"He plays the way great composers themselves would have played"

György Kurtág, Budapest 2023

Korean concert pianist Chi-Ho Han is an artist with an unmistakable personal mark, embracing technical diversity, emotional realness and philosophical depth in all his unique recital programs.

Establishing a firm conviction in German arts at age 20, Han received top prizes at Beethoven Competitions respectively in Vienna and Bonn, and Schubert Competition in Dortmund. Earlier achievements also include 1st prize and Audience Award at International Kissinger KlavierOlympic Competition (Germany, 2013), 1st prize at Seoul International Music Competition (Korea, 2014), top prize at ARD International Music Competition (Germany, 2014) with additional Audience Award and Best Performance on Commissioned Work, Silver Medal at Gina Bachauer International Artists Piano Competition (USA, 2014), and 4th prize at the Queen Elisabeth International Competition (Belgium, 2016). He was awarded 3rd prize and Isang Yun Prize at Orléans International Piano Competition (France, 2022) on contemporary art music.

Han has been Artist-in-Residence of Korean Cultural Centre in Budapest (2022-2023), and performed with critical acclaims at Seoul Arts Center Symphony Festival, Festival Internazionale di Musica da Camera di Cervo, International Klavier-Festival Ruhr, Kissinger Sommer International Music Festival, International Rheingau Music Festival, International Bodensee Music Festival, Lake Como Piano Festival, Musikdorf Ernen and Deer Valley Music Festival.

Han has performed worldwide complete Beethoven concertos, Romantic and Russian standards to contemporary commissions, collaborating with Austrian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, National Orchestra of Belgium, Lviv National Philharmonic, Munich Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonic Orchestra of Marseille, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra.

A protégé of pianist-composer György Kurtág, and a former student of Prof. Arnulf von Arnim and Prof. Arie Vardi, Han is currently Professor at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

Hungarian-American pianist Peter Klimo has been fortunate to take his performing talents around the world and is always looking to share his passion for music and the piano. Following his 2nd prize victory at the 2014 International Franz Liszt Piano Competition, Peter embarked on several concert tours, notably throughout Holland, the US, and South Korea. Having participated in several other international competitions as well, Peter won 3rd prize at the 2019 Bartók World Piano Competition, 3rd prize at the 2019 Bösendorfer International Piano Competition, as well as special prizes at the 2017 Maj Lind and 2014 Wideman International Piano Competitions.

Recent performance highlights include a concerto performance with the Youth Orchestras of Fresno conducted by Thomas Loewenheim, chamber music as part of CSUN's annual Chamberfest, a solo recital at the Hungarian Embassy in Washington D.C. as part of the Embassy Recital Series, solo recitals at both California State University Northridge and CSU Fresno, a concerto performance in Budapest, Hungary with conductor Nimrod Pfeffer and the Hungarian National Philharmonic, and two further concerto performances with the Fresno State Symphony Orchestra. Peter has performed concerti in Budapest with the HNPO under the baton of Zsolt Hamar as well as with Gergely Ménesi and the Liszt Academy Symphony Orchestra; Phoenix, Arizona, with Matthew Kasper and the Phoenix Symphony; Seoul, South Korea with Hee-Chuhn Choi and the KBS Symphony Orchestra as well as with Dae-Jin Kim and the Seoul Arts Center Festival Orchestra; Los Angeles, California with John Roscigno and the 52nd American Liszt Society Festival Orchestra; and Columbus, Georgia with George del Gobbo and the Columbus Symphony Orchestra.

Also an avid chamber musician, Peter toured with violinist Tessa Lark in the US and Holland, and with the Belenus Quartet in Austria and Holland. He performed Bartók's Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., at Sprague Hall at the Yale School of Music with all members playing from memory, throughout Holland in 2016 with winners of the International Tromp Percussion Competition, as well as at the Dakota Sky International Piano Festival. Most recently, Peter and his colleagues Limor Toren-Immerman and Thomas Loewenheim formed the Fresno State Piano Trio, with performances in Fresno and at UCLA.

A Los Angeles native, he began his piano studies at the age of nine with Vicharini and Rosanna Marzaroli, and continued with Dr. Tyler Tom while attending the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. Peter earned his Bachelor's Degree from the Eastman School of Music studying with Dr. Nelita True, his Master's Degree from the Yale School of Music studying with Peter Frankl, an Artist Diploma from Texas Christian University with Dr. Tamás Ungár, and his Doctorate of Musical Arts in Performance and Literature at the Eastman School of Music with Alan Chow.

Passionate about education and sustaining the art form, Peter has given masterclasses at Cal State University Northridge, Azusa Pacific University, Hardin Simmons University, at both Los Angeles and Orange County High Schools for the Arts, for the Thousand Oaks Philharmonic Society and the Steinway Society of Western Pennsylvania, and served as a faculty member for the 2013 inaugural year of the DBS Summer Music Festival in Hong Kong. He is frequently called to adjudicate competitions both local and international, has maintained a private studio in Los Angeles, and is Assistant Professor of Piano at California State University Fresno.

Dr. Yi-Yang Chen shot onto the international stage with back-to-back victories in the 2018 Sussex International Piano Competition, 2017 Washington International Competition, and the Warning International Piano Competition. The Worthing Herald music critic Richard Amey praised his recent performance "flair for the unusual and his technical and artistic capacity to deliver," as well as his "musical and emotional intelligence, dexterity and virtuosity," listening to Chen as soloist in Saint-Saëns' Piano Concerto No.5 "Egyptian" with the Worthing Symphony Orchestra. His vibrant playing at the Pacific International Piano Competition (Canada) was recognized by the judges, who selected him for the first prize ("…Yi-Yang showed an impressive breadth of emotional investment and natural affinity for the music he played. The informed individuality and command of his performance was immediately compelling to the judges. We feel this young man has a fine future as an artist. He seems to 'own' the piano as he plays, and this makes his performance extremely powerful" - Dr. Robin McCabe).

Yi-Yang Chen is an assistant professor of piano at the University of Kansas and the Artist Director of the Orbifold Music Festival in California. Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Chen has been playing the piano since the age of 8. Yi-Yang completed his Doctor of Musical Arts And Bachelor's of Music at the Eastman School of Music with Douglas Humpherys, and his Master's degree at The Juilliard School with Robert McDonald and Jerome Lowenthal. He also has solo/chamber masterclasses with Itzhak Perlman, Emanuel Ax, Daniel Pollack, Joseph Kalichstein.

Yi-Yang Chen is a member of the Music Teachers National Association, College Music Society, and Mu Phi Epsilon. He enjoys swimming, biking, traveling, and composing. Yi-Yang is currently working on a recording project with Champs Hill label (UK); the release is scheduled for 2025. Before joining KU (University of Kansas), Yi-Yang served on the faculty at East Tennessee State University as a tenure-track professor.

Dr. Chen is a Steinway Artist.

Praised by Chopin Magazine for his "transparent, beautiful tone and thoughtful interpretation," Taiwanese-American pianist Evan Wong is the Silver Medalist and audience prize winner of the 6th Sendai International Competition in Japan. He has concertized throughout North America, Europe, and Asia as a soloist and chamber musician.

Recent highlights include a six-city tour in the US, four concerts in Japan (Tokyo, Sendai), concerto appearances with the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra, and an all-Debussy recital in collaboration with French animation artist Grégoire Pont at the 2025 Weiwuying International Music Festival curated by renowned composer Unsuk Chin.

During his US tour, The Boston Musical Intelligencer commended his sensibilities, ravishing pianissimos, and effortless playing, noting it was one of the finest performances of anything ever heard.

Most recently, Wong released his second album, EARTHING, in February 2024, featuring works by composer Shiuan Chang that aim to raise mental health awareness. His debut album, under the Acousence Label, was released in Germany in 2020. He has also recorded for MPR (Minnesota, USA), WFMT (Chicago, USA), KBS (South Korea), Shanghai Classical 94.7 (China), and several Taiwan stations including Taipei Classical, Radio Taiwan International, National Education, Bravo 91.3, and Voice of Han.

A frequent guest at renowned festivals, Wong has performed at Verbier, Lucerne, Ravinia, Aspen, Gilmore, Taiwan International Festival of Arts, Weiwuying International Music Festival, and Sendai Classical Festival. He has appeared as a soloist with orchestras including the Sendai Philharmonic, Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie, Orquesta de Cámara de Bellas Artes de México, Southern Illinois Festival Orchestra, Taipei Philharmonic Orchestra, National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, Evergreen Symphony Orchestra, Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra, Taipei Century Symphony Orchestra, and New Sendai Philharmonic.

He has collaborated with conductors such as Pascal Verrot, Julian Kuerti, Victor Yampolsky, Shao-Chia Lu, Ichiro Nodaira, Dorian Wilson, Daniela Candillari, Paul Meyer, Yuri Nitta, Edward Benyas, Kuokman Lio, Seitaro Ishikawa, Tung-Chieh Chuang, Gernot Schmalfuss, and Ludwig Carrasco.

Wong holds degrees from the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover in Germany (Konzertexamen), Northwestern University's Bienen School of Music (D.M.A.), The Juilliard School (M.M.), and the New England Conservatory (B.M.).

Currently, he is full-time piano faculty of Taipei National University of the Arts and has held masterclasses in the US, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Wong has also taught at Harbin Conservatory of Music in China as their Distinguished Professor and served on the faculties of the University of Taipei and Fu Jen University.

Remarked in the Boston Globe for his mesmerizing performance, Canadian pianist Barry Tan serves as Assistant Professor of Music at Pepperdine University, Seaver College (Malibu, California), and enjoys a multifaceted career as an active soloist, collaborative artist, and educator based in Los Angeles.

Barry has appeared as soloist with the University of Victoria Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra, USC Symphony, Vancouver Philharmonic, and upcoming performances this season with the West Coast Symphony (Vancouver, BC), and Temple Symphony (Texas).

Barry has had the pleasure to collaborate alongside members of the LA Phil, LA Opera Orchestra, and the LA Master Chorale. His recent and upcoming collaborative performances include appearances with Laós Chamber Music, Chamber Music Palisades, and Salon de Musiques in La Jolla, California.

He has performed at notable venues such as Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Tanglewood Music Center, the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco, the Chan Center for the Performing Arts in Vancouver, BC, in addition to numerous chamber music and festival appearances throughout Southern California.

His featured performances include appearances on IPR Radio WIAA 98.7FM, BSO-Now streaming, and performances at the Colburn School and the Primrose International Viola Competition through the Violin Channel. Through the Sheva label, his debut album, Solo Piano Works by Ernest Chausson, was recently released on major streaming platforms and received a highly praised review in Fanfare magazine.

Beyond the stage, Barry is active as an educator and clinician. He has given recent and upcoming masterclasses at San Diego State University, the University of Victoria, the Victoria Conservatory of Music, Fullerton College, Cal State University Fresno, and conference presentations at the 2024 CAPMT Fall Conference at Cal State University Long Beach, and at the 2026 MTNA National Conference in Chicago.

He has contributed to three volumes of e-journal articles in CAPMT Connect, with his latest peer-reviewed article, Sight Reading for the Contemporary Pianist, published in October 2022. He has served as an adjudicator for various festivals in Southern California, including the CAPMT District 3 Sonata/Sonatina Festival, the Virtual Festival Celebration, the JTAC Lighthouse piano competition, MTAC branch competitions, and more.

Barry received his Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Southern California, where he was awarded Outstanding Graduate in the Keyboard Studies Department upon graduation. He previously taught at California Baptist University, Pasadena Conservatory, and the University of Southern California, and serves as a collaborative pianist at the Colburn School. During the summer, he has also been on festival faculty and staff at the Montecito International Music Festival, Idyllwild Arts Academy, and the Interlochen Summer Music Program.

Praised as "sparkling" by The New York Times and "a rising star" by China Musical Weekly, pianist Hui Wu displays her versatility through a creative approach to programming, stemming from a contemporary/classical music duality. Her recent performance highlights include west coast premiere of Merrill Songs by Matthew Aucoin; multimedia project with artists Nova Jiang and Gaëlle Choisne in collaboration with the Los Angeles CleanTech Incubator(LACI) and The Mistake Room, as well as chamber music appearances at the Beverly Hills National Auditions Winners' concert series.

Hui serves as the Southern Festival Chair in California Association of Professional Music Teachers (CAPMT). She is also a frequent adjudicator in music competitions in the US. Currently, she teaches at the Colburn Community School of Performing Arts, Moorpark College, Cal Lutheran University, and Junior Chamber Music. Hui studied at The Juilliard School for her Bachelor and Master's degrees with full scholarship. She earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music. Her teachers include Matti Raekallio, Jerome Lowenthal, Stewart Gordon, Philip Lasser, and Donald Crockett.

In the past seasons, her performances have included solo recital tours and master classes in China and Germany. Other highlights included premieres in Los Angeles Philharmonic Composer Fellowship Concert at Disney Concert Hall; "Art as Activism" concert with Christopher Rountree and contemporary ensemble wild Up; debut of her "Lone Journey" multimedia project in collaboration with the USC Thornton Arts Leadership Program, in addition to chamber music appearances in China with violinist Rainer Honeck, Stefan Dohr, and Stefán Ragnar Höskuldsson. She has also been invited to perform at the opening night concert in the Tully Scope Festival in Lincoln Center and chamber music appearances with choreographer Zach Winokur and the Juilliard Dance Division. She has also performed Nick Didkovsky's Zero Waste for pianist and computer on Beyond the Machine 12.1 series at the Music Technology Center in Rosemary and Meredith Willson Theater.

As an avid chamber musician, Hui has been invited to festivals such as at Taos School of Music, Yellow Barn Chamber Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, International Summer Music Festival in Goslar, Germany, PianoTexas Festival, and Beijing International Music Festival and Academy. She is the founder of ensemble demitasse and trio E'Toile. Her mentors and collaborators include Michel Beroff, Malcolm Bilson, Peter Donohoe, Peter Frankl, Margo Garrett, Joseph Kalichstein, Seymour Lipkin, Susan Narucki, Charles Neidich, Menahem Pressler, Gary Wedow, GuangRen Zhou, Robert McDonald, Michael Tree, as well as the Brentano, Borromeo, and the ShangHai Quartets among others.

A composer and advocate of new music, Hui has performed and premiered numerous contemporary works by composers such as Matthew Aucoin, Du Yun, Huang Ruo, Chen Yi, Jeffrey Parola, Eric Nathan, Paul Chihara, and Elliott Schwartz. Ms. Wu has collaborated with Juilliard's Dance Division on her composition Simogatas for soprano and piano four hands. In addition, Wu's Three Little Pieces for Orchestra (2011) was premiered by conductor Euntaek Kim and the Double Visions Orchestra. Her other compositions vocal and instrumental works have also been premiered and performed in New York, Los Angeles, and in China. Recently, she premiered her Aprés Notations (2015) to pay tribute to Pierre Boulez and That Light In My Dream (2017) at the 2017 unSUNg project with soprano Kyra Folk-Farber.

Born in China, Hui started her musical training at the age of four. At the age of thirteen, she made her debut recital in GuangDong Concert Hall with 12 Chopin Etudes and Liszt Rhapsodies. She has won numerous competitions including first prizes in the Kosciuszko Chopin Competition in New York, the Murray Dranoff International Artists Competition in Miami, the Beverly Hills National Auditions, and the 65th Steinway International Piano Competition. Hui has also won top prizes in the Ettlingen International Competition in Germany, the Corpus Christi International Competition, Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund Award, Young Artists Concerto Competition in Texas, the National Youth Piano Competition of GulangYu International Piano Art Festival and the Golden Clock Piano Competition in China

Nick Zhang began studying piano at the age of six in Beijing under Professors Guo Zhihong (son of Guo Moruo) and Li Qifang of the Central Conservatory of Music, where he received rigorous training in both technique and musicality before being admitted to the Conservatory's affiliated middle school.

He later entered the preparatory program at the New England Conservatory in the United States, studying with Korean-American pianist Wha Kyung Byun and Russell Sherman. During this period, he completed the full set of Chopin Etudes and Ballades and was frequently invited to perform at the Department of Music at Harvard University.

At the New York International Piano Festival, his performances of Brahms' Piano Sonata in F minor and two Rhapsodies received high praise from Solomon Mikowsky, Chair of the Piano Department at the Manhattan School of Music in New York, and Professor Jerome Lowenthal of The Juilliard School, both of whom continued to mentor him privately.

Nick subsequently pursued advanced studies in Germany and Switzerland with renowned piano master Klaus Bessler of the Berlin University of the Arts, completing the complete Mozart piano sonatas. He was described as 'a rare and exceptionally gifted performer.' At the age of 16, he presented two complete Mozart sonata recitals at the Vienna Music Academy Piano Festival, where his intellectual clarity and rich tonal palette were highly praised by the legendary Austrian pianist Paul Badura-Skoda, who described his playing as 'remarkably mature and beyond his years.'

In the same year, Nick recorded albums including Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, Mozart Sonatas, Beethoven Sonatas, and Chopin Etudes. His interpretation of Bach has been particularly acclaimed by the eminent Australian pianist Ronald Farren-Price, who described him as 'a rare young pianist with sincere musical expression and extraordinary talent.' He later studied extensively with two remarkable pianists, Ronald Farren-Price and Rita Reichman, in Melbourne.

As a performer, Nick has appeared with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 and collaborated with Italian string ensembles in chamber music performances. He has also been invited to perform at the Consulate-General of the People's Republic of China in Melbourne in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the PRC. His performances have taken him to major venues worldwide, including the Beijing Concert Hall, Peking University Hall, Shenzhen Concert Hall, the Royal Academy of Music, the Royal Albert Hall, the Lucerne Festival, Melbourne Recital Centre, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the Vienna Musikverein, and Carnegie Hall in New York.

Artistically, Nick is deeply engaged in exploring the interaction between harmonic color, tone production, and dynamic shaping in musical interpretation, and how these elements collectively construct the internal logic and expressive meaning of a work. He believes that without a sound concept grounded in harmonic understanding and stylistic awareness, performances often lack coherence and persuasive artistic integrity. He also integrates elements of Eastern Zen philosophy into Western classical music, forming a distinctive interpretative voice that has been highly regarded by German pianist Klaus Bessler.

As an educator, Nick places strong emphasis on the inner development of the student. He believes that learning music is not merely a technical pursuit, but a means of cultivating compassion, willpower, and concentration, thereby enriching one's inner life.

His teaching is informed by the Russian and German-Austrian piano traditions, with a strong emphasis on technical training, including sound production, finger control, and structural clarity. Within this framework, he focuses on developing logical musical thinking and refined auditory perception, enabling students to become highly sensitive to tonal color and sound transformation, and to achieve expressive and meaningful performance.

Under his guidance, students have been admitted to institutions such as the Manhattan School of Music, Oberlin Conservatory, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and the University of Southern California. Many of his students have achieved outstanding results in AMEB examinations, with several attaining Grade 8 A and Distinction as early as the age of eight.

Beyond music, Nick has a strong interest in philosophy and mathematics, and has received awards in mathematics competitions. He studied piano with Peter Frankl at Yale University, and later earned a Bachelor's degree with a double major in Economics and International Politics from the University of Melbourne, where he also completed a Diploma in Music (Piano) under the guidance of Ronald Farren-Price. He subsequently moved to London to continue his studies with MBE Ruth Nye, earning a Master of Music in Performance from the Royal College of Music in London, where he was also admitted to the Advanced Artist Diploma programme. During this time, he also worked as a researcher at the Centre for Performance Science, a collaboration between the Royal College of Music and Imperial College London, where he explored the relationship between self-efficacy and self-regulation in music learning and practice among conservatory piano students.

Nick has received guidance from distinguished musicians including Sir Andras Schiff, Alfred Brendel, and Robert McDonald. He has also served as a teaching assistant to Ronald Farren-Price, former Dean and Head of Piano at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, and has taught advanced mathematics at Trinity College Foundation Studies, University of Melbourne. He is frequently invited to serve as a jury member for international piano competitions and is the Artistic Director of the Orbifold International Classical Music Festival in Los Angeles.

Hailed by critics as a pianist capable of transcending the superhuman (NZ Herald '24), Sylvia Jiang's performances have delighted audiences across the globe.

As a graduate of the Juilliard School and Johns Hopkins University, she was inducted in 2023 as a member of the Astral Artists roster after being named as a winner in the Astral Artists Competition. Sylvia is also the sole recipient of Peabody Conservatory's Artist Diploma Award in her cohort.

Her performances have been featured on BBC News, TV3, ABC Australia, Radio New Zealand Concert, Maori Television, and other notable news networks and publications. Over the years, she has won numerous top prizes at national and international level competitions including the prestigious Hastings International, Music Academy of the West, Astral Artist, Kerikeri, Lev Vlassenko and Wallace National Piano Competitions. She currently studies with Richard Goode, Yong Hi Moon, and graduated from Juilliard under Robert McDonald. In 2024, Sylvia cemented her partnership with Steinway by being inducted as a Young Steinway Artist.

As an avid soloist, Sylvia has performed with numerous international orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic, Auckland Philharmonia, Queensland Symphony, and Juilliard Chamber Orchestras. She has performed extensively in Australasia, Europe, Asia and North America at venues such as Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center, the Concert Hall at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington DC, the Banff Center in Canada, and The Morgan Library in New York City.

As a keen collaborator and sought-after educator, Sylvia has held teaching fellowship positions at the Juilliard School and Music Academy of the West and has been invited to give masterclasses globally. She currently serves as the Artistic Director and co-founder of non-profit organization Muffin Music which provides music outreach, performance series, and elite musical training in the California area.

She was invited to be a featured soloist in The Kennedy Center's Ballet Across America with Dance Theatre of Harlem and Miami City Ballet where she worked with choreographer Pam Tanowitz on a new commission combining both dance companies.