UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
Arianna Morgen Beyer
Arianna Beyer will graduate with a Bachelor of Music in Applied Music (Clarinet) and an Arts Leadership Certificate from the Eastman School of Music in May 2017. While at Eastman, Arianna studied with Jon Manasse, served as President of Eastman’s Mu Upsilon chapter of Mu Phi Epsilon, maintained a 4.0 GPA, and interned with the Society for Chamber Music in Rochester. This summer, she will study as a Clarinet Fellow at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, CA. In the fall, Arianna will pursue a Master of Music in Clarinet Performance at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music in Richie Hawley’s studio.
In the summer of 2016, Arianna interned with The United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own” in Washington, DC. For 6 weeks, Arianna had the unique and invaluable opportunity to shadow numerous rehearsals, concerts, educational and therapy outreach programs, audio/tech crew support, and even conduct The U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own” Concert Band. Most notably, Arianna was privileged to perform on four concerts with TUSAB Concert Band as a clarinet section member.
After winning the national United States Navy Band High School Concerto Competition (2013), Arianna was recognized in the Congressional Record by Hon. Daniel Webster (Florida) for her “hard work, dedication, and achievement” that “has allowed her to gain tremendous recognition as a clarinetist at a young age.” Additional honors and awards include: Jean Louise Martin Scholarship Winner (2017); 98th Army Band Solo and Small Ensemble Competition College Solo Winner (2016); Gerke Collegiate Artist Winner (2015); National Young Arts Foundation Competition Winner (2013 and 2014).
Founder and President of S.M.I.L.E.S. (Sharing Music and Improving Lives with Every Song, Inc., her ongoing community service initiative), Arianna encourages and enables student musicians to perform at places of institutionalized care such as hospitals and retirement homes. Additionally, Arianna is self-employed as a private clarinet teacher.
Addie Rose Brown
Soprano Addie Rose Brown, from the studio of Anthony Dean Griffey, is graduating from the Eastman School of Music with a major in Applied Music (Voice) and a minor in Italian. She studied voice with Dr. Robert H. McIver until the time of his retirement from the Eastman faculty and previously studied with international opera singer Gwynne Geyer.
This semester Addie Rose participated in Eastman Opera Theatre’s Into the Fire, a production of staged chamber works by Jake Heggie, and in their MainStage production of Jules Massenet’s Cendrillon. Over the past few years she has given numerous recitals at Eastman, as well as in Pennsylvania and Alabama. During June of 2016, Addie Rose participated in the Young Artist Program at SongFest, held at the Colburn School in Los Angeles. There she had the opportunity to work in masterclasses and coachings with renowned artists and composers such as Jake Heggie, Margo Garrett, Roger Vignoles, Martin Katz, John Musto, and Karen Holvik. In the summer of 2014, Addie Rose attended Si Parla, Si Canta, a music and language program directed by Maestro Benton Hess, and held at Centro Studi Italiani, a prestigious language school in Urbania, Italy.
Later in May, Addie Rose will be competing at the Classical Singer Convention, held in Chicago this year. Over the summer she will be giving recitals in Alabama and Pennsylvania, in collaboration with her fiancé, a graduate of Eastman in Applied Music (Piano). They will be married in August. In autumn, Addie Rose will begin her master’s studies in the Vocal Arts Program at Bard College Conservatory of Music.
Jon Lin Chua
Born in Singapore, Jon Lin was named the Presser Scholar for the year 2016-17 at the Eastman School of Music, where she is a double major in composition and music theory and a recipient of scholarships, including the National Arts Council of Singapore Arts Scholarship (Undergraduate). She is also a recipient of the Wayne Brewster Barlow Prize (2017), the Louis Lane Award (2016) and the Bernard Rogers Memorial Prize (2015), as well as Honorable Mention in the Frost School of Music Ensemble Ibis International Composition Competition (2016). Her teachers in composition include Oliver Schneller, Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon, Robert Morris, David Liptak, and Robert Casteels; and she has also participated in composition masterclasses with Moritz Eggert and Louis Karchin. Currently, she is studying piano performance under the tutelage of classical/jazz pianist and pedagogue Tony Caramia, and has also received instruction from Vincent Lenti, piano professor at the Eastman School of Music.
As composer, she has worked with groups such as the MusicaNova Orchestra based in Phoenix, AZ, as the orchestra’s composition fellow for the 2015-2016 season. Other groups she has worked with include the Southeastern Ensemble for Today’s and Tomorrow’s Sounds (SETTS), the Singapore Chinese Orchestra, the Guitar Ensemble of the National University of Singapore, and the Zen Ensemble. She has had works performed in festivals such as the 18th Biennial Festival of New Music organized by the Florida State University College of Music (2017), the Women in Music Festival (2014), and the National University of Singapore Arts Festival (2012). Jon Lin was also invited to present her paper A Collapse of Musical Categories?: A Closer Look at Ethnic Chinese Music within the Chinese Conservatory Tradition Today at the Composition in Asia International Symposium and Festival held in the University of Florida (2015). Prior to pursuing her degree in music, Jon Lin obtained a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in philosophy from the National University of Singapore.
Rebecca Alexis Golub
A native of Long Island, NY, Rebecca Golub began her piano studies at the age of seven. She will graduate this year with a Bachelor of Music in Music Education, vocal emphasis. While at Eastman, Rebecca has sung as an alto in the Repertory Singers, Eastman-Rochester Chorus, and the Eastman Chorale. This past fall, she went on tour to Oberlin Conservatory with the Chorale and participated in a joint concert under the direction of Dr. William Weinert. Although primarily a pianist, Rebecca’s love for singing influenced her decision to pursue a vocal emphasis within her Music Education degree that focuses on choral directing.
During her time at Eastman, Rebecca has been an active member of the school’s NAfME (National Association for Music Education) chapter, serving on the board as secretary and vice president her junior and senior years, respectively. Under the leadership of Rebecca and her peers, NAfME has hosted various workshops and guest lectures, as well as established biweekly visits to the Hillside Children’s Center. Through the program, Eastman NAfME members provide musical instruction to children with emotional, behavioral, or life-circumstance challenges.
Equally passionate about performing as she is about teaching, Rebecca has maintained a very busy schedule throughout her Eastman career that balanced her education courses with her piano studies. Although not a degree requirement, she frequently sought out opportunities to collaborate with her peers through chamber music and accompanying, sparking her interest in the field of collaborative piano. She has accompanied masterclasses and workshops for artists including Stephen Carr and Mira Zakai.
Rebecca will pursue a master’s degree in collaborative piano performance at the University of Colorado-Boulder this coming fall. In preparation, she will spend six weeks of the summer in Austria studying collaborative piano at the AIMS music festival. Rebecca would like to thank all of her professors at Eastman, especially her piano professor Vincent Lenti, for their unwavering support and encouragement. She is very honored and grateful to have been selected to join Pi Kappa Lambda.
Naomi Beth Harrow
Naomi Harrow is a senior flutist in the studio of Bonita Boyd, and she studies piccolo with Anne Harrow. A member of the Dean’s List every semester, Naomi will graduate with a cumulative 4.0 GPA. She is a native of Rochester, NY, and will be the tenth Eastman graduate in her immediate and extended family.
An avid lover of chamber music, Naomi has played in woodwind quintet for four years. Her quintet Quintensity specializes in outreach performances. The group has performed for kindergarten through high-school-aged students in Rochester and Buffalo schools, inspiring kids of all ages to become music lovers. Through a grant with the Lake Placid Sinfonietta, Quintensity has taught and performed in rural Adirondack schools over spring break for three years, bringing high-quality live classical music to children who would otherwise not have access to it. In addition, Quintensity has given many concerts in local venues, playing in churches, libraries, and nursing homes. The group is a two-time winner of the honors chamber music auditions at Eastman.
Naomi has been an active member of Eastman Philharmonia and Wind Ensemble and will record and tour with the latter group in May. She has played in masterclasses for artists such as Marianne Gedigian, Paula Robison, and Robert Langevin. During the summers, she has participated in the MasterWorks Festival and Orford Musique, and taught at Eastman@Keuka. This summer, she will perform Steven Franklin’s new double flute concerto with her mother (Anne Harrow) with the Lake Placid Sinfonietta. Naomi has traveled to China twice over the course of her undergraduate studies to share her knowledge of Western classical music. In her second trip (June 2016), she resided at a rural arts conservatory in Northwest China as a guest teacher and performer and became a lover of the Chinese bamboo flute.
Naomi was a recipient of the Take 5 Scholarship from the University of Rochester in writing and literature, but elected to continue her musical training directly after her undergraduate studies. She was awarded the Graduate Fellowship Quintet award at the University of Maryland and will attend there this fall for her master’s degree on full scholarship and living stipend.
Naomi would like to thank her parents for homeschooling her and inspiring her to be an active learner.
Alexander Kai-yi Lo
Alexander Lo, 21, will graduate from Eastman this year with a Bachelor of Music in Applied Music (Piano). From Southern New Jersey, he is both humbled and honored to be inducted into Pi Kappa Lambda.
Alex owes much of his musical development to his two wonderful teachers, Professor Natalya Antonova, with whom he currently studies at Eastman, and Professor Veda Zuponcic of Rowan University, his mentor throughout high school. Most recently, he was awarded 2nd Place at the 2016 Thousand Islands International Piano Competition, was a finalist in the 17th Osaka International Music Competition, and made his first international appearance as a performer in Japan.
In addition to his musical studies, Alex has dedicated himself to enhancing the community within the Eastman Student Living Center as a Resident Advisor and served as the Assistant Head Resident during his senior year.
A curious and passionate learner, he spent much of his time as an undergraduate student pursuing a wide range of interests outside of his major and exploring a variety of classes offered by both Eastman and the University of Rochester’s main campus. Such interests include music composition, jazz piano, acting, theatre directing, web development, film scoring, breakdancing, and classical guitar.
Alex will return to Eastman next year as a master’s student, continuing his studies as a Piano Performance and Literature major.
Jessica Melanie Newman
Jessica Newman is a senior dual degree student at the Eastman School of Music and the University of Rochester, majoring in Applied Music (Voice) and English literature. A lyric mezzo soprano and zwischenfach in the studio of Katherine Ciesinski, Jessica has starred in Philip Glass’s Hydrogen Jukebox (Mezzo Soprano) with the Eastman Opera Theatre, an avant-garde opera featuring the poetry of Allen Ginsberg; and in Jake Heggie’s Out of Darkness (Zosha), a new opera about the Holocaust. She has appeared in numerous opera scenes at summer programs in Italy (Si Parla, Si Canta) and in Germany (Musiktheater Bavaria) and has performed in a masterclass for Stephen Hopkins, opera coach at the Wiener Staatsoper. This summer, Jessica will be serving as a voice teacher and arts administration intern at Belvoir Terrace, a visual and performing arts summer program for girls. Next year, she will be working as an English Teaching Assistant, studying German, and taking courses at the University of Cologne as part of a one-year exchange program through the University of Rochester.
In addition to her performance achievements, Jessica is a dedicated and passionate academic student. She was elected to the University of Rochester’s chapter of Phi Beta Kappa during her junior year. Jessica is also a selected member of the Eastman Academic Integrity Committee and has been appointed to the Dean’s List at both the Eastman School of Music and the University of Rochester every semester since her freshman year. She is an active representative on the Eastman Students’ Association, serving as the Chair of Transportation and Safety & Security. She also recently completed a senior thesis that examines the relationship between Emily Dickinson’s poetry and musical settings as a selected member of the Honors English Program at the University of Rochester. For this research, she was awarded the President’s Award for the Humanities, the University’s highest honor for undergraduate research. Jessica is thrilled to have been selected for Pi Kappa Lambda!
Evan Pengra Sult
Flutist Evan Pengra Sult will graduate this spring with a Bachelor of Music and a Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music, where he studies as a National Merit and a Lois Smith Rogers Scholar. His principal teachers are Bonita Boyd, Anne Harrow, Zart Dombourian-Eby, and Bonnie Blanchard. He is honored to be inducted into Pi Kappa Lambda this year.
While at Eastman, Evan has played with all of the school’s major ensembles, including in the Eastman Philharmonia’s recent performances in New York City. In the summers, he has attended a variety of festivals, including the Tanglewood Festival of Contemporary Music, National Orchestral Institute, and Texas Music Festival. This summer, he will attend the Colorado College Music Festival. Among his other successful competitions/awards are the Seattle Flute Society’s Young Artist Competition (2nd Place, 2016); the Frank and Lu Horsfall Competition (1st Place, 2013 & 2011); and the Seattle Youth Symphony Inspiration Award (2013).
In the fall, he will begin working towards a master’s degree at the San Francisco Conservatory, studying with Tim Day. Additionally, Evan is an avid reader, tap dancer, cinema buff, and Francophile!
Stephanie Michelle Venturino
A native of Palmyra, NY, Stephanie Venturino is a candidate for degrees in Applied Music (Saxophone) with Performer’s Certificate and Music Theory from the Eastman School of Music, and a German language studies minor from the University of Rochester. An active ensemble musician, Stephanie is a member of the Eastman Saxophone Project and the Eastman Wind Ensemble. As both a soloist and chamber musician, Stephanie has garnered prizes in numerous competitions, including the national WDAV Young Chamber Musicians Competition, the MTNA New York State Chamber Music Competition, the Rochester Philharmonic League’s Young Artists Auditions, the David Hochstein Recital Competition, and the Virtuosi Woodwind Competition. In addition to playing at prestigious venues such as Kennedy Center (Washington, DC) and the National Centre for the Performing Arts (Beijing, China), Stephanie has also soloed with the Penfield Symphony Orchestra, and her playing has been broadcast on WXXI 91.5 FM. Her teachers have included Douglas O’Connor and Chien-Kwan Lin.
Stephanie is also an aspiring music theorist. Her research interests include contemporary French music, German harmonic theory, computational analysis, and music theory pedagogy. A recipient of awards from the Mildred R. Burton Fund and the Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst, Stephanie studied in Berlin and Freiburg im Breisgau (Germany) on full scholarship during the summer of 2015. In addition to her collegiate studies, Stephanie interns at the Eastman Community Music School and is on the theory faculty of Eastman’s Music Horizons summer program for high school students. She will be pursuing a PhD in music theory at the Eastman School of Music this fall.
Holly D. Workman
Violinist Holly Workman is an active performer of both traditional and contemporary classical music. She will graduate in May 2017 with her Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music, where she studies with Professor Renée Jolles. Holly will continue her studies at Eastman in the fall, where she will be pursuing her master’s degree in Violin Performance and Literature.
During her time at Eastman, Holly has performed with numerous school and student ensembles. She frequently performs with Musica Nova, directed by Brad Lubman, where she has worked with current and former members of the JACK Quartet, composer Steve Reich, members of Ensemble Signal, and others. Holly also performs regularly with the Eastman Philharmonia under the baton of Neil Varon, which recently performed with Renée Fleming at Lincoln Center; the OSSIA New Music Ensemble; a variety of chamber music groups and student-run ensembles; and has premiered pieces by a number of student composers at Eastman.
Holly has performed in masterclasses for Irvine Arditti, Mieko Kanno, the Brentano Quartet, the Jupiter Quartet, the Shanghai Quartet, and others. She has been a finalist and prize winner in several competitions, most recently the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Concerto Competition. Holly has served on the Eastman Academic Integrity board since her sophomore year. She was recently invited to perform and speak at a Celebrate Meliora event in June at the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia.
Holly is also a violinist and administrative board member of ENSEMBLE id, a Rochester-based group dedicated to expanding the boundaries of classical music by performing both old and new music in a unique and engaging manner.
GRADUATE STUDENTS
Gabrielle Eraca Cornish
Gabrielle Cornish is a PhD candidate in musicology at Eastman, where she is working on a dissertation that explores the intersections between music, technology, and everyday life in the Soviet Union from 1960 to 1991. Supported by a Cohen-Tucker Dissertation Research Fellowship from the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES), Gabrielle will travel to Russia to conduct archival research and oral history interviews from December 2017 through October 2018. She has presented her research at national and international conferences, including the ASEEES annual convention, the International Symposium on Prokofiev and the Russian Tradition, and the Biennial International Conference on Nineteenth-Century Music. At Eastman, she has been awarded the Jerald C. Graue Fellowship, the Charles Warren Fox Award, and the Glenn Watkins Traveling Fellowship.
Prior to coming to Eastman, Gabrielle completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Russian Studies and music at the University of Rochester in 2013. Following her undergraduate degree, she lived in Russia as a Fulbright Scholar. Her Russian-to-English translations have appeared or are forthcoming with the New World Symphony Orchestra and Oxford University Press.
Caroline Kathleen Nielson
A native of Dallas, TX, Caroline Nielson completed her undergraduate degree at Belmont University, graduating summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and a minor in German. She is a second-year graduate student in Voice Performance and Literature at the Eastman School of Music, where she studies with Kathryn Cowdrick.
During her time at Eastman, Caroline performed the roles of the stepsister Dorothée in Cendrillon, Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, the Abbess in Suor Angelica, and the Madre superiora in Mese Mariano. Her most recent performance was in Eastman Opera Theatre’s production of Vaughan Williams’ Riders to the Sea, in which she played Maurya. She has been a featured soloist in three Bach cantatas at Eastman in the professional group Voices, and in various recitals. While studying at Belmont, Caroline performed roles including Dido in Dido and Aeneas, Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, and Mother Marie in Dialogues of the Carmelites. In 2015, she performed in the ensemble of the Nashville Opera’s production of Pirates of Penzance.
Last summer, Caroline portrayed Nancy in Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring at Opera in the Ozarks, as well as Dorabella in a concert performance of Mozart’s Così fan tutte in Portland, Oregon. She will return to Opera in the Ozarks this summer to play Mercédès in Carmen and Mrs. McLean in Susannah.
Derek K. Remeš
Derek Remeš is pursuing doctorates in Music Theory (PhD) and Organ (DMA) at Eastman. He holds a Master of Music in Organ and a Master of Arts in Music Theory Pedagogy from Eastman, as well as a Bachelor of Music in Composition and Film Scoring from Berklee College of Music in Boston. In 2016, he received Eastman’s Performer’s Certificate. Mr. Remeš has taught theory and aural skills at Eastman for five years. He recently presented an organ lecture-recital titled “From Exercise to Composition: Henri Challan’s French Romantic Figured-Bass Pedagogy.”
Mr. Remeš’ research interests center around historical music pedagogy in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Italy, Germany, and France. As the 2017 recipient of the Presser Graduate Music Award, Mr. Remeš will undertake archival research this summer in Germany in preparation of a two-volume book on J. S. Bach’s pedagogical methods.
Mr. Remeš has presented papers at the Music Theory Society of New York State (2016, 2017), the Eastman Rochester Organ Initiative (2016), and will present papers this year at the Society for Music Theory, The European Music Analysis Conference, The Society for Seventeenth-Century Music, and Pedagogy in Practice. In summer of 2016, Mr. Remeš received a DAAD grant (German Academic Exchange Service) to study German at the Goethe Institute in Freiburg, Germany. He wrote the glossary, voice-leading guide, and chapter summaries for Steven Laitz’s theory textbook, The Complete Musician (4th ed.). Mr. Remeš won a contest to compose his class’s commencement march at Berklee.
Mr. Remeš regrets he cannot attend today’s ceremony. He is currently in Germany, participating in an academic exchange program between Eastman and Hochschule für Musik Freiburg.
Alex Edward Stephenson
Alex Stephenson is currently a second-year Master of Arts student in composition at the Eastman School of Music. His works have been performed by the Civitas Ensemble, members of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, EXAUDI Vocal Ensemble, Plus Minus Ensemble, and the Guildhall and University of Chicago New Music Ensembles, among others, and have recently been heard at the Composers Conference at Wellesley College, New Music on the Point, Wigmore Hall, and St John’s Smith Square. In the coming months, Alex’s music will be featured at the New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival and the Académie Voix Nouvelles, Royaumont. He has been a finalist in both the BMI Student Composer Awards and ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards and is the recipient of the Belle S. Gitelman Award and Bernard Rogers Memorial Prize from the Eastman School of Music.
Alex holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago and was a 2014-15 Fulbright Postgraduate Scholar in the United Kingdom, during which time he worked with Julian Anderson at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, London. At Eastman, he teaches composition lessons and electronic music and has studied with Robert Morris, Oliver Schneller, and Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon. Alex will enter the PhD program in composition at the University of California, San Diego, in fall 2017.
Joshua William Wareham
Originally from St. Paul, MN, violist Joshua Wareham is a versatile performer who is committed to making music a vibrant, positive, and indispensable presence in today’s society. With musical interests spanning a wide range of genres and styles, Joshua has performed with Eastman’s Musica Nova and OSSIA ensembles, the International Contemporary Ensemble, and the JACK Quartet. He has also performed as a soloist with the St. Olaf Orchestra, as a featured performer at the AIMS Festival in Spain, and in masterclasses at both the Banff Centre and Switzerland’s Ticino Musica Festival. As a chamber and orchestral musician, he has performed at the Domaine Forget and Madeline Island chamber music festivals, on “The Conservatory Project” series at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, as principal violist of the St. Olaf Orchestra, and in the viola sections of the Eastman Philharmonia and Aspen Music Festival orchestras.
Always eager to find new ways to engage communities with music, Joshua started the “Music for Meals” project in 2016, which combined a series of community performances with an online fundraising campaign to benefit a Minnesota nonprofit that provides meals for the terminally ill. He frequently presents accessible performances in a wide variety of venues, including grade schools, cafes, soup kitchens, and senior communities, and is also a committed private teacher.
Joshua holds a Bachelor of Music degree from St. Olaf College, and will graduate this spring with a Master of Music degree from Eastman, where he has studied with Carol Rodland. This summer he will perform at the Bang on a Can Festival at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, and also at the Lucerne Festival Academy in Switzerland before moving to Boston to pursue freelance work. When not focusing on music, he enjoys running, reading, and exploring environmentally-sustainable living.
Edith Widayani
Hailed as one of the most promising young pianists in her home country of Indonesia, Edith Widayani has performed throughout United States, Europe and Asia in solo, chamber music and on radio. Edith has recently won 1st prize and Best Instrumentalist Award at the Concurso de Música Cámara Ecoparque Trasmiera in Arnuero, Spain, as a part of Eastman Duo in April 2017, and 1st prize winner in the 2014 Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Piano Competition in New York City. Claiming 1st prize winner of Ananda Sukarlan Award for Best Indonesian Pianist 2010 and 1st prize winner of 2013 Jakarta International Open Piano Competition, she has also received an Award of Achievement in International Forum from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Indonesia.
As an in-demand young pedagogue, Edith has taught intensively, serving as teaching assistant to Professor Barry Snyder for piano, instructor for keyboard literature class, and also teaching assistant in the Musicology Department. Beyond that, she has also been invited as a guest artist to Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, TX, in 2016 and in 2013 to Bogota International Piano Festival in Colombia, where she performed recitals and gave public and private masterclasses.
An avid chamber musician, Edith was invited as a guest artist on the 6th Asia Region Suzuki Conference in Bali (2016). As a collaborative artist in Eastman School of Music, Edith was given the Award of Excellence in Accompanying two years in a row. She was also featured at the Eastman Virtuosi Concert Series, performing with Professors Jan Opalach (bass-baritone), Federico Agostini (violin), and James VanDemark (double bass).
Edith holds a Bachelor of Music from Texas Christian University School of Music, a Master of Music from the Eastman School of Music in Performance and Literature, and is currently pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Performance and Literature with a double minor in Chamber Music and Music Theory, under the guidance of Professor Barry Snyder.
Shichao Zhang
Originally from China, Shichao Zhang received his early training in Beijing, where he studied with Professor Yafen Zhu. He came to the United States in 2007 to study at the Eastman School of Music. He has won numerous prizes in competitions, including the Hong Kong (Asia) Piano Open Competition, the Eastman School of Music Concerto Competition, the New York MTNA Steinway Young Artist Competition, the 2011 Jefferson Symphony International Young Artists Competition, the Iowa International Piano Competition, and the Eastman Young Artists International Piano Competition.
Zhang has performed solo recitals, chamber music concerts, and concerto performances at the China National Centre for the Performing Arts; the Forbidden City Concert Hall; the National Library of China Concert Hall; the Eppley Auditorium and Orpheum Theatre in Sioux City, IA; and the Rialto Center for the Arts in Atlanta. In New York, he has performed frequently at Eastman Theatre and Kilbourn Hall, as well as the Geneva Smith Center for the Arts, the DiMenna Center for Classical Music (NYC), and on WXXI 91.5 radio. He has debuted compositions of contemporary Chinese composers, such as Huguang Xin and Jin Xue. In July 2013 and 2014, he was invited to judge and perform in the 3rd Macau-Asia Pacific Youth Piano Competition and the 18th Hong Kong (Asia) Piano Open Competition.
Zhang is currently pursuing the Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance and Literature with a minor in Chamber Music and Accompanying at the Eastman School of Music, where he studies with Professor Douglas Humpherys and Professor Jean Barr. He is the Studio Teaching Assistant of both Professor Douglas Humpherys and Professor Vincent Lenti. Zhang is also a winner of the 2013-2014 Eastman Teaching Assistant Prize. At Eastman, he received his Bachelor’s degree in Applied Music (Piano) with the highest distinction along with the Anne T. Cummins Prize in Humanities in 2012 (GPA 4.0), and the Master’s degree in Piano Performance and Literature in 2014.
Zhang has performed in masterclasses and been coached by prestigious musicians such as Alan Chow, Alan Harris, Lang Lang, Choi Sown Le, Mikhail Kopelman, Robert McDonald, Russell Miller, Logan Skelton, Nelita True, Zhong Xu, and Guangren Zhou.
FACULTY
Ellen Koskoff
Ellen Koskoff is a professor of ethnomusicology at the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music and director of the ethnomusicology programs. Her writings on Jewish music, gender and music, and music cognition are widely published. Dr. Koskoff’s work includes Women and Music in Cross-Cultural Perspective (1987), and Music in Lubavitcher Life (2000), winner of the 2002 ASCAP Deems-Taylor Award for best publication in music history. Her most recent book, A Feminist Ethnomusicology, (University of Illinois Press, 2014) examines a life of research on music and gender.
Professor Koskoff is a contributor to the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians; is the general editor of the Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, vol. 3, “The United States and Canada;” and the series editor of the University of Rochester Press’s Eastman/Rochester Studies in Ethnomusicology. She is a former President of the Society for Ethnomusicology and is currently serving as the editor of the Society’s journal, Ethnomusicology.
Professor Koskoff will retire from the Eastman School of Music this year after 37 years on the faculty.