Ann Schein
Ann Schein's remarkable career has earned her highest praise in major American cities and in more than fifty countries around the world. She has performed with great conductors including George Szell, James Levine, Seiji Ozawa, James DePreist, David Zinman, Sir Malcolm Sargent, Sir Colin Davis, and Stanislaw Skrowaczewski. She has performed at the White House and toured across the U.S. and Brazil with the renowned soprano Jesse Norman. Her legacy of extraordinary teachers, Mieczyslaw Munz, Arthur Rubinstein, and Dame Myra Hess, has continued through her own teaching career. From 1980-2002 she was piano faculty member at the Peabody Institute. During the 2008-09 season she was invited to be a Visiting Professor at Indiana University. From 2007-10, she served on the jury of the Irving S. Gilmore Festival culminating in the naming of Kirill Gerstein as winner of the prestigious 2010 Gilmore Artist Award. In 2010 she performed concerts in Beijing and Korea, and in 2012-13 she gave performances and Master Classes in Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, Panama, and Brazil. In December 2012 she received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the Peabody Institute. She served as Visiting Professor at the Eastman School of Music during the 2016-17 year. Her recordings and performances of Chopin have received highest honors and praise throughout her career. She has been invited to join the piano faculty at the Mannes College of Music beginning in the fall of 2017.
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Ann Schein's remarkable career has earned her highest praise in major American cities and in more than fifty countries around the world. She has performed with great conductors including George Szell, James Levine, Seiji Ozawa, James DePreist, David Zinman, Sir Malcolm Sargent, Sir Colin Davis, and Stanislaw Skrowaczewski. She has performed at the White House and toured across the U.S. and Brazil with the renowned soprano Jesse Norman. Her legacy of extraordinary teachers, Mieczyslaw Munz, Arthur Rubinstein, and Dame Myra Hess, has continued through her own teaching career. From 1980-2002 she was piano faculty member at the Peabody Institute. During the 2008-09 season she was invited to be a Visiting Professor at Indiana University. From 2007-10, she served on the jury of the Irving S. Gilmore Festival culminating in the naming of Kirill Gerstein as winner of the prestigious 2010 Gilmore Artist Award. In 2010 she performed concerts in Beijing and Korea, and in 2012-13 she gave performances and Master Classes in Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, Panama, and Brazil. In December 2012 she received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the Peabody Institute. She served as Visiting Professor at the Eastman School of Music during the 2016-17 year. Her recordings and performances of Chopin have received highest honors and praise throughout her career. She has been invited to join the piano faculty at the Mannes College of Music beginning in the fall of 2017.
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George Barth
George Barth taught at Wesleyan University in Connecticut for eleven years, earned graduate degrees at Cornell University (where he studied with pianist Malcolm Bilson), taught for a year at the University of Washington in Seattle, and in 1987, joined the faculty at Stanford University where, as a senior Professor, he holds the Billie Bennett Achilles Directorship of Keyboard Programs. In 2007 and 2009, he and his colleague Kumaran Arul produced Stanford’s highly acclaimed Reactions to the Record symposia on early recordings and musical style, the second of which included award- winning student research from their team-taught performance seminar. In April of 2012, they convened a third international gathering, Reactions III, with concerts that deliberately revived early 20th-century performing styles. They regularly host master classes featuring eminent performers with links to 19th-century traditions, and coach their chamber groups and private piano students using historic recordings as primary “texts” to encourage emulation of the great composer performers in the arts of interpretation, improvisation, variation, transcription, and arrangement. Barth’s earlier research and writing emphasized relationships between music and language, as for example his CD-ROM Understanding Beethoven: The Mind of the Master and his book The Pianist as Orator. His more recent lectures on Beethoven, which emphasize the significance of the recorded legacy, were presented at Canada’s Banff Centre in March of 2010, when he joined pianist Anton Kuerti to coach eight leading emerging concert pianists in the sonatas of Beethoven. Professor Barth’s recordings on period instruments include Schubert’s Winterreise with mezzo-soprano Miriam Abramowitsch (Music & Arts) and the Beethoven Cello Sonatas with cellist Stephen Harrison of the Ives Quartet (Alliance). His essays have been published in The Revised New Grove Dictionary, Early Music, Hungarian Quarterly, Music & Letters, Early Keyboard Studies Newsletter, Music Library Association Notes, Humanities, and the Eastman Studies in Music series.
Donald E. Dillard
was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and received his early music training at the Settlement Music School with concert pianist, Charles Engel. He was awarded a full scholarship to West Chester University, West Chester, PA, where he was a piano and voice major. His graduate studies were done at Westminster Choir College of Rider University, Princeton, NJ.
Mr. Dillard is an active composer of over 100 works for orchestra, chorus, instruments, piano, organ and voice, including three fully scored cantatas and two oratorios for soloists, chorus and orchestra, as well as concertos for violin and orchestra, cello and orchestra, and organ and orchestra, three song cycles for solo voice and orchestra, two symphonic poems, and other orchestral works.
His music has been performed throughout the United States, South America, Japan, and in Europe and performed by the West Chester University Concert Choir, the Morgan State University Concert Choir, the Gettysburg Choir and Harrisburg Singers, and the Mendelssohn Club Choir of Philadelphia. His piano solo works have been performed internationally by the late concert pianist Richard Fields. Orchestral works have been performed by the Detroit Symphony, Grand Rapids Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Delaware County Symphony and the Orchestra Society of Philadelphia.
Li-shan Hung
"A major musician of tremendous stature, a deeply probing artist.” (Dr. Tom Wendel, late Chair of the American Beethoven Society.)
“What a paradise life would be if all the concerts I reviewed were as good as this one. Pianist Li-shan Hung gave a truly extraordinary performance…, making music at the highest level….” (Timothy Gilligan, New York Concert Review)
As a winner of the Artists International Li-shan Hung made her New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in 2003 to great acclaim, which led to a return in 2005. Her performance of Cesar Franck’s Prelude, Chorale, and Fugue was sited as “perhaps the finest performance of this piece I’ve ever heard” by Timothy Gilligan in the New York Concert Review. She has also received high praises from reviews by the Washington Post and Baltimore Sun.
An active soloist and a chamber musician, Li-shan Hung has appeared across the United States and internationally. Besides Carnegie Hall, she has performed in other venues, such as Salle Gaveau in Paris, Cultural Center in Munich, Rachmaninoff Hall in Moscow, Merkin Hall in New York, Shriver Hall Concert Series in Baltimore, Orpheus Classical Music Series in Chicago, Steinway Society of the Bay Area Recital Series in San Jose, Sejong Cultural Arts Center in Seoul, Korea, and National Concert Hall in Taipei, Taiwan. Lishan has made guest appearances with the Taipei City Symphony Orchestra, Stockton Symphony, MasterWorks Festival Orchestra, Palo Alto Philharmonic, Sheboygan Symphony, and Hunan Symphony Orchestra in China. She has collaborated with many distinguished artists and conductors including Menahem Pressler, Bin Huang, Roberto Cani, Peter Jaffe, and Delta David Gier. Her performances have been broadcast on Television and Radio, including WBAL and WBJC in Baltimore, WFYI in Indianapolis, WPR in Wisconsin, KTSF26 in San Francisco, and FEBC in Seoul.
Hung has been invited as a guest artist and presented master classes at universities and festivals in the U.S., Taiwan, and China, including Vanderbilt University, Ball State University, University of North Florida, Steinway Society of the Bay Area Midsummer Festival, Chinese University of Hong Kong, National Taiwan University of Arts, and Xinghai Conservatory in China. During the summer she teaches at the MasterWorks Festival and the Cremona International Music Academy in Italy.
"A major musician of tremendous stature, a deeply probing artist.” (Dr. Tom Wendel, late Chair of the American Beethoven Society.)
“What a paradise life would be if all the concerts I reviewed were as good as this one. Pianist Li-shan Hung gave a truly extraordinary performance…, making music at the highest level….” (Timothy Gilligan, New York Concert Review)
As a winner of the Artists International Li-shan Hung made her New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in 2003 to great acclaim, which led to a return in 2005. Her performance of Cesar Franck’s Prelude, Chorale, and Fugue was sited as “perhaps the finest performance of this piece I’ve ever heard” by Timothy Gilligan in the New York Concert Review. She has also received high praises from reviews by the Washington Post and Baltimore Sun.
An active soloist and a chamber musician, Li-shan Hung has appeared across the United States and internationally. Besides Carnegie Hall, she has performed in other venues, such as Salle Gaveau in Paris, Cultural Center in Munich, Rachmaninoff Hall in Moscow, Merkin Hall in New York, Shriver Hall Concert Series in Baltimore, Orpheus Classical Music Series in Chicago, Steinway Society of the Bay Area Recital Series in San Jose, Sejong Cultural Arts Center in Seoul, Korea, and National Concert Hall in Taipei, Taiwan. Lishan has made guest appearances with the Taipei City Symphony Orchestra, Stockton Symphony, MasterWorks Festival Orchestra, Palo Alto Philharmonic, Sheboygan Symphony, and Hunan Symphony Orchestra in China. She has collaborated with many distinguished artists and conductors including Menahem Pressler, Bin Huang, Roberto Cani, Peter Jaffe, and Delta David Gier. Her performances have been broadcast on Television and Radio, including WBAL and WBJC in Baltimore, WFYI in Indianapolis, WPR in Wisconsin, KTSF26 in San Francisco, and FEBC in Seoul.
Hung has been invited as a guest artist and presented master classes at universities and festivals in the U.S., Taiwan, and China, including Vanderbilt University, Ball State University, University of North Florida, Steinway Society of the Bay Area Midsummer Festival, Chinese University of Hong Kong, National Taiwan University of Arts, and Xinghai Conservatory in China. During the summer she teaches at the MasterWorks Festival and the Cremona International Music Academy in Italy.
Tzyy-Sheng Lee
Born in Taipei in 1965 and studied piano at the age of four, Tzyy-Sheng Lee is one of the most representative composers of Taiwan. His works have been performed in Europe, North America, Asia and Oceania at Festivals including ISCM, Asian Composers League, Shanghai Spring, Warsaw Autumn, Aspekte Salzburg and Dresden Global Ear by prominent musicians and ensembles such as Pi-Hsien Chen, Leif Segerstam, Het Trio, Jane's Minstrels, Österreichisches Ensemble für Neue Musik, New Music Consort, Zelanian Ensemble, and Phiharmonia Taiwan, Chinese Music Virtuosi (HK).
Deeply nourished by the elite of Chinese traditional music, Lee attempts to integrate Eastern and Western musical ideas and heritages creatively in his compositions. He studied composition with Yen Lu, Hwang-Long Pan, Theodore Antoniou, Lukas Foss, Richard Wernick and George Crumb, and received degrees from Taipei National University of Arts (BFA), Boston University (MM) and the University of Pennsylvania (PhD). Lee currently serves as the president of ISCM-Taiwan Section, the Artistic Director of Taipei International New Music Festival and teaches at National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu.
Tzyy-Sheng Lee
Born in Taipei in 1965 and studied piano at the age of four, Tzyy-Sheng Lee is one of the most representative composers of Taiwan. His works have been performed in Europe, North America, Asia and Oceania at Festivals including ISCM, Asian Composers League, Shanghai Spring, Warsaw Autumn, Aspekte Salzburg and Dresden Global Ear by prominent musicians and ensembles such as Pi-Hsien Chen, Leif Segerstam, Het Trio, Jane's Minstrels, Österreichisches Ensemble für Neue Musik, New Music Consort, Zelanian Ensemble, and Phiharmonia Taiwan, Chinese Music Virtuosi (HK).
Deeply nourished by the elite of Chinese traditional music, Lee attempts to integrate Eastern and Western musical ideas and heritages creatively in his compositions. He studied composition with Yen Lu, Hwang-Long Pan, Theodore Antoniou, Lukas Foss, Richard Wernick and George Crumb, and received degrees from Taipei National University of Arts (BFA), Boston University (MM) and the University of Pennsylvania (PhD). Lee currently serves as the president of ISCM-Taiwan Section, the Artistic Director of Taipei International New Music Festival and teaches at National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu.
Hwei-Lan Luo
A student of Gabriel Chodos at the New England Conservatory of Music, Ms Luo received her Master of Music degree in piano performance, and further the Professional Studies diploma from the Manhattan School of music with Arkady Aronov. In 1986, Luo attended Aspen Summer Music Festival studying under Aube Tzerko. Her other teachers include Alexander Edelmann, Robert Goldsand, Gregory Maimovsky, Bernard Rose, and Coached by Ming Tcherepnin and Richard Goode. A DMA candidate from City University of New York under Peter Basquin, she has performed as a soloist and chamber music player in many cities. Her past solo recitals include ones in the Lincoln Center Performing Arts Library and the Taiwan National Concert Hall. Her CD, premiering a collection of art songs for voice and piano by Taiwanese composer Fu-Yu Lin, was released in 2001. Ms Luo is currently a faculty member of the Music Department of the Rutgers, State University of New Jersey and the chairperson of the Young Musician Competition.
Bruce Murray
Pianist Bruce Murray is Professor of Music and Chair of the Department of Music at Miami University. From 2003 until 2012 he was Dean and Artistic Administrator of the Brevard Music Center. Before his tenure at Brevard he was a faculty member at the University of Alabama and Director of the School of Music from 1998 until 2003.
As recitalist Murray is known especially for his performances of Bach, Beethoven, Liszt, and new music. He has performed Bach's Goldberg Variations more than sixty times on three continents.
Murray's repertoire of concertos includes more than forty works for piano and orchestra. The list of conductors with whom he has performed includes Keith Lockhart, Matthias Bamert, Shinik Hahm, David Effron, Louis Lane, Anshel Brusilow, Jaime-Morales Matos, and Paul Polivnick.
Murray has played chamber music and recitals with many important musicians of our time, including Frederica von Stade, Roberto Diaz, Ricardo Morales, Ransom Wilson, Michael Thompson, Elmar Oliveira, Michael Collins, Carol Wincenc, Andres Cardenes, Marianne Gedigian, Gail Williams, Øystein Baadsvik, Andres Diaz, and Jeffrey Nelsen. Murray and violinist William Preucil presented recital series at the Brevard Music Center that included all of the violin/piano sonatas of Beethven and Brahms. During his twenty-year tenure with the renowned Cadek Trio, Murray performed virtually the entire repertoire of music for piano, violin, and cello.
Murray has been an active lecturer, podcaster, and annotator for concert programs and albums. To date he has contributed more than one hundred music book reviews to Choice. He has recorded for the Opus One and Centaur labels; his list of premieres includes works by Robert Beaser and Robert Livingston Aldridge, among many others. He provided both music and commentary for the Radio Chopin project, and he has performed live in the studios of WGBH in Boston, WQED in Pittsburgh, WDAV in Charlotte, and WCQS in Asheville.
Murray studied with Nelson Whitaker at Carnegie Mellon University, then received a master's degree and doctorate from Yale University, where he studied with Ward Davenny and Claude Frank. He undertook further private study with Aube Tzerko and Leonard Shure.
Bruce Murray is a Steinway Artist.