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. Peng Krol
A native of China, Dr. Krol serves as an educator and scholar in Illinois. She received B.M. and M.M. degrees from the Xing Conservatory of Music as the recipient of the National Fellowship, an Artist Diploma and Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with the support of the Longford Keyboard Fellowship. Her students have been awarded prizes in the Champaign-Urbana Music Competition, the Illinois State Piano Competition and the American Protégé International Piano Competition. A portion of her doctoral research, “humor and irony in Beethoven’s variations for piano,” is published as a part of a series Speculum Musicae by Brepols (Belgium and Italy). Dr. Krol served as a Collaborative Pianist at the Carroll University (WI) and the Coordinator and Lead Instructor of the Piano Laboratory Program at UIUC.
Tammy Lin, MM
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. JeongYun Yang
As a soloist and a chamber musician, Dr. Yang has performed in venues all over the world, including the Steinway Society of Puerto Rico, Kerrytown Concert House, Smith Memorial Hall, Opperman Music Hall, Sejong Center for the Performing Arts and Jangcheon Art Hall in South Korea, and MusicAlp Académie Internationale de Courchevel in France. She received her DM from Florida State University, MM from the University of Michigan, and BM from Ewha Womens University, with her major piano teachers including Ian Hobson, Arthur Greene, and Jung Eun Kim. Dr. Yang has won prizes at many competitions including Charleston International Music Competition, Royal Sound Music Competition in Montreal, and Ars Nova Competition in South Korea. She was also nominated as a Steinway Young Artist at the Steinway Society of Puerto Rico in 2019. Currently, she resides and teaches in Boston, Massachusetts.
Dr. Leah Kang
Dr. Kang is a musician of diverse interests who received degrees in biology and public health at UCLA prior to pursuing professional studies in music. Kang earned her MM and diploma from Indiana University under the guidance of Arnaldo Cohen and her DMA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with Christopher Taylor. She has performed in the United States, Germany, Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, and has been featured as a soloist with the Antelope Valley Symphony Orchestra, Tehachapi Symphony Orchestra, and the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic Orchestra in concertos. She has served on the music faculties of Antelope Valley College and Citrus College, as Associate Instructor of Music Theory at Indiana University, and as an instructor for the piano department and Division of Continuing Studies at UW-Madison. As a two-time recipient of the DAAD research fellowship, Kang spent her dissertation years as a visiting scholar at the Beethoven-Haus in Bonn and has been invited to present aspects of her research at international conferences in Germany, England, Serbia, and the Netherlands.
Dr. Haewon Yang
Korean-Canadian pianist Dr. Haewon 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, and is currently active as a teacher, adjudicator, and performer in Santa Fe, New Mexico while teaching at University of New Mexico – Los Alamos.
Carrie Chen, MM
A native of the Bay Area, Carrie received her BM from San Francisco Conservatory of Music in piano performance. She then went on to the University of Michigan to do a double MM in piano performance and chamber music. She is currently pursuing a DM in piano performance at Indiana University under the tutelage of Arnaldo Cohen. She has won prizes at many competitions, recent ones include the MFMC Rosamund P. Haeberle Memorial Piano Award. She currently runs a private piano studio in Carmel, Indiana.
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.
Kaden Larson, MM
Kaden earned his BM from Brigham Young University studying with Dr. Scott Holden, his MM from the Jacobs School of Music studying with Norman Krieger, and continues as a doctoral student of Professor Krieger. Kaden is active as a collaborative pianist, organist, composer/arranger, and passionate teacher. He is a frequent presenter at piano pedagogy conferences, and a founding member of the Ensign Piano Quartet and the consonari ensemble project. Kaden recently released his debut CD recording, Phantasium, under the KNS Classical label.
Mai Mizuno, MM
Japanese-American pianist Mai Mizuno 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.
Hyrum Arnesen, MM
Hyrum Arnesen earned a BM and MM from Brigham Young University and is currently working on a DMA at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music studying with Dr. Ran Dank. He is an active soloist and collaborator and has enjoyed teaching piano for over 10 years, including 4 years of collegiate experience. His music research highlights the music of Latin American composers such as Carlos Guastavino. He is an active member of MTNA and a frequent presenter at national pedagogy conferences. Hyrum’s love for music and performing stems from his belief in its transformative power and he hopes that his audiences will not only enjoy but be uplifted and changed by his music.
Dr. Katherine Wenyi Xiong
Katherine Wenyi Xiong is an active soloist, recitalist, collaborative pianist, chamber musician, collegiate teacher, and adjudicator. She has been successful in many competitions, such as the ENKOR International Piano Competition, Charleston International Music Competition, the Camerata Concerto Competition, and the Yamaha Scholarship Competition. Katherine earned a DMA degree in piano on full scholarship at the Pennsylvania State University. She received her master’s degree from the University of Michigan, where she was appointed as a Departmental and Curricular Assistant in the piano faculty. Her principal teachers included Timothy Shafer and Christopher Harding.
Dr. Helena Aung
Helena Aung is a pianist from Thailand. She earned her BM from the University of Arkansas in Piano Performance under the tutelage of Jura Margulis. She earned her MM in Piano Performance and Pedagogy at the University of Oklahoma under Dr. Jeongwon Ham and earned a doctoral degree in piano performance under the guidance of Dr. Mark Clinton at the Glenn Korff School of Music, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
Helena is an active performer and collaborator and has a great passion for teaching. She has won numerous Scholarship awards and competitions, such as the Yamaha Artist Scholarship, the Princess Galyani Vadhana Classical Music Foundation scholarship, and the Bangkok Chopin Piano Competition.
Kayoko Kuchiishi, NCTM, MBA
Kayoko is a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music in Piano. She received B.M. in Piano Performance from Kunitachi Conservatory of Music, one of the top conservatories in Japan. She received certificates in Jazz Piano from Berklee College of Music, one of the top Jazz school in the U.S. She also holds M.B.A. from University of Phoenix. She has been teaching the piano for life, and performed as a pianist and singer pianist in Japan and U.S. in Classical, Pops, and Jazz. She was awarded the second place in American Protégé International Music Talent Competition in 2023. She serves as the organizer of the Competition.
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