Faculty 2025

Dr. Xun Pan · Dr. Ivo Kaltchev ·  Dr. Heejin Chang · Dr. Ruiqi Fang · Dr. Alessandra Feris · Dr. Eric Fung · Prof. Matthew Graybil · Prof. James Jin · Dr. Julian Langford · Prof. Chongxiao Liu · Prof. Chi-Wei Lo · Prof. Simon Maurer · Prof. Francesco Mirabella · Prof. Vincenzo Pavone · Prof. Victor Rosenbaum · Dr. Hedi Salanki · Dr. Chia-Yi Tseng · Prof. Xing Wang · Dr. Chao Wu · Dr. Hsin-Yi Wu · Dr. Xiaopei Xu

The highlights of the Chinese-American pianist Xun Pan’s recent chamber music concerts collaborate with the American String Quartet, Hai-Ye Ni, Priscilla Lee, Dara Morales, and the Gabriel Chamber Ensemble. He just finished a 15-city concert tour in 30 days in China in May/June of 2024. As a Steinway Artist, he was inducted into the Steinway & Sons Teacher Hall of Fame in 2023.

Mr. Pan received his early musical training from hisgrandmother and pianists-parents, Pan Yiming and Ying Shizhen. He continued his studies at theCentral 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, Trio Clavino, and Gabriel Chamber Ensemble. 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, Pancho Vladigerov International Piano Competition in Shumen, Bulgaria, 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 also taught master classes at Manhattan School of Music, Boston University, Frost School of Music at University of Miami, University of West Florida, Benjamin T Rome School of Music at The Catholic University of America, Dartmouth College, Mozarteum University (Austria), Bellini Music Institute (Italy), Tbilisi State Conservatoire (Georgia), and others. 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 Co-Artistic Director of the Lancaster International Piano Festival in Pennsylvania, USA.  

His performed the entire 32 piano sonatas, 10 piano/violin sonatas, 8 piano/cello works, and 13 piano trios of Beethoven when celebrating his 250th anniversary of birth.

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” (Washington Post, U.S.), “a master of the whole range of pianistic attacks and coloristic effects” (The Star Ledger, U.S.)—these are some of the words that music critics have used to describe Dr. Kaltchev’s artistry and piano playing.

Dr. Kaltchev has performed in musical centers throughout the world, including Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Library of Congress, Changsha Concert Hall, China Conservatory Concert Hall, Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory’s 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, Canada and the U.S. Some of the highlights of recent seasons include a solo recital and a concerto performance with the EOS Orchestra in Alice Tully Hall, concert tours in Asia, as well as performances of the complete solo piano works of Claude Debussy as well as the complete art songs of Henri Duparc. A respected chamber musician, Dr. Kaltchev has performed with Shanghai String Quartet, Harrington String Quartet, pianists Ilana Vered and Milena Mollova, French actress Marie Christine Barrault as well with members of the New York Metropolitan Opera, New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

Dr. 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 University and Rutgers University, Sofia Academy of Music, and the Liszt Hochschule für Musik (Weimar). He is the recipient of the Catholic University of America Awards for Overall Teaching Excellence (2017) and Achievement in the Creative Arts (2019) as well as to other piano pedagogy awards for teaching excellence presented by the Piano Teachers Society of America, the American Protégé International Concerto Competition, the Princeton Steinway Society and other organizations.  He has presented lectures, workshops, and master classes in Europe, China, Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Costa Rica, the Virgin Islands, and the U.S.           

Dr. Kaltchev is an active adjudicator and has judged international piano competitions in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and the U.S. Dr. Kaltchev’s students have won more than 70 prizes at international and national piano competitions and have performed with numerous orchestras including I Solisti di Perugia (Italy) and Orquestra De Camara De Cascais E Oeiras (Portugal).  His students have been accepted for graduate and undergraduate piano studies at Juilliard, Peabody, Eastman, Manhattan, Indiana, San Francisco, Northwestern, Mannes, SUNY Stony Brook, Roosevelt, Miami and other leading universities and schools of music in the U.S.

Currently, Dr. Kaltchev is Professor of Piano and Head of the Piano Area at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.  He is the co-director of the Lancaster International Piano Festival (www.lancasterpianofest.com) as well as the Artistic Director of the Bulgarian Music Society Concert Series at the Bulgarian Embassy in Washington, DC (www.bulgarianmusicsociety.org ).  He has taught as a Visiting Piano Professor at the Beijing China Conservatory of Music and the Yale University School of Music.

Born in Anyang, Kyonggi-Do, Korean violist Heejin Chang enjoys sharing her love of the classical music and the viola with audiences.

As a soloist, Heejin has performed in Seoul, Korea with the Prime Philharmonic Orchestra, the Gu-Ri City Philharmonic Orchestra and KNUA Symphony Orchestra. She has given solo recitals in Kumho Art Hall, Young-San Art Hall and KNUA Hall, the 24th Viola Space in Tokyo and numerous venues in the United States. Based on his unremitting enthusiasm for learning even during the pandemic, she performed all the Ligeti 6 Sonatas for Solo Viola for the first time in Korea.

The winner of the major competition in Korea. Heejin was the gold prize winner at the SunWha music competition at age 11. Continuously, she got first Prize Winner at the Eum-Ak-Chun-Chu (Music Journal) Music Competition, a first prize winner in all ages of the viola part at the Sung-Jung music competition, a second prize winner at the 48th Dong-A music competition. On the international stage, she was selected as a prize winner at the Japan-Osaka international music competition and the 49th William C. Byrd young artist competition for strings.

In addition to solo performances, Heejin actively participated in the orchestra. She has served as a principal violist of the KNUA Symphony Orchestra, Yale Philharmonia, NEC Philharmonia, and MSM Philharmonia Orchestra. She also played in the viola section of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and Montclair Orchestra as a student fellow.

With enthusiasm for chamber music, Heejin was invited to the Tong-Young International Music Festival, Seoul Spring Festival of Chamber Music in Korea, the Rittergut Benningsen Festival in Germany, and the Canton Asian Music Festival in China. For 60 years of partnership and shared prosperity concert between the Republic of Korea and the United States, she performed at Kennedy Center in Washington DC, Lincoln Center in New York, Ford Theatre in Los Angeles. She appeared on the Jordan Hall in Boston for the chamber music gala concert, the masterclass of Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Weill recital Hall in Carnegie, Seoul Arts Center, Lotte Concert Hall and Ilshin Hall in Seoul.

Also, a sought-after chamber musician, Heejin founded the Ciel Ensemble in 2020. Ciel Ensemble has been featured Seoul Arts Center Summer Music Festival, Lotte Concert Hall’s Music Keeps Going Series, and Guro Classic Festa. They have been selected to be sponsored by the Korean Artsylvia Foundation, Seoul Classical Music Society, and Seoul Arts Center Summer Music Festival. The Ciel Ensemble also appeared on several national broadcasts such as Seocho Cable TV Broadcasting, and Catholic Peace Broadcasting Corporation. The ensemble also won second prize in the 10th Lancaster International Chamber Music Competition, third prize in Petrichor International Music Competition, and first prize in London International Music Competition.

Festival highlights include appearances at the NAC Young Artists Program (Director; Pinchas Zuckerman), Banff Master Class and Orchestra Program in Canada, Summit Music Festival, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Sarasota Music Festival in the United States and the International Musicians Seminar Prussia Cove in England. Especially, she taught chamber music at Manhattan in the Mountain Music Festival as an assistant faculty. WIOX Radio in the Catskill broadcasted the faculty concert on live.

Previously, Heejin attended the Seoul Arts High School and is the recipient of a bachelor’s degree from the Korea National University of Arts where she was an honor student of a young-talented artist and graduated in 3 years, studying with Soonhwa Oh. In the United States, she achieved her Master of Music degree at Yale University School of Music studying with Ettore Causa. After that, she studied with Dimitri Murrath at New England Conservatory of Music for Graduate Diploma and Music in Education Concentration. In 2022, she purchased a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the Manhattan School of Music studying with Samuel Rhodes. Currently, she is giving a lecture at the Korean National University of Arts, Sookmyung Women's University, and Yonsei University.

“Decidedly personal” “Intelligent playing” and “Versatile.” These are just a few examples of how critics have glowingly described pianist Ruiqi Fang’s solo recital at the Basílica Menor del Convento de San Francisco de Asís in Havana, Cuba. The recital “will be long remembered; a woman with unquestionable sensitivity, whom has performed works of Baroque and Impressionism with absolute thoroughness.” (CMBF National Radio Music, June 2015). Ms. Fang has also been interviewed by CBS Sunday News, Music Weekly, Chinese Business News, Yangcheng Evening News, and Sanqin Daily.

Ruiqi Fang has performed as a recitalist and chamber music player in major concert venues around the world, such as Beijing Concert Hall (Beijing, China), Zhongshan Park Music Hall (Beijing, China), National Centre for the Performing Arts (Beijing, China), Beijing National Library Concert Hall (Beijing, China), Xi’an Concert Hall (Xi’an, China), Taipei National Concert Hall (Taipei), Palau de la Música (Valencia, Spain), Weil Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall (New York, USA), Merkin Concert Hall (New York, USA) and Staller Center for the Arts (Long Island, USA). Ms. Fang has frequently appeared as a soloist with professional orchestras, including the Cuba National Symphony, Manhattan Chamber Sinfonia, and Manhattan School of Music Brass Orchestra. In 2015, she performed the Bartok Piano Concerto No.1 with the Cuba National Symphony under the baton of Enrique Pērez Mesa, and it was the premiere of this concerto in Cuba.

As the first prize winner of the Eisenberg-Fried Concerto Competition, Ruiqi Fang is also the top prize winner in other numerous piano competitions, including the Zhujiang Youth Piano Competition, the First Kawai Piano Competition , the Second Steinway Piano Competition, Xi'an Conservatory of Music Concerto Competition, Taipei Chopin International Piano Competition, Artur Balsam Competition for Duos, and Lillian Fuchs Chamber Music Competition.

Also active as a collaborative pianist, Ruiqi Fang has worked with numerous leading musicians, including flutist Sir James Galway, flutist Sandrine Tilly, violinist Didier Lockwood and violinist Asi Matathias. Additionally, she has collaborated with the musicians at the United States Navy Band 42nd International Saxophone Symposium, CCTV Vocal Competition in China, Young Concert Artists Auditions, New York Concert Artists Auditions, Concert Artists Guild Auditions, Astral Artists Auditions, Astral Artists Auditions, Sphinx Competition, New York International Music Competition and the New York Solo Competition.

Ruiqi Fang holds the coveted Doctor of Musical Arts degree, Master of Music degree and Professional Studies Diploma from Manhattan School of Music, under the tutelage of the world-renowned pedagogue Dr. Solomon Mikowsky. She also received her Bachelor of Music degree from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. Other musical influences include Christoph Eschenbach, Manaheim Pressler, Stephen Hough, Lucie Robert, and Sylvia Rosenberg. Ruiqi Fang is currently on the faculty of Xi’an Conservatory of Music and is a visiting lecturer at the Central Conservatory of Music Distance Learning Program.

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. 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 eight 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. Her students have been winning many competitions such as the MTNA Young Artist (state level), Truran Piano Competition, and the University of South Dakota Concerto Competition.

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 Costa Rican National Theater, 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, University of North Dakota, Chadron State College, University of South Alabama, University of Montevallo, 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 is an artist-faculty at the InterHarmony International Music Festival in Italy, the Lancaster International Piano Festival in Pennsylvania, and the Piano Plus Festival in Greece.

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.

Praised by The New Yorker as an “exceptional young artist” and by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune as a “major talent,” 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 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 Zankel Hall, Subculture, Le Poisson Rouge, Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center and Lincoln Center. In addition, Graybil is an avid chamber musician, with over 300 performances to his credit. He has collaborated with such artists as Itzhak Perlman.

As an exponent of music from the 20th and 21st century, he recently gave the New York premiere of Walter Piston’s Concerto for Two Pianos Soli. 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 and Reflections from the Keyboard, 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 prize-winner 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. Mr. Graybil has been invited to festivals including Pianofest in the Hamptons, the Ravinia Steans Institute, the Perlman Music Program, the Sarasota Music Festival and the American Academy in Fontainebleau, France.

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 Complete 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 is now available on Steinway Spirio pianos worldwide. In March 2020, he released his most recent album with violinist Niv Ashkenazi, entitled “Violins of Hope” for Albany Records. His most recent album with violinist Keiko Tagunaku entitled Devilish, will be released in late 2024.

Graybil began his piano studies at age 6 and was a pupil of Vincent Craig and Harvey Wedeen before he enrolled in the Juilliard School, where he received his Bachelor and Master's degrees under the tutelage of Jerome Lowenthal and Matti Raekallio.

Matthew Graybil resides in New York City

A passionate and versatile musician, Xin (James) Jin is currently working as Acting Principal Second Violinist in the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Director of Auckland Academy of Music, Director of NZ Chamber Orchestra, Director of Asia Pacific Performing Arts, Music Director of the Auckland Chinese Philharmonic Choir, and Artistic Director of New Zealand International Young Artists Festival.

James was born in China and moved to New Zealand with his family in 2001, where he started to grow and develop as a performer. Highlights of his performances in this period 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 the youngest contestant in the 1st China International Violin Competition (2006), as well as the only representative from Australasia. James was contracted by the Wellington Vector Orchestra as Principle 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 2015, 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 2nd Violinist and curator of APO’s Up-Close Chamber Concert Series. Besides working for the APO, James performs regularly in recitals and concerts in different countries around the world including New Zealand, Australia, USA, and China as a soloist, chamber musician, conductor, and concertmaster.

Julian Langford is a cellist who brings intense passion to every performance he gives, whether it involves solo repertoire, chamber music or being the principal cellist of an orchestra.

Julian has prolific performing experience, playing in major concert halls such as Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Avery Fisher/David Geffen Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, Bruno Walter Auditorium in Lincoln Center, the Tenri Cultural Institute, Morgan Library & Museum in New York City, among others. Julian has performed concertos with many orchestras, including the Elgar Cello Concerto with the Bergen Philharmonic and the first Shostakovich Cello Concerto with the Chappaqua Orchestra. In 2008, Julian performed the Schubert Two Cello Quintet with world renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City, and was invited to be a guest artist with Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble on PBS’s Live from Lincoln Center at Damrosch Park. In 2018, Julian went on tour in China, where he performed and taught master classes in multiple venues in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Beijing. In 2019, Julian went on tour in Korea, where he performed as part of the New York Classical Players Korea tour and played in major venues such as the Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul, the Samcheok Cultural Arts Center, and the Daegu Concert House.

Chamber music has been a staple in Julian’s performing career. He performed the Weber Clarinet Quintet with internationally acclaimed clarinetist Charles Neidich at the Tenri Cultural Institute and also performed with the esteemed Emerson String Quartet at the Staller Center Recital Hall. Julian has founded professional chamber music groups as well. He was a founding member of the New York Trio, a piano trio mentored by Grammy Award-winning composer Robert Aldridge and performed in Washington D.C., Connecticut, and upstate New York. The New York Trio also collaborated with Broadway singer Frank D’Ambrosio in their performances. Additionally, Julian was a founding member and cellist of the Anello String Quartet, who was mentored by the Emerson String Quartet and the Juilliard String Quartet in New York. The Anello Quartet performed in the “Alarm Might Sound” concert series in Olivebridge, NY and was invited to give a concert at the Canadian Consulate in New York.

As an orchestral musician, Julian has performed as principal cellist in the True North Symphony Orchestra in Carnegie Hall, the New York Classical Players, the Chappaqua Orchestra, the Aspen Music Festival and School, and the Tanglewood Young Artist’s Orchestra. He was also selected as principal cellist for the Stony Brook Symphony Orchestra in its first ever Orpheus-style orchestra cycle without a conductor.

Julian was awarded first place in the Young Classical Virtuosos of Tomorrow Competition and performed in the Kimmel Center as part of his award. He was the grand prizewinner of the Chappaqua Orchestra Concerto Competition. Julian was also a prizewinner in several other competitions, including the Pearl and Julius Young Music Competition and the Coeur d’Alene Symphony Young Artists Competition.

As a student at the Manhattan School of Music Precollege Division, Julian studied with renowned cellist David Soyer from the legendary Guarneri String Quartet, in which much of his early influence and artistic approaches originate. Julian received his Bachelor of Music degree and Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School studying with Richard Aaron. He received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Stony Brook University under the tutelage of Colin Carr. Julian is currently on the cello faculty at the Xi’an Conservatory of Music in China.

Yamaha Artist, an avid recitalist, Chongxiao Liu has concertized throughout Asia, Europe and America, including the United States, Russia, Germany, Italy, France, Bulgaria, South Korea and other countries, as well as venues in Beijing, Wuhan, Chengdu, Qingdao, Changsha and other places in China.

In addition, he has appeared as a soloist with China Philharmonic Orchestra, Beijing Film Orchestra and Qingdao Opera and Dance Theatre Symphony Orchestra. His recordings such as Schubert “Wanderer Fantasy in C Major” D. 760 for Hong Kong Radio 4 and released album with works by Liszt and Brahms have been met with critical praise.

Mr. Liu was invited as a guest to give masterclasses and lectures worldwide, including Washington International Piano Festival, Lancaster International Piano Festival in America, TASTEN Piano Festival and Dreieich Music Festival in Germany, Concerti di Primavera, Autunno Musicale, Concerti del Filologico, and Concerti nel Cortile di San Francesco in Italy, Liangzhu Piano Festival in Hangzhou, China etc. He also appeared at numerous competitions as a piano judge.

He is an Associate Professor of Piano Department at Wuhan Conservatory. Mr. Liu received his BM and MM degrees in China Conservatory of Music and graduated with honors. And then he continued his artistic training in Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory under Prof. Pavel Nersessian as a visiting scholar.

Chi-Wei Lo is a pianist, improviser, and arranger whose performances utilize a plethora of musical languages. As a co-founder of the Psychopomp Ensemble, Lo has continually pushed boundaries, blending interdisciplinary art forms with both traditional and avant-garde musical elements to create compelling concert experiences.

With a career spanning diverse platforms, Lo has been presented by the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, North American Medical Orchestra, The Lancaster Piano Festival, College Music Society, UCLA, Lilypad, Chamber Music Charlestown, The Harvard Musical Association, The Chinese American Museum (LA), Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts, Caroga Arts Collective, New Asia Chamber Music Society, the German Society of Pennsylvania, and the Counterpoint Ensemble (Taiwan), among many others.

Lo’s dedication to his craft is evident in his diverse projects and achievements. In 2018, he was commissioned by the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corporation (KRTC) for its 10th anniversary, resulting in the creation of his album Piano Improvisations and the issuance of a limited edition metro-card in Taiwan. His solo tours, such as The Dance of the Seven Deadly Sins, Declaration of Aesthetics, and Twelve Over Twelve, not only showcased his extraordinary musical prowess but also included benefit concerts, reflecting his belief that musicians should contribute to their communities.

In addition to his musical output, Lo is a writer, contributing reviews and interviews to the Boston Musical Intelligencer, where his observations and musical knowledge further enrich the music community. He has also served as a judge for the Lancaster International Piano Festival competition and the A. Ramón Rivera Piano Competition.

Lo holds both a Bachelor of Music (B.M.) and a Master of Music (M.M.) in piano performance from The Juilliard School. He is expected to complete his Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) at the New England Conservatory in Contemporary Musical Arts (formerly known as Contemporary Improvisation) this year. Currently, Lo is shaping the next generation of musicians as an Assistant Professor in Composition at Berklee and a Theory Instructor at the New England Conservatory.

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 at Swarthmore College and Joyce Robbins at Stoneybrook.

He is currently the concertmaster of the Pennsylvania Sinfonia and will perform the violin solo part of Piazzolla’s 4 seasons with PSO October 7th 2023.

He is the founder and director of the Sunday Sinfonia Orchestra, a diverse group of non-professional musicians dedicated to learning ensemble playing and improving their musical skills in a supportive environment.                         

Mr. Maurer is an accomplished musician performing chamber music and solo concerts throughout the eastern United States, Europe and China. He is currently Concertmaster of the Pennsylvania Sinfonia Orchestra in Allentown PA. He has performed as soloist in France, Switzerland and with the Shenyang Symphony Orchestra in China. Solo performances in the US include concerts with the Schuylkill Symphony Orchestra, Bloomsburg Chamber Orchestra, Louden Symphony in Maryland, Pennsylvania Sinfonia Orchestra, Valley Vivaldi, Southwest Symphony in Hobbs, New Mexico,.

He is a  founding member and the artistic director of the Gabriel Chamber Ensemble now celebrating its 32nd season: www.gabrielensemble.org. Committed to performance and education, the group takes pride in bringing classical music to underserved areas.

Mr. Maurer is active in many Chamber Groups: the Pennsylvania Chamber Ensemble, Trio Clavino, Kalnas Quartet, The Ravel Trio, Satori.

Mr. Maurer has studied baroque violin with Elizabeth Fields, and enjoys performing music from that period on his restored baroque violin. He also enjoys playing Jazz and free Improvisation on his 5 string electric violin.                                                      

Mr. Maurer teaches violin, viola and cello  at the Bear Crossing Music Studio in New Ringgold. 

Simon lives on a converted 20 acre YMCA camp, where he built his own 2000 square foot concert hall and enjoys the outdoors. Tennis is the preferred exercise. He has three lovely granddaughters and one grandson!

Francesco Mirabella began studying piano under the guidance of Maestro Giuseppe Cultrera; later, he graduated with the highest honors from the Musical Institute “V. Bellini” in Catania, Sicily, under the guidance of Giovanni Cultrera. 

He furthered his studies with Maestro Epifanio Comis, Aquiles Delle Vigne, Michele Marvulli, Stefano Fiuzzi, Bernard Ringeissen and Zenon Fishbein. He graduated from the prestigious National Academy of Santa Cecilia in Rome under the leadership of Sergio Perticaroli and won several national and European piano competitions. 

He often performs as a soloist and in chamber music in important Italian and foreign venues, such as: Theatre of Marcellus and Auditorium Parco della Musica - Petrassi Hall, Rome; Alte Oper and Bechstein Piano Center, Frankfurt; Rachmaninov Hall of the Moscow State Conservatory Tchaikovsky, Arkhangelskoe Palace and Central house of Art Workers, Moscow; Conservatory of Ulyanovsk and Great Hall of the Lenin Memorial, Ulyanovsk (Russia); The ware Center (Lancaster, Pennsylvania); New York Italian Institute of Culture; Hall of the Beijing Conservatory, Main Hall of Wuhan Conservatory, Main Hall of Sichuan Conservatory – China; “Lyceum Club” of Catania, Catania Diocesan Museum, Teatro Garibaldi Modica, St. James Festival Bologna; Pushkin Theatre (Lugansk - Ukraine); Ward Recital Hall – Catholic University of Washington D.C; Swope Hall, Phillips Autograph Library (West Chester, Philadelphia); Auditorium Philharmonic Orchestra Dnepropetrovsk (Ukraine); Sala Mare - Auditorium Symphony Orchestra Sergei Lunchevici in Chisinau (Moldova), Teatro SS Prokofiev (Donetsk - Ukraine); Theatre Tom Jobim Brazilian embassy in Asuncion (Paraguay), National Theatre, opera and ballet Oleg Danovski Constance (Romania), Acropolium of Carthage (Tunisia), Dvorak Museum in Prague.

M° Mirabella has performed many times as soloist with the State Philharmonic Orchestra of Lugansk, Dnepropetrovsk State Philharmonic, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Moldavian State “Sergei Lunchevici”, the Philharmonic Orchestra “S. Prokofiev” of Donetsk, the Youth Symphony Orchestra of the Conservatory of Lugansk, Ukraine Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Oleg Danovski Theater in Constance and the orchestra of West Chester University. Particularly appreciated is his interpretation of Sergei Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto #3, under the guidance of Epifanio Comis at the Pushkin Theatre in Lugansk, broadcasted live by Ukraine national television, which received high ratings.

Francesco Mirabella has held high-level master classes in China (Beijing Conservatory, Wuhan Conservatory and Chengdu Conservatory), Paraguay (Asunción) and has participated several times as a faculty member of the Washington International Piano Festival (Organized by The Catholic University of America) and Lancaster International Piano Festival (Millersville University), Pennsylvania.

Frequently invited to be a juror in national and international piano competitions (such as Rachmaninoff Competition at the Gnessin Academy in Moscow - US Open Music Competition in San Francisco - LIPF Romantic Piano Competition in Lancaster – Pennsylvania - International Musikwettbewerb fur die Jugend a Oldenburg. Germany - WIPF International Piano Competition in Washington D.C. etc.), he recently received the “Diploma of Honor” by the prestigious Vladimir Spivakov International Charity Foundation in Moscow.

Mr. Mirabella is the artistic director of -Amici della Musica “Peppino Cultrera”- in Sicily, and piano professor at the “A. Corelli” Conservatory, in Messina, Italy.

Often performs as soloist and as chamber musician, Vincenzo Pavone played in important venues in Italy and abroadsuch a Wiener Saal in Salzburg, the Edimburgh Society of Musicician in UK, the Steinway Hall in New York, the James Black Hall and the W.E. Singleton Center of Perfming Arts in Richmond (USA), the Chopin Associatie Vlandeeren Cultuurcentrum Beringen in Belgium, the Orangery Concert Castle of Unternzennin Wurzburg, the “Euromediterraneo” Festival in Rome, in Sicily for the prestigious “Taormina Arte Festival”, in Frankfurt for DreieicherMusiktage, in Lübeck at Brahms Institut an der Musikhochschule, in Praha at Dvorak Muzeum for the 14th edition of the International Eduard Nápravník music festival at Býšt.

In the 2017 he’s been touring in Francoforte, Dreieich and Darmstadt. Recently, Vincenzo was awarded at the Orchestra Competition of the Global Summer Institute of Music in Richmond. He played Beethoven piano concerto No. 1 at the Italian Grand Gala Piano Tour in Lugansk, Ukraine. Vincenzo was also awarded in several other national and international piano competitions: I° Prize at “National Piano Competion of Barcellona P.G.” and special Prize for interpretetion of J. Brahms, Italy, I° National Piano Competions of “Città di Bucchianico” (CH), II° Prize at VIII National Piano Competions “Benedetto Albanese” Caccamo (Pa), I° Prize International Piano Competions ”G. Campochiaro” di Pedara (CT), I° Prize National Piano Competions “Agimus” (Rome) ect. As well as musician, Dr. Pavoneowns a master degree with the highest honors in Literaturefrom the University of Catania and is also artistic director of the cultural association “Mecenate” in Sicily, he is also a faculty member at he “G. Verga” Musical High School” in Modica. He began studying piano at a late age, when he was 15 years old, under the guidance of Antonella Scuderi; later, he graduated with the highest honors from “V. Bellini” Conservatory in Catania, Sicily, under the guidance of Antonella Scuderi. He furthered his studies with Maestro Lorenzo Di Bella and Guianluca Luisi and took master classes held by eminent teachers such as Aquiles Delle Vigne, B. Canino, R. Risaliti, L. Howard, R. Cappello, Ammara, R. Plano, D. Franceschetti, N. Carusi, L. Trabucco, F. Scala.

Now he is teacher of piano at Conservatory of Music "A. Corelli" of Messina.

Internationally known pianist and teacher, Victor Rosenbaum, has received critical acclaim since his first Boston debut recital after joining the New England Conservatory faculty in 1967.  Of that Boston performance the Boston Globe wrote: Rosenbaum “makes up for all the drudgery the habitual concert-goer has to endure in the hope of finding the real, right thing”.  His critical praise continues to this day.  Describing his most recent CD, “Brahms: The Last Piano Pieces” (Bridge), which was released in fall 2020, Glyn Pursglove of MusicWeb International said: “Rosenbaum’s account of of these pieces seems to me impeccable.  The whole disc is magisterial; a mature pianist bringing deep thought and empathy to a series of mature pieces which stand revealed, as clearly as I have heard, as masterpieces.  This will be the disc I turn to when I next want to hear any of these remarkable pieces”.  Retired from New England Conservatory after 55 years of consecutive teaching, the 2022-23 season brought him guest teaching and performing residencies in Puerto Rico, Israel, Japan, Korea, Austria, Bulgaria, and Taiwan, where he was recently appointed Visiting Professor of Piano and Chamber Music at National Taiwan Normal University.

Over more than five decades, Rosenbaum has concertized widely as soloist and chamber musician in the United States, Europe, Israel, Brazil, Russia, and Asia (including 25 annual trips to Japan) in such prestigious halls as Tully Hall in New York and the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia. A committed chamber music performer, he has collaborated with such artists as Leonard Rose, Paul Katz, Laurence Lesser, Arnold Steinhardt, Robert Mann, Joseph Silverstein, James Buswell, Malcolm Lowe, Walter Trampler, and the Brentano, Borromeo, and Cleveland String Quartets, and was a member of two trios: The Wheaton Trio and The Figaro Trio.  Rosenbaum has played and/or taught at many summer festivals, among them Tanglewood, the Rockport Chamber Music Festival, Kfar Blum and Tel Hai (in Israel), Yellow Barn, Kneisel Hall (Blue Hill), Musicorda, Masters de Pontlevoy (France), the Heifetz Institute, the International Keyboard Institute and Festival in New York, the International Music Seminar in Vienna, the Bowdoin International Music Festival, the Festival at Walnut Hill School, the Puerto Rico International Piano Festival,The Art of the Piano Festival in Cincinnati, the Atlantic Music Festival, Piano Texas, the Adamant Music School, and the Eastern Music Festival, where he headed the piano department for five years. Rosenbaum is also a contributor to the online site “Musicale” (WeAreMusicale.com).

Recital appearances have brought him to Chicago, Minneapolis, Tokyo, Taipei, Vienna, Beijing, St. Petersburg (Russia), Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and New York, among others.  In addition to his absorption in the music of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (in particular Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, and Brahms), Rosenbaum has performed and given premieres of works by many 20th and 21st Century composers, including John Harbison, John Heiss, Peter Westergaard, Norman Dinerstein, Arlene Zallman, Donald Harris, Daniel Pinkham, Miriam Gideon, Stephen Albert, and many others.  A musician of diverse talents, Rosenbaum is also a composer and has frequently conducted in the Boston area and beyond.

Rosenbaum, who studied with Elizabeth Brock and Martin Marks while growing up in Indianapolis, and went on to study with Rosina Lhevinne at the Aspen Festival and Leonard Shure in New York (while earning degrees at Brandeis University and Princeton), has become a renowned teacher himself.  During his long tenure on the faculty of New England Conservatory, he chaired its piano department for more than a decade, and was also Chair of Chamber Music. On the faculty of Mannes School of Music in New York from 2004-2017, he has also been Visiting Professor of Piano at the Eastman School of Music, a guest teacher at Juilliard, and presents lectures, workshops, and master classes for teachers’ groups and schools both in the U. S. and abroad, including at London’s Royal Academy of Music, Royal College of Music, and Guildhall School, the conservatories of St. Petersburg and Moscow, Beijing Central Conservatory, Shanghai Conservatory, the Toho School in Tokyo, Tokyo Ondai, Seoul National University, most major schools in Taiwan, and other institutions such as the Menuhin School near London, and the Jerusalem Music Center.  Rosenbaum’s students have established teaching and performing careers in the US and abroad, and have won top prizes in such competitions as the Young Concerts Artists, Charles Wadsworth International Competition, New Orleans International Competition, Casagrande International Piano Competition, Gina Bachauer Competition, and the New York International Competition, among others.  Rosenbaum’s sixteen years as Director and President of the Longy School of Music (1985-2001) transformed the school into a full-fledged degree granting conservatory as well as a thriving community music school. 

In addition to his Brahms disc, Rosenbaum’s recordings on the Bridge and Fleur de Son labels include a Mozart CD, three Schubert discs, one of which was described as “a poignant record of human experience”, and two recordings of Beethoven which the American Record Guide named as among the top classical recordings of 2020. 

The New York Times put it succinctly after his performance at Tully Hall: Rosenbaum “could not have been better”.  And a headline in the Boston Globe summed up the appeal of Rosenbaum’s playing: “Fervor and Gentleness Combined”.

(Mr. Rosenbaum can be reached at vrosenbaum@aol.com)

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.

Chia-Yi Tseng, cellist from Taiwan, began to learn cello at the age of eleven. Between 1994 and 1996, she was selected three times as the Asian Youth Orchestra (A. Y. O.) members, and performed with world known violinist Cho-Liang Lin (1960- ), pianist Alicia de Larrocha, (1923-2009) and many others touring in the United States, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia and many major cities in Asia. In 1995, She studied in Paris under the guidance of Professor Genevieve Teuliers (disciple of Andre Navarra) at Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris and in June 1999, only at the age of 20, she received school's highest degree (Diplome Superieur de Concertriste), in November with this honor, she was invited to play "Rococo Variations" for the late Cellist Titan Mstislav Rostropovich at the Salle Cortot in Paris.

To continue her studies, she later entered Conservatoire Superieur de Paris to work with Professor Dominique de Williencourt and in December, she was invited to performed Bach’s Cello Suite for the former Yugoslav Prince Alexandra and Orthodox archbishops at the Saint-Etienne du Mont Cathedral. During her studies in France, she not only focused on cello performance but also chamber music. With this passion in 2001, she obtained a diploma in advance chamber music performance (Diplome Superieur de Musique de Chambre) from ENDMP.

In 2001, she furthered her studies in Yale University with Aldo Parisot, chamber music with Tokyo String Quartet, and conducting with Shinik Hann. In 2003, after receiving her Master degree, she entered University of Maryland on a full scholarship to pursue a doctorate in cello performance, while studying chamber music with Guarneri String Quartet, conducting with James Ross, and serving as an orchestra teaching assistant. During this period of time, she continued to follow guidance under Evelyn Elsing, Peter Wiley and David Teie. In 2007, she received her DMA degree from UMD.

During her time both in France and in US, Chia- Yi Tseng actively participated in domestic and international chamber music competitions and performances, accumulating a wealth of performance experience in solo and chamber music repertoire. Furthermore, she was invited to several international music festivals, such as Festival international de Casals, Festival international de Courchevelle, Festival international de Biarritz, Norfolk International Music festival, Music Alps and worked closely with renowned international professors such as Young- Chang Cho, Philippe Muller, Arto Noras, Franz Helmerson, Roland Pidoux, Yvan Chiffeleau, honing her skills and receiving recognition for her nuanced tone, rich colors, and active performances.

Since returning to Taiwan in 2007, Chia-Yi Tseng has been devoted to cello performance and teaching. She collaborates with musicians from various fields and actively promotes the importance of music and art in Taiwan. Her followers have won the Frist prize in National Music Competition many times and more have been admitted to the Curtis Institute, Juilliard School, Yale, Colburn School of Music, ENDMDP in Paris, and Folkwang School of music in Germany ... and other major music schools in the world.

In 2010, She found “Dance la Musique” Cello Ensemble Music Festival in her home town Kaohsiung, and is the artistic director till now. Every summer, they hold public concerts in Wei Wu Yin National Performing Art Center and gained huge popularities.

Currently, Chia-Yi Tseng is Assistant Professor at Fu Jen University, Tunghai University, National Taichung University of Education, and National Sun Yat-Sen University.

Ms. Xing Wang received her Bachelors and Master’s degrees in performance with the Honor of the Piano Department Award from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Now living in Auckland, Ms. Wang is one of New Zealand’s most sought-after pianists and pedagogues.

As a soloist, Xing has collaborated with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Auckland Symphony Orchestra, NZSM Orchestra, Manawatu Sinfonia, and Tawa Symphony Orchestra. She has given solo recitals around the globe, including China, USA, Spain, Italy, and New Zealand. Her performances were very well received and many of them were broadcasted by Radio New Zealand. Miss Wang is also a passionate chamber musician, she and her colleagues founded the Auckland Piano Trio, and her ensemble was part of the 2017 Chamber Music New Zealand Regional Tour series. As a pedagogue, Xing has taught many young pianists and helped them grow and develop into high achieving musicians. Many of her students are top prize winners in regional and international competitions.

Xing has participated as a fellow performer and teaching assistant in various music festivals including the Bowdoin International Music Festival in Boston, the Valencia International Piano Academy in Spain, the Siena International Music Festival in Italy, and ASQ International Music Festival in Wellington.  

Ms. Xing Wang was a prize winner of many competitions, her awards include the first place Mu Phi Epsilon Young Artist Competition (USA), the Sturm-Page Piano Competition (USA), the US Open Music Competition (USA), NZSM Concerto Competition (NZ), SIMF Concerto Competition (Italy), first prize of Schumann Cup Piano Competition (China); runner-up of Baisi Cup Piano Competition (China) and 4th place in the international Hong Kong Mozart Piano Competition. 

During her study in the United States, Xing served as music director in the San Francisco Grace United Methodist Church, accompanist and coach of the Ina Charles Opera Ensemble and the Capital Opera Company. 

A Steinway Honorary Teacher, Chinese pianist Wu Chao has concertized throughout the concert halls in Great Britain and China. In addition, she has appeared as a soloist in many radio stations and released two albums promoting British 20th century piano works with critical praise. In 2021, Dr. Wu received a grant from Hubei Education Department to research the study and performance of the British 20th century piano works, and released her first album《The Planets》; then again, she released her 2nd album《Echoes from Nature》in 2024. In these albums, she presents the most influenced British composers in 20th century like Gustav Holst, John Ireland, William Lloyd Webber, Frank Bridge, Fredrick Delius, Richard Rodney Bennett, and Arnold Bax.  

Dr. Wu is a Professor of Piano and Director of Keyboard Studies in The Academy for Performing Arts at Wuhan Conservatory of Music. Prof. Wu received her education in Wuhan Conservatory of Music, China Conservatory of Music, and earned her doctoral degree from Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in England. She has studied with Lin Jingjing, David Quigley, and Victor Sangiorgio. She’s been winning many piano competitions prizes in China when she studied there.  

Dr. Wu often gives masterclasses and lectures, as well as judging the piano competitions. She is the visiting professor and often performing in many schools including York University, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Henan Luoyang Normal University, Huanggang Normal University, Nanchang Hangkong University, and Hubei College of Science and Technology.

Cellist Wu Hsin-Yi, a Taiwanese musician who studied and performed in France, started learning the cello at the age of ten. She graduated with outstanding achievements from the Department of Music at Tunghai University, during this time she won the third prize in the National Music Competition and was invited to tour with Asian Youth Orchestra in Hong Kong, Japan, China, etc.

With excellent results, she was admitted to the Master's program at Taipei National University of the Arts and later pursued further studies in France to pursue more advanced music and art. In 2020, she graduated from the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris and the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Créteil, receiving the highest diploma of Concert Performer (Diplôme Supérieur de Concertiste), which is equivalent to a doctoral degree in Taiwan.

During her studies in France, she not only focused on cello performance but also studied chamber music and orchestral playing. She was appointed as the principal cellist by her professors upon admission. In 2019, she obtained a diploma in advanced chamber music performance (Diplôme Supérieur) and was awarded the highest prize (l'unanimité et avec les felicitation du jury) unanimously by the jury.

During her time in France, Wu Hsin-Yi was invited to perform at the National Day celebrations hosted by the Taiwanese Representative Office in France. Additionally, she was regularly invited by her professors to perform in concerts, receiving high praise and popularity from audiences in venues such as the Paris City Hall, Les rendez-vous d’ailleurs Theater in Paris, and Salle Cortot concert hall.

She received numerous scholarships from the music school and actively participated in domestic and international chamber music competitions and performances, accumulating a wealth of performance experience in solo and chamber music repertoire. Furthermore, she studied with renowned international professors such as Young-Chang Cho, Anne Gastinel, and Philippe Muller, honing her skills and receivingrecognition for her nuanced tone, rich colors, and active performances.

Since returning to Taiwan in 2020, Wu Hsin-Yi has been devoted to cello performance and teaching. She was invited to perform Haydn's Cello Concerto No. 1 with the “Dance La Musique ”Cello Ensemble. She also collaborates with musicians from various fields and actively promotes the importance of music and art in Taiwan. She taught chamber music at National FengHsin Senior High School and cello ensemble in National TsingHua University.

Currently, she is a guest performer with the Taipei Symphony Orchestra and the Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra. She has also worked with Maestro Eliahu Inbal, Violinist Maxim Vengerov, Clara-Jumi Kang ,Pianist Lilya Ziberstein, Olga Kern, Kun-woo Paik…etc.

“A sensitive pianist and talented artist.” — Martha Argerich

Hailed by The Boston Globe as “a world-class pianist” and the BMInt as “spellbinding and expressive”, Xiaopei Xu has been featured as a soloist on three continents, striving for creativity in her artistic expression. She made her Boston Symphony Hall debut in 2018, performing Chopin Piano Concerto No.1 with Maestro Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops.

Xu has received international acclaim with top prizes at the New York International Piano Competition, Oberlin International Piano Competition, Tureck International Bach Competition, Richmond Piano Competition and the Washington D.C. International Young Artist Competition. She has been invited to major festivals including Pianofest in the Hamptons, PianoTexas, Banff Music Centre, Sarasota Music Festival, Russia Young Artist Festival, and the Walnut Hill Music Festival. Xu has also been invited regularly to give masterclasses and lectures in Nanjing, Beijing, Qingdao, amongst other cities in China. Xu has been exclusively interviewed by Shanghai Morning Post, Qilu Evening news, Music Weekly, Yanzhao Metropolis Daily, and Shanxi Evening News. Her concerts have been reported by The Boston Globe, Sing Tao Daily, Boston Musical Intelligencer, Lancaster New Era, and more.

Xu’s recent performances have been presented by the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, Harvard Musical Association, Foundation for the Chinese Performing Arts, The Stecher and Horowitz Foundation, German Society of Pennsylvania, Lancaster International Piano Festival, Chinese American Museum(LA), Ukraine Forward, College Music Society… etc.

In addition to her musical endeavors, Xu integrates her love for visual arts with music, creating multidisciplinary collaborations as a way to enhance the artistic experience. A painter herself, she has been commissioned for several installations and collaborative projects. Xu created a combined art and concert experience at the Germany Society of Pennsylvania, as well as an exhibition of her artwork in “The Seven Deadly Sins,” an interdisciplinary concert at the New England Conservatory. Collections of her drawings have been published by the Clara Haskil Competition’s Jeune Critique.

Xu holds her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Boston University, Master’s degree from Yale University and Bachelor’s degree from the New England Conservatory of Music. Her principal teachers include Hung-Kuan Chen, Xun Pan, Meng-Chieh Liu, and Boaz Sharon. She has also worked with influential musicians such as Claude Frank, Richard Goode, and Paul Badura-Skoda.