvulli, S. Fiuzzi, B. Ringeissen, Z. Fishbein and others. It has been perfected with the Epifanio Comis M °.
He has several awards in national and European competitions and has hundreds of concerts both in solo and various chamber music formations.
He is constantly invited to perform at major music associations in Italy (Auditorium Parco della Musica and Teatro Marcello in Rome, Lyceum Club and Diocesan Museum Catania, Teatro Garibaldi Modica, San Giacomo Festival - Oratorio S. Cecilia, Bologna, Teatro Naselli Comiso ; Catanese Friends of Music; AGIMUS; etc) and abroad (China, Paraguay, Argentina, USA, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Germany, Switzerland, Russia).
The Arhkangelskoe Palace and the Central House of Arts in Moscow are among the foreign rooms; the Ulyanovsk Large Hall of the Lenin Memorial ; the Alte Oper and the Bechstein Piano Center in Frankfurt am Main; the China Conservatory in Beijing, the Wuhan Conservatory and Sichuan China, the Pushkin Theater and the Lugansk Culture Palace ; the New York Institute of Culture of New York, the Swope Hall and the Phillips Autograph Library in West Chester; the Lancaster Ware Center ; the Dnepropetrovsk Philharmonic Auditorium ; the Sergei Lunchevici Theater in Chisinau; the SS Prokof'ev Theater in Donetsk; the Theater Tom Jobim of Asùncion; the Oleg Danovski Theater in Constance.
He has performed in several concerts for the Pf. And Orchestra with the West Chester University Orchestra, the State Philharmonic of Lugansk, the State Philharmonic of Dnepropetrovsk, the State Philharmonic Sergei Lunchevici , the Philharmonic SS Prokof'ev of Donetsk, Youth Symphony of the Lugansk Conservatory, the Ukrainian Symphony, the Oleg Danovski Theater Orchestra in Constanta and the Youth Symphony Orchestra of the Volga Federal District of Tolyatti.
Particularly appreciated is the interpretation of Sergei Prokof'ev's Piano and Orchestra Concerto No. 3 under the leadership of Mif Epic Comi at the Pushkin Theater in Lugansk, broadcast live on television by national broadcasters who received unanimous consensus.
He has held Masterclass in China at the conservatories of Beijing, Wuhan, Chengdu and Paraguay in the city of Asuncion.
For several years he has been invited to hold masterclasses for the Lancaster International Piano Festival in Pennsylvania, promoted by Millersville University , and the Washington International Piano Festival , promoted by Catholic University of Washington with students from all over the world.
He was awarded the Diploma of Honor by the prestigious Vladimir Spivakov International Charity Foundation in Moscow.
He is constantly invited as a commissioner in various national and international piano competitions, such as the US Open Music Competition in San Francisco and the LIPF Romantic Piano Competition in Lancaster-Pennsylvania.
Already artistic director of a season A.Gi.Mus, he is also artistic director of the Friends of Music "Peppino Cultrera" - Scicli .
He is a principal piano teacher at the conservatory "L. Canepa "by Sassari.
Dr. Matthew Glenn Quick
International pianist and educator Dr. Matthew Glenn Quick enjoys an active career across the globe. He began his piano studies at the age of six, and throughout his youth was a prize winner in numerous competitions. His performances have been hailed as “electrifying,” “one revelation after another,” and “a major triumph of imagination and execution.” As one of the more versatile artists of his generation, he not only appears as a solo artist, but has conducted, coached, and collaborated with orchestras, chamber ensembles, choirs, and other soloists from around the world. He has been invited as a guest artist and visiting professor to esteemed international music festivals in the U.S., Europe, and Asia, and he is a frequent judge for regional, national, and international competitions. His recordings have been aired numerous times across the U.S. on National Public Radio as well as in Europe.
Dr. Quick is a Foreign Expert Artist-in-Residence in the piano department of the Sichuan Conservatory of Music in China, holding the distinction of being the first and only foreigner appointed to their piano faculty. In addition to this role, he has regularly lectured and performed at various schools, institutions, and events for both China and the U.S., while also having served as a consultant to the local government as well as to China’s largest education company. Before moving to China, he was an instructor at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, piano faculty in the CCM Preparatory Department, co-chair of the OMTA Buckeye Competition for piano, violin, and voice, a founding teacher of the Carnegie Hall Royal Conservatory Achievement Program, and a prominent choral director in the Tri-State area. He was an active member of the Music Teachers National Association, and was a coordinator for the 2nd MTNA National Piano Pedagogy Symposium where he led sessions on piano technique and injury prevention.
Dr. Quick earned his Bachelor of Music degree at Vanderbilt University, during which time he won the concerto competition, was awarded the David Rabin Prize for excellence in musical performance, was elected to the National Dean’s List, andgraduated with highest honors. He continued his studies at the Cincinnati College- Conservatory of Music, earning both his Master’s and Doctorate of Musical Arts. He has had sessions with many of the world's top artists and has extensively studied the teaching and technique methods of renowned pedagogues and performers. He pursued his major piano studies with Dr. Craig Nies and Eugene and Elisabeth Pridonoff, themselves students of late masters of the Curtis and Juilliard schools including Rudolf Serkin, Claude Frank, Mieczyslaw Horszowski, and Adele Marcus. In addition to piano, he has studied orchestral, wind, choral, and opera conducting in the U.S. and Europe. His doctoral research centered on the music of Mussorgsky, culminating in a dissertation that shed new light on Pictures at an Exhibition by exploring its relationship with Russian vocal literature. He currently serves on the editorial board of the international core music journal Accelerando, and his scholarly writing has been published in the U.S., Europe, and on the ProQuest Global Database.
KATE ZINK-SALADIK
Kate Zink-Saladik retired from teaching after 35 years. She is a member of Governor Wolf's State Advisory Board for Education and Industry. She is a volunteer with Reach Out and Read. Since retiring, she has helped teach English to students from other countries, initially through a grant at the Lancaster City Library. She enjoys traveling and meeting people from other cultures. She and her husband live in Lancaster City, have three grown children and twin granddaughters. Over the years, they have hosted numerous exchange students from Japan, Germany, England and Spain. She enjoys the diversity of cultures and languages and believes that our lives are enriched when we share and learn from each other. Professor Zink-Saladik leads the cultural seminars in LIPF.
DR. HEDI SALANKI
Pianist and harpsichordist, Hedi Salanki, is a Distinguished Professor of Music and Director of Piano Program and Chamber Music in University of West Florida.
“A true artist – a consummate musician…” “She plumbed the expressive depths with a force that was almost shocking…” “Salanki’s playing was distinguished by naturalness, grace, and a feeling of flow…” These are only a few of the accolades that Hedi Salanki has garnered in the course of becoming one of today’s foremost performers of a wide repertoire of solo and chamber music for the piano and harpsichord. Recent engagementsinclude teaching and performing atthe Prestissimo International MusicFestival in Pennsylvania, judging and lecturing at the Maria Clara Cullell International Piano Competition in Costa Rica, judging a Piano Competition in KunmingChina, performing at the San Jose International Baroque Festival in Costa Rica, and judging at the Isidor Bajic International Piano Competition in Novi Sad, Serbia
Dr. Salanki is a DistinguishedProfessor of Music at the University of West Florida, where she is the director of the piano program and chamber music. She teaches piano performance, harpsichord performance, keyboard interpretation, ear training (Kodaly-method solfege), musical structure and style, and chamber music. She is also active as a guest instructor and clinician.
A native of Hungary, Ms. Salanki has appeared with the New Jersey Symphony, the New York Chamber Orchestra, I Solisti New York, the Syracuse Symphony, the Pensacola Symphony, the Jacksonville Symphony and numerous chamber ensembles. She has performed solo, duo and lecture recitals in Europe, the United States, Canada, China, Japan, New Zealand, Serbia and Costa Rica. Among her recordings on the Pantheon, Priceless, Laserlight, and Prince Productions labels are many significant works of Bach, including the Goldberg Variations (nominated for Ovation Magazine’s Debut Artist of the Year Award), the Concerti, and the complete English Suites. She has also recorded Scarlatti Sonatas, Telemann Overtures, and a French Baroque program.
Ms. Salanki earned a Doctorate in Harpsichord Performance from the Juilliard School, as well as degrees and diplomas in piano performance from the Franz Liszt Academy of Music and the Bartok Conservatory in Budapest, and Rutgers University. From 1994 to 1998 Ms. Salanki served as founding Artistic Director of the Four Seasons Baroque Ensemble, garnering critical acclaim for artistic excellence and innovative programming.
Kin-wai Shum
“Shum was impressive. His performances were musically involving and showed sparkling precision.”
Deseret News, Salt Lake City, USA
“With immense keyboard gifts...a beautifully designed and elegantly realized interpretation”
- The Herald-Times, USA
Pianist Kinwai Shum is a prizewinner in the Schubert International Piano Competition (Dortmund, 2007) and the Hilton Head International Piano Competition (1999). He was awarded the Audience Favorite Prize in the New Orleans International Piano Competition (2008) and a Diploma d’Honor in the Maria Canals International Piano Competition (Barcelona, 2004).
Kinwai has performed recitals in Europe, North America and the Far East Asia. He has played with the Dortmund Philharmonic, the Hong Kong Symphonia, and the Hong Kong Pro Arte Orchestra, among others, and was invited to perform and teach in the Indiana University Summer Music Festival and the Yeoncheon DMZ International Music Festival in Korea. He has recorded several programmes for the Radio 4 of the Radio Television Hong Kong. His all-Schubert album was released by Universal Music in 2014.
Kinwai is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music. He currently teaches at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and the Hong Kong Baptist University, and is an Honorary Artist-in-residence of the Education University of Hong Kong. In recognizing his musical achievements, he was presented the Certificate of Commendation by the Secretary for Home Affairs, the government of Hong Kong in 2008, and the Distinguished Young Pianist Award by the Hong Kong Piano Music Association in 2009. He is the awardee of the 2013 Ten Outstanding Young Persons in Hong Kong. He is a Steinway artist.
Kristin Sims
Kristin Sims has appeared as a soloist with orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States. Ms. Sims received her B.M. and M.M. in vocal performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Ms. Sims has sung leading operatic roles with Opera Lancaster, the Harrisburg Symphony, Bel Canto Lyric Opera and Trinity Opera Theatre. Ms. Sims appeared with Allegro Chamber Orchestra as the soprano soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, along with the Lancaster Symphony Chorus in Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Mozart Requiem, and the premiere of John Carbon’s Soldiers of Remembrance. Kristin appeared as Mimi in Opera Lancaster’s performance of La Bohème and Nedda in Pagliacci, Rosina in The Barber of Seville in Philadelphia and as Sister Constance in The Dialogues of the Carmelites in Cincinnati. Ms. Sims is a member of the Naked Eye Ensemble, where she performed the world premiere of Rusty Banks’ song cycle Candy Jones. Kristin made her European debut in the world premiere of Three Thoughts, for soprano, clarinet and piano. Recently, Kristin was the soprano soloist in Mahler’s 2nd Symphony with the Allegro Chamber Orchestra, as well as a soloist in Bach’s Saint Matthew Passion under conductor, Kevin Estes. Kristin is a professor of vocal studies at Millersville University, where she teaches voice and directs opera and musical theatre productions.
Dr. Chenggang Yang
Dr. ChengGang Yang is an associate professor and vice-chair of piano department at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music, China. He began studying piano with his father, Yang HanGuo. He Later studied with Professor YangJun at the Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing. In 1986, he was awarded the third prize in the annual Piano Competition of Central Conservatory. Dr. Yang also studied in the U.S from 1990-2001., earning BM from the University of Texas，MM and DMA degrees from the University of Missouri. He won the first prize of 1995 Concerto Competition in University of Missouri, second prize of MMTA Piano Competition of graduate division in Missouri State. His teachers include William Race, Joanne Baker, Raymond Herbert and Robert Weirich. Many of his students have won prizes in domestic and international piano competitions, including the Ettlingen International Piano Competition, Asian Chopin International Piano Competition, IIYM International Piano Competition, Steinway & Sons Chinese National Piano Competition, Pearl River & Kayserburg National Piano Competition, Etc. Dr. Yang is an active clinician and adjudicator, including master classes at China, Hong Kong, Germany, United States, etc. He was awarded the prestigious YAMAHA Teaching Award in 2013, Excellent Teacher Award of Kayserburg National Piano Competition in 2013, and Sichuan Conservatory Excellent Teacher from 2012-2014.
Jeremy Young
London born pianist Jeremy Young has had a distinguished performing and teaching career that has gained him a reputation as one of Europe’s most respected and versatile chamber pianists.
A founding member of the Manchester Piano Trio, Jeremy has also partnered many of the worlds most distinguished musicians including Olivier Charlier, Mark Padmore, Julian Bliss, Liwei Qin, Peter Cropper, Roderick Williams, Thomas Riebl and Karine Georgian in venues such as the Lincoln Center (New York), Herbst Theater (San Fransisco), National Concert Hall (Dublin), Esplanade Hall (Singapore), Almaty Concert Hall (Kazakhstan) and Wigmore Hall. Festival appearances include Mecklenburg –Vorpommern, Graz, Lake District, Harrogate, Endellion, Brighton, City of London and Dartington.
He has also appeared as solo recitalist at the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, The Arts House (Singapore), Hsingchu Concert Hall (Taiwan), Bridgewater Hall (Manchester) and the Southbank Centre and has performed concerti under the baton of Sir Richard Hickox and Marcus Stenz.
Jeremy has broadcast for BBC Radio 3, Classic FM, RTÉ Lyric FM, BBCTV, Channel 4 and radio in USA, China, Russia and much of Europe. His recordings are available on EMI Asia, Decca, Sony, Meridian, Signum, Champs Hill, Somm and Naxos.
An internationally recognised teacher, Jeremy has given classes worldwide including Universities of Texas, Connecticut and Chicago in the USA, Yong-Siew Toh Conservatory, Shanghai Conservatory, Hsingchu University in Asia, and in Europe at the Sibelius Academy in Finland, Conservatorio diVerona, Yehudi Menuhin School, Purcell School, Royal Academy of Music, Tunnell Trust and the European Chamber Music Academy.
He is currently the Head of Chamber Music at the Royal Northern College of Music and senior tutor in piano and chamber music at Chethams School of Music in Manchester.
In 2006 Jeremy founded the Alfriston Summer Music Festival in Sussex (now South Downs Summer Music) which he directed for 10 years and of which he remains the Chairman. Jeremy is currently the Artistic Director of the International Young Musicians Academy which runs music educational courses in the UK and China.
Jeremy Young studied at the Purcell School of Music, the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music.
“Young matches her with a prodigious technique that demonstrates the full range of his artistry and his piano’s capabilities. -this latest entry by Sadie Fields and Jeremy Young is definitely one I shall be keeping and returning to often. Very strongly recommended “
FANFARE 2016 (CD recording of Brahms Sonatas for Violin and Piano- Champs Hill)
Xiaofeng Zhang
“Xiaofeng Zhang’s performance level is just as good as any of the young pianists in the world today.” taken from “Exotic Pearl in the Ocean of Music” from the Piano Art magazine in 2005.
Chinese pianist Xiaofeng Zhang, born in 1979 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, stepped on the road of music at the age of 3. Showing his outstanding musical talent at a very young age, he won the first prize in Hangzhou children's piano competition only after six months’ training. When studying in the Middle School Attached to Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, he was mentored by professor ZHANG Jin, who was very strict with him and created a perfect art atmosphere for him. Mr. Zhang was admitted by Manhattan School of Music, Mannes College of Music and the Michigan Conservatory at the same period of time when he was in eleventh grade, meanwhile, he also won the first scholarship in Solomon Education Foundation. Solomon Mikowsky, professor at Manhattan School, says that Xiaofeng Zhang is a wonderful talent. Considering keeping the continuity of art, Zhang chose Central Conservatory of Music to study for his Bachelor’s degree, under professor Jun Yang. As for his Master’s degree, Mr. Zhang was admitted to Hochschule fuer Musik "HannsEisler" in Berlin, Germany, mentored by professor Kupfernagel who headed the piano department, and graduated with straight A’s.
During his study period, Xiaofeng won prizes in a number of competitions, among them the “Leschetizky” International Piano Competitionin Taiwan; the “Freedom and Art” International Piano Competition in Brazil; Curtain-Piano Competition in Poland; “Zhu Jiang Cup” Piano Competition in China and others. He was the first and only student who won the “Yamaha Asian Scholarship” for music students. Besides, he won scholarships in every school year.
In 2002, Xiaofeng Zhang recorded the DVD of Carl Czerny’s The Art of Finger Dexterity, Op. 740. In the same year, he recorded the demonstrative performance for the piano grading test material published by Central Conservatory of Music.
Xiaofeng Zhang, as a young piano virtuoso, is active both in China and abroad. His performance in the United States, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, France, Austria, Taiwan, Hong Kong and other countries and regions; as well as the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing, the Beijing Concert Hall, the National Center for Performing Arts, China Central Television, the New Year's Concert, also in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, and other cities in China, have won him great acclaim.
Mr. Zhang started to teach in China Conservatory of Music in Beijing in 2002. Since then his students have won prizes in “Oberlin” International Piano Competition in the US, “New Stars” International Piano Competition in Russia, “Steinway” International Youth Piano Competition, International Chopin Piano Competition for Youth in Asia, “TOYAMA” Asian Piano Competition, and “KAWAI” Piano Competition in China.
Xiaofeng Zhang won the “Excellent Teacher Award” issued by the International Piano Competition Committee. In 2006 and 2015, he was titled the Excellent Teacher by China Conservatory of Music.
