Dr. Ann Wu, NCTM
Ann Wu began her musical studies at the age of four in her native Taiwan where she was a prize winner in several national piano competitions. Wu received her DMA in Piano Performance and Literature from UIUC, her MM from the University of Cincinnati, and her BM from the Peabody Conservatory of The Johns Hopkins University.
Wu has performed throughout North America, Europe, and Asia as a solo recitalist and chamber musician. As an active adjudicator and clinician, she not only has adjudicated numerous music competitions, but also served on the piano faculty at the Peabody Preparatory and Valencia College. She currently serves as adjunct professor of Piano at West Valley College and directs her piano studio in Sunnyvale, California.
Dr. Hyrum Arnesen
Dr. Arnesen is the Director of Piano Studies at Southern Virginia University. He holds degrees from Brigham Young University and the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, where he studied under renowned pianists Irene Peery-Fox, Stephen Bues, and Ran Dank.
​An active soloist and passionate collaborative pianist, Dr. Arnesen is also a founding member of the Ensign Piano Quartet. As a dedicated researcher, he explores the rich folk traditions embedded in Latin American piano repertoire, advocating for composers like Argentine masters Carlos Guastavino and Luis Gianneo. He is a committed pedagogue who regularly presents and serves as a clinician at national conferences on piano pedagogy. He believes in the transformative power of music and strives to inspire and uplift his audiences, aiming not only to entertain but also to enrich and elevate them through his performances.
Dr. Rachel Yu Chen
Dr. Rachel Yu Chen is a pianist and educator known for her vibrant artistry and student-centered approach. Dr. Chen earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Piano Performance from the University of Michigan and completed her Doctor of Music in Piano Performance at Indiana University, where she also pursued a minor in Music Education and a Certificate in Preparing Educators of Students with Autism.
Now based in Washington, D.C., Dr. Chen serves on the Board of the Washington D.C. Music Teachers Association (WMTA), teaches at the Levine School of Music, and is an Adjunct Professor of Piano at Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) in Alexandria, Virginia.
She is also Co-founder of Musical Time, a community initiative dedicated to inspiring and connecting people through music in Brown County, Indiana.
Dr. Amy E. 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, American pianist Amy E. Gustafson is a Yamaha Artist and has performed across the United States, Eastern and Western Europe and in Asia. Her first album, Reverie, was released in 2017.
Dr. Gustafson received her D.M.A. in piano performance from the University of Texas at Austin, her M. M. in piano performance from New York University, and her B.M. and Professional Studies Certificate in piano performance from Manhattan School of Music.
In addition to her performing career, Gustafson has served on the piano faculty at Millersville University and Elizabethtown College and currently teaches a full private piano studio in State College, Pennsylvania. She is the director of The Palmetto International Piano Festival in South Carolina and the Gijón International Piano Festival in Gijón, Spain.
Lyndon Ji, AD, MM
​Lyndon is a candidate for the Doctor of Musical Arts at the Yale School of Music under the guidance of Wei-Yi Yang. Previously, he completed his Artist Diploma (IU Jacobs School of Music) and Master of Music (University of Michigan) with Roberto Plano and Logan Skelton, respectively. He pursued Mathematics (B.S.) as an undergraduate at Yale and served as a Swensen Fellow, studying piano additionally with Elizabeth Parisot and Wei-Yi Yang.
In recent seasons, he has performed at the Gijón Piano Festival, American Matthay Association, American Liszt Society, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Masterclasses, Bowdoin International Music Festival (Fellowship), Norfolk New Music Workshop, and the Mozarteum Summer Academy. His numerous awards include the Grand Prize and Baroque Prize at the 2023 Chicago International Music Competition. Outside of music, Lyndon enjoys brewing coffee in all forms, cooking, and watching the joint antics of his wife and two cats.
Lyndon serves as a director of this competition.
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Dr. Kyunghoon Kim
Dr. Kim graduated as valedictorian from Seoul National University with his B.M. in piano performance, and went on to pursue his M.M. and D.M. studies in Indiana University under the guidance of Arnaldo Cohen. He has won top prizes at many piano competitions in the United States, and has performed as a soloist with orchestras in South Korea, Vietnam, and U.S., including two appearances with the Indiana University Symphony Orchestra as the winner of Jacobs School of Music concerto competitions. He is an active collaborative pianist, educator, and composer/arranger. He also runs a YouTube channel where he performs his original arrangements of classical, jazz, and pop songs with his pianist wife.
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Dr. Peng Krol
Dr. Krol is an assistant professor of piano and the academic lead at Dalian Art College, China. She earned both the Artist Diploma and the Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, with the support of the Longford Fellowship and the full- scholarship at UIUC. Her doctoral project focuses on the humorous dimensions of Beethoven’s piano variations, her recent publication includes the article “The Whimsical Character of Beethoven’s Salieri Piano Variations” in Beethoven the European: Transcultural Contexts of Performance, Interpretation and Reception by BREPOLS. Her research has been applauded by Professor Kinderman of UCLA as “her study shed a revealing new light on these remarkable yet somewhat neglected works.
Dr. Krol served as the coordinator and the principal instructor of the
Piano Laboratory Program at UIUC, the collaborative pianist at Carroll
University (Wisconsin), and the piano instructor at Harper College (IL).
Dr. Kaden Larson, NCTM
American pianist Dr. Larson began playing piano at age three as a therapeutic activity to help his Juvenile Rhuematoid Arthritis. What began as a trial soon became a triumph. An avid solo recitalist and collaborative pianist, Dr. Larson is also a founding member of the Ensign Piano Quartet and the consonari ensemble project. He holds degreees in piano from Brigham Young University and Indiana Universiy, where he studied with Dr. Scott Holden and Norman Grieger. Dr. Larson serves as Professor of Piano at Tyler Junior College in Tyler, TX, where he teaches piano, chamber music, and music literature. He recently released his first CD, Phantasium, on the KNS Classical label. As a passionate teacher dedicated to excellence, Dr. Larson regularly presents as pedagogy conferences and has a consistent record of student success. ​
Stephen Joven-Lee, MM
Hailed as a pianist of “dazzling virtuosity”, “enthralling sound”, and “wisdom beyond his years” by the Hyde Park Herald, Philippine-born Stephen Joven-Lee is an award winner of almost two-dozen competitions which have led him to perform in many renowned stages including Carnegie Weill Hall, Lincoln Center, and Severance Reinberger Hall. Sought after as both a soloist and a chamber musician, he has appeared at renowned institutions including Dame Myra Hess Concerts, Howland Chamber Music Circle, Fermata Chamber Soloists, and Evanston Chamber Music Society.
Joven-Lee is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory, where he was the recipient of the school’s Rudolf Serkin, John Elvin, Faustina Hurlbutt awards in three consecutive years. He went on to receive a Master of Music degree at The Juilliard School. Joven-Lee is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Northwestern University, where he received the piano program’s most prestigious honor, the Thaviu-Isaak prize. His mentors include Jose Ramon Mendez, Julian Martin, Alvin Chow, Amy Gustafson, Steve Laitz, and Brian Alegant.
Dr. TianYi Li
Dr. Li is a Secondary Piano instructor at the Juilliard School, a Postgraduate Teaching Fellow at the New School for Music Study. He earned Master of Music degree and Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Juilliard School. Dr. Li is the recipient of the third prize, alongside prizes for best performance of a semifinal recital, best performance of romantic works, and best performance of a Scarlatti Sonata at the 2017 Tbilisi International Piano Competition, the sixth prize at the 2024 Xiamen International Piano Competition, and a two-time Bowdoin International Music Festival piano fellow in 2022 and 2024. As a soloist, he has given recitals in the United States, Europe, and China. Recent highlights include a concert at the Oracle Piano Society in Arizona and the complete Rachmaninoff Études-Tableaux at the Shanghai International Piano Festival & Institute. As a chamber musician, he has performed with the New Juilliard Ensemble and AXIOM in Alice Tully Hall, Peter Jay Sharp Theater, and at the Metropolitan Opera Club.
Tammy Lin, MM
Tammy is a founding member of the Bay Area Piano Competition. Tammy received M.M. in Piano Performance from Manhattan School of Music. As a solo pianist, she had debuts at the most prestigious concert venues in the US, including Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center of Performing Arts in NYC and Kennedy Center of Performing Arts in Washington D.C. She teaches in the Bay Area.
Dr. Mai Mizuno
Japanese-American pianist Mai has appeared in various venues throughout the world, from Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage in Washington, D.C., to Miyama Conseru in Japan. Mai holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from Indiana University, where she was an Associate Instructor for two years, teaching class piano and private lessons for music and non-music majors. She is currently a doctoral candidate at University of North Texas under the mentorship of Vladimir Viardo. Her mentors include Shigeo Neriki, Jean-Louis Haguenauer, Arnaldo Cohen, Evelyne Brancart, and Hans Boepple.
Dr. Haewon Yang
Korean-Canadian pianist Dr. Yang has been recognized for her colorful and sensitive performances. As an avid performer and collaborative musician, she is sought after for her flexibility across different genres and carefully studied interpretations. Haewon holds degrees from the University of Toronto and Indiana University, and her students have ranged from pre-college to collegiate students. Haewon has previously held the position of piano faculty at Indiana University East and the Indiana University Young Pianist Program. She is an adjunct faculty at University of New Mexico – Los Alamos and serves as a President of the Professional Music Teachers of New Mexico.
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Dr. Katherine Wenyi Xiong
An award-winning pianist praised for her “color, drama, and honest emotional expression” (Dr. Marilyn Nonken), Dr. Xiong has performed across the U.S., Europe, and Asia.
Her educational contributions include Adjunct Faculty in Piano at New York University, the Lecturer in Collaborative Piano at Pennsylvania State University, and as an adjudicator for several prestigious national and international competitions in the United States.
She holds degrees in piano performance from the Sichuan Conservatory of Music (High-school Diploma, Bachelor of Music, and Master of Music), University of Michigan (Master of Music), Pennsylvania State University (Doctor of Musical Arts), where she won one of two competitive three years of graduate assistantships, and New York University (Artist Diploma). Her principal teachers include Manuel Laufer, Timothy Shafer, and Christopher Harding. She serves as an artistic director of this compeition.
Kayoko Kuchiishi, NCTM, MBA
Kayoko is a founding member of the Bay Area Piano Competition. She holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix and a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Kunitachi Conservatory of Music, one of Japan’s premier institutions of musical study. In addition, she earned a Certificate in Jazz Piano from the Berklee College of Music, widely regarded as one of the leading jazz schools in the United States.
Kayoko is a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music in Piano. She has devoted her career to piano education and has performed extensively in both Japan and the United States as a classical pianist and a singer pianist. She serves as an administrative director of this competition.
