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2026 Head Judge and Masterclass Artist

Dr. Spencer Myer

Professor and Chair of Piano

IU Jacobs School of Music

Current Adjudicators

Dr. Sun-A Park

DMA, Peabody Institute

Acclaimed for her “exquisite clarity” and “remarkable virtuosity,” Korean-American pianist Sun-A Park has appeared in major concert halls across the globe, including the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, and the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. She currently serves as Assistant Professor of Piano at Vanderbilt University Blair School of Music.

Dr. Haewon Yang

DM, IU Jacobs School of Music

Hailed as an “expressive, intelligent, and meticulous performer,” Korean-born Canadian-American pianist Haewon Yang is sought after for her flexibility across different genres and carefully studied interpretations. She has won recognition for her performances and academic work, ranging from the Music Teacher’s National Associationto the Indiana University Concerto Competition to the Korean Canadian Scholarship Foundation.

Dr. Amy E. Gustafson

DMA, UT Austin

Praised for her “exquisite sensitivity” and a “style filled with class and elegance” by La Voz de Asturias (Asturias, Spain), American pianist Amy E. Gustafson is a Yamaha Artist and has performed across the United States, Eastern and Western Europe and in Asia. She is the director of The Palmetto International Piano Festival in South Carolina and the Gijón International Piano Festival in Gijón, Spain.

Dr. Kyunghoon Kim

DM, IU Jacobs School of Music

Kyunghoon Kim is Visiting Lecturer in Music in Chamber and Collaborative music at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. A native of South Korea, Kim made his debut at the age of 12 with the Solideo Philharmonic Orchestra. He has been featured as a piano soloist with numerous orchestras in South Korea, Vietnam, and the United States, including two appearances with the IU Symphony Orchestra as a concerto competition winner.

Carter Johnson

DMA Candidate, Yale School of Music

Canadian pianist Carter Johnson was the first Canadian finalist at the 2025 Van Cliburn Competition and won First Prize at the 2025 Dublin International Piano Competition. Additional honors include silver medals at the Honens and Gina Bachauer Competitions and the CAG Louis and Susan Meisel Prize. His 2026–27 season features recitals at Carnegie Hall, Spivey Hall, and Merkin Hall, plus appearances with the Montréal, Toronto, and Omaha Symphony Orchestras.

Dr. TianYi Li

DMA, The Juilliard School

 

Dr. Li is a Secondary Piano instructor at the Juilliard School and a Postgraduate Teaching Fellow at the New School for Music Study. Dr. Li is the recipient of the third prize alongside numerous special prizes 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.

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