George Li, Featured Artist
Praised by The Washington Post for combining “staggering technical prowess, a sense of command, and depth of expression,” pianist George Li possesses brilliant virtuosity and effortless grace far beyond his years. Since winning the Silver Medal at the 2015 International Tchaikovsky Competition and being named the recipient of the 2016 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Li has rapidly established a major international reputation as he performs regularly with some of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, such as Gustavo Dudamel, James Gaffigan, Valery Gergiev, Gustavo Gimeno, Manfred Honeck, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Kirill Petrenko, David Robertson, Leonard Slatkin, Yuri Temirkanov, Vladimir Spivakov, Michael Tilson Thomas, Long Yu, and Xian Zhang.
Highlights of the 2021–22 season include orchestral engagements with the Nashville, San Diego, New World, North Carolina, Pacific, and Valencia Symphonies, as well as the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia. In addition, Mr. Li will perform recitals presented by the Chicago Symphony, University of Washington in Seattle, The Cliburn Foundation in Ft. Worth, Emory University in Atlanta, and StuttgartKonzert in Germany.
Recent concerto highlights include performances with the Los Angeles, New York, London, Rotterdam, Oslo, St. Petersburg, and Buffalo Philharmonics; the San Francisco, Tokyo, Frankfurt Radio, Sydney, Montreal, Baltimore, Utah, and Pittsburgh Symphonies; as well as the Philharmonia, DSO Berlin, and Orchestra National de Lyon. His eight-concert tour of Germany with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra included performances at the Berlin Philharmonie, Philharmonie am Gasteig Munich, and the Stuttgart Liederhalle. Mr. Li frequently appears with Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra, including performances at the Paris Philharmonie, Luxembourg Philharmonie, New York’s Brooklyn Academy of Music, Verbier Festival, Grafenegg Festival, and in various venues, such as the Mariinsky Concert Hall, and others throughout Russia. Li has also performed with major Chinese orchestras, such as the NCPA, China Philharmonia, and Shanghai and Guangzhou Symphony Orchestras, under the baton of Long Yu and Xian Zhang.
In recital, Li performs at venues including Carnegie Hall, Davies Hall in San Francisco, the Mariinsky Theatre, Elbphilharmonie, Munich’s Gasteig, the Louvre, Seoul Arts Center, Tokyo’s Asahi Hall and Musashino Hall, NCPA Beijing, Shanghai Poly Theater, and Amici della Musica Firenze, as well as appearances at major festivals including the Edinburgh International Festival, Verbier Festival, Ravinia Festival, Vail Festival, Seattle Music Festival, La Jolla Festival, Festival de Pâques in Aix-en-Provence Festival, Colmar Festival, and Montreux Festival.
An active chamber musician, Li has performed alongside Benjamin Beilman, Noah Bendix-Balgley, James Ehnes, Daniel Hope, Pinchas Zukerman, Amanda Forsythe, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Kian Soltani, Pablo Ferrandez, and Daniel Lozakovich.
George Li gave his first public performance at Boston’s Steinert Hall at the age of 10. In 2011, he performed for President Obama at the White House in an evening honoring German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Among George Li’s many prizes and awards, he was the First Prize winner of the 2010 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, the inaugural Thomas and Evon Cooper International Competition, and the Grand Prix Animato, as well as a recipient of the 2012 Gilmore Young Artist Award and the 2018 Arthur Waser Prize.
George is an exclusive Warner Classics recording artist. His debut album, “Live at Mariinsky,” which was recorded live at the Mariinsky Concert Hall, won an Opus Klassik award for Soloist Recording of the Year in 2018. His second recording for the label features Liszt solo works and Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, which was recorded live with Vasily Petrenko and the London Philharmonic, and released in October 2019.
George began his piano studies at age 4 with Dorothy Shi, before continuing with Wha Kyung Byun at New England Conservatory beginning at age 12. In 2019, he completed the Harvard/New England Conservatory dual degree program, with a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature and a Master’s degree in Music. He is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma at the New England Conservatory. When not playing piano, George is an avid reader and photographer, as well as a sports fanatic.
Highlights of the 2021–22 season include orchestral engagements with the Nashville, San Diego, New World, North Carolina, Pacific, and Valencia Symphonies, as well as the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia. In addition, Mr. Li will perform recitals presented by the Chicago Symphony, University of Washington in Seattle, The Cliburn Foundation in Ft. Worth, Emory University in Atlanta, and StuttgartKonzert in Germany.
Recent concerto highlights include performances with the Los Angeles, New York, London, Rotterdam, Oslo, St. Petersburg, and Buffalo Philharmonics; the San Francisco, Tokyo, Frankfurt Radio, Sydney, Montreal, Baltimore, Utah, and Pittsburgh Symphonies; as well as the Philharmonia, DSO Berlin, and Orchestra National de Lyon. His eight-concert tour of Germany with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra included performances at the Berlin Philharmonie, Philharmonie am Gasteig Munich, and the Stuttgart Liederhalle. Mr. Li frequently appears with Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra, including performances at the Paris Philharmonie, Luxembourg Philharmonie, New York’s Brooklyn Academy of Music, Verbier Festival, Grafenegg Festival, and in various venues, such as the Mariinsky Concert Hall, and others throughout Russia. Li has also performed with major Chinese orchestras, such as the NCPA, China Philharmonia, and Shanghai and Guangzhou Symphony Orchestras, under the baton of Long Yu and Xian Zhang.
In recital, Li performs at venues including Carnegie Hall, Davies Hall in San Francisco, the Mariinsky Theatre, Elbphilharmonie, Munich’s Gasteig, the Louvre, Seoul Arts Center, Tokyo’s Asahi Hall and Musashino Hall, NCPA Beijing, Shanghai Poly Theater, and Amici della Musica Firenze, as well as appearances at major festivals including the Edinburgh International Festival, Verbier Festival, Ravinia Festival, Vail Festival, Seattle Music Festival, La Jolla Festival, Festival de Pâques in Aix-en-Provence Festival, Colmar Festival, and Montreux Festival.
An active chamber musician, Li has performed alongside Benjamin Beilman, Noah Bendix-Balgley, James Ehnes, Daniel Hope, Pinchas Zukerman, Amanda Forsythe, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Kian Soltani, Pablo Ferrandez, and Daniel Lozakovich.
George Li gave his first public performance at Boston’s Steinert Hall at the age of 10. In 2011, he performed for President Obama at the White House in an evening honoring German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Among George Li’s many prizes and awards, he was the First Prize winner of the 2010 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, the inaugural Thomas and Evon Cooper International Competition, and the Grand Prix Animato, as well as a recipient of the 2012 Gilmore Young Artist Award and the 2018 Arthur Waser Prize.
George is an exclusive Warner Classics recording artist. His debut album, “Live at Mariinsky,” which was recorded live at the Mariinsky Concert Hall, won an Opus Klassik award for Soloist Recording of the Year in 2018. His second recording for the label features Liszt solo works and Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, which was recorded live with Vasily Petrenko and the London Philharmonic, and released in October 2019.
George began his piano studies at age 4 with Dorothy Shi, before continuing with Wha Kyung Byun at New England Conservatory beginning at age 12. In 2019, he completed the Harvard/New England Conservatory dual degree program, with a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature and a Master’s degree in Music. He is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma at the New England Conservatory. When not playing piano, George is an avid reader and photographer, as well as a sports fanatic.
Nancy O'Neill Breth, Clinician
Nancy O’Neill Breth teaches piano and chamber music to students of all ages in the Washington DC metro area.
For 25 years Nancy taught piano, chamber music, and piano pedagogy at Washington DC’s Levine School of Music, and chaired Levine’s chamber music program. She was founder and pianist of chamber ensembles that performed to critical acclaim. The Mexico City News wrote that her group Camerata de Mexico “offers the best chamber music in Mexico.” The Washington Post praised her “superb musicianship” and called her Music Connection concert series in Washington DC “brilliant” and “imaginative.”
Nancy’s students have been winners or finalists in local, national and international piano and chamber music competitions. Several of her students appeared on National Public Radio’s “From the Top;” three different duet teams from her studio captured the first prize at MTNA’s nation-wide duet competition.
Nancy values her work with teachers, and frequently serves as speaker, adjudicator and clinician at teachers’ conferences throughout the country. 2022 marks her sixth presentation at Music Teachers National Association’s annual conference.
Nancy’s performance degrees are from Indiana University and the University of Wisconsin. At Indiana, she studied piano with Bela Boszormenyi-Nagy and Gyorgy Sebok, and chamber music with Sebok, Joseph Gingold, and Janos Starker. At Wisconsin, she studied piano with Carroll Chilton and chamber music with Rudolf Kolisch.
Breth publications include Practicing the Piano; The Piano Student's Guide to Effective Practicing; and Parent’s Guide to Effective Practicing, plus a set of piano trios for beginners, Six Songs from John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera. All are published by Hal Leonard Corp. Articles written by Nancy have appeared in Clavier, American Music Teacher and Clavier Explorer.
Nancy’s YouTube channel Effective Practicing contains short videos in which she demonstrates some favorite tips from her publications.
To promote the performance of 20th and 21st century music, Nancy created Modern Piano Music List. This unique resource for teachers and students of all levels provides one-click links to video performances, as well as to purchase details, of some 200 stunning piano pieces from the modern era.
Details of the life she enjoys as a professional musician may be found at brethstudio.net.
For 25 years Nancy taught piano, chamber music, and piano pedagogy at Washington DC’s Levine School of Music, and chaired Levine’s chamber music program. She was founder and pianist of chamber ensembles that performed to critical acclaim. The Mexico City News wrote that her group Camerata de Mexico “offers the best chamber music in Mexico.” The Washington Post praised her “superb musicianship” and called her Music Connection concert series in Washington DC “brilliant” and “imaginative.”
Nancy’s students have been winners or finalists in local, national and international piano and chamber music competitions. Several of her students appeared on National Public Radio’s “From the Top;” three different duet teams from her studio captured the first prize at MTNA’s nation-wide duet competition.
Nancy values her work with teachers, and frequently serves as speaker, adjudicator and clinician at teachers’ conferences throughout the country. 2022 marks her sixth presentation at Music Teachers National Association’s annual conference.
Nancy’s performance degrees are from Indiana University and the University of Wisconsin. At Indiana, she studied piano with Bela Boszormenyi-Nagy and Gyorgy Sebok, and chamber music with Sebok, Joseph Gingold, and Janos Starker. At Wisconsin, she studied piano with Carroll Chilton and chamber music with Rudolf Kolisch.
Breth publications include Practicing the Piano; The Piano Student's Guide to Effective Practicing; and Parent’s Guide to Effective Practicing, plus a set of piano trios for beginners, Six Songs from John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera. All are published by Hal Leonard Corp. Articles written by Nancy have appeared in Clavier, American Music Teacher and Clavier Explorer.
Nancy’s YouTube channel Effective Practicing contains short videos in which she demonstrates some favorite tips from her publications.
To promote the performance of 20th and 21st century music, Nancy created Modern Piano Music List. This unique resource for teachers and students of all levels provides one-click links to video performances, as well as to purchase details, of some 200 stunning piano pieces from the modern era.
Details of the life she enjoys as a professional musician may be found at brethstudio.net.
Sally Cathcart, Clinician
Sally is a UK based musician who just happens to be fascinated by the piano and all things to do with piano teaching. She runs a teaching studio and teaching the piano is still her greatest joy.
In 2015 she formed a partnership with Sharon Mark-Teggart and founded The Curious Piano Teachers. www.thecuriouspianoteachers.org . It is an online professional development membership that provides an innovative and inspiring space for piano teachers across the world to meet, share, learn and grow. Since its formation The Curious Piano Teachers has attracted a world-wide reputation for innovation and collaboration.
Her innate curiosity has taken her to many corners of the world to explore different approaches to music education. She was awarded a Winston Churchill Fellowship in 2005 and this allowed her to visit South Africa, Hungary and Cuba and study the aural approaches to instrumental learning that can be found there. She returned with a greater understanding of the value of collaboration and community. As a direct result Sally founded the Oxford Piano Group, www.theoxfordpianogroup.org.uk as a vibrant, collaborative place for pianists and teachers to meet, discuss and share experiences.
In 2013 she was awarded a Ph.D from the Institute of Education, University College London. Her topic was the first comprehensive study of UK piano teachers, exploring common practices, expertise, values, attitudes and motivation to teaching.
Sally is very involved in teacher training for both piano teachers and classroom teachers. She has been a Principal Tutor on the Piano Teachers’ Course (UK) since 2001 and in this role she both gives lectures and acts as a tutor. In addition Sally works as a piano syllabus consultant for ABRSM, one the UK’s examination providers
Sally is a trained Kodály practitioner and has a reputation for delivering energetic and insightful training and courses. She currently acts Musicianship Director for The Voices Foundation www.voices.org.uk.
She has written a series of musicianship books for young pianists, ‘ready to play’, and books 1 & 2 were published in 2020 by Alfred UK. Book 3 is due to be published in summer 2022. In collaboration with Dr Christopher Fisher, Sally is currently working as co-editor of the Oxford Handbook of Piano Pedagogy.
In 2015 she formed a partnership with Sharon Mark-Teggart and founded The Curious Piano Teachers. www.thecuriouspianoteachers.org . It is an online professional development membership that provides an innovative and inspiring space for piano teachers across the world to meet, share, learn and grow. Since its formation The Curious Piano Teachers has attracted a world-wide reputation for innovation and collaboration.
Her innate curiosity has taken her to many corners of the world to explore different approaches to music education. She was awarded a Winston Churchill Fellowship in 2005 and this allowed her to visit South Africa, Hungary and Cuba and study the aural approaches to instrumental learning that can be found there. She returned with a greater understanding of the value of collaboration and community. As a direct result Sally founded the Oxford Piano Group, www.theoxfordpianogroup.org.uk as a vibrant, collaborative place for pianists and teachers to meet, discuss and share experiences.
In 2013 she was awarded a Ph.D from the Institute of Education, University College London. Her topic was the first comprehensive study of UK piano teachers, exploring common practices, expertise, values, attitudes and motivation to teaching.
Sally is very involved in teacher training for both piano teachers and classroom teachers. She has been a Principal Tutor on the Piano Teachers’ Course (UK) since 2001 and in this role she both gives lectures and acts as a tutor. In addition Sally works as a piano syllabus consultant for ABRSM, one the UK’s examination providers
Sally is a trained Kodály practitioner and has a reputation for delivering energetic and insightful training and courses. She currently acts Musicianship Director for The Voices Foundation www.voices.org.uk.
She has written a series of musicianship books for young pianists, ‘ready to play’, and books 1 & 2 were published in 2020 by Alfred UK. Book 3 is due to be published in summer 2022. In collaboration with Dr Christopher Fisher, Sally is currently working as co-editor of the Oxford Handbook of Piano Pedagogy.
Julie Knerr Hague, Clinician
Dr. Julie Knerr Hague teaches piano at her home studio in Windsor, Connecticut.
Julie taught applied piano, piano pedagogy, and group piano as a faculty member at the University of Missouri, Oklahoma City University, Ohio University, and the Hartt Community Division.
She holds a PhD in Music Education with an Emphasis in Piano Pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma, where her dissertation on elementary level piano technique was nominated for the Best PhD Dissertation Award in 2006. Additional degrees include MM degrees in Piano Performance and Piano Pedagogy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where Dr. Knerr studied piano and harpsichord; and a BM in Piano Performance from the University of Puget Sound. Her mentors in Piano Pedagogy include Jane Magrath, Barbara Fast, Christos Tsitsaros, and Reid Alexander.
As an accomplished collaborative pianist, Julie enjoys performing with both instrumentalists and singers. Her former piano teachers include Duane Hulbert, James Barbagallo, William Heiles, Timothy Ehlen, and Edward Gates.
Julie is a frequent lecturer and adjudicator at festivals throughout the United States. Her current research interests include elementary level piano technique, lesson known pre-college piano repertoire, and group piano pedagogy.
Julie is the coauthor, with Katherine Fisher, of the Piano Safari Method, an innovative curriculum for beginning pianists.
Julie taught applied piano, piano pedagogy, and group piano as a faculty member at the University of Missouri, Oklahoma City University, Ohio University, and the Hartt Community Division.
She holds a PhD in Music Education with an Emphasis in Piano Pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma, where her dissertation on elementary level piano technique was nominated for the Best PhD Dissertation Award in 2006. Additional degrees include MM degrees in Piano Performance and Piano Pedagogy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where Dr. Knerr studied piano and harpsichord; and a BM in Piano Performance from the University of Puget Sound. Her mentors in Piano Pedagogy include Jane Magrath, Barbara Fast, Christos Tsitsaros, and Reid Alexander.
As an accomplished collaborative pianist, Julie enjoys performing with both instrumentalists and singers. Her former piano teachers include Duane Hulbert, James Barbagallo, William Heiles, Timothy Ehlen, and Edward Gates.
Julie is a frequent lecturer and adjudicator at festivals throughout the United States. Her current research interests include elementary level piano technique, lesson known pre-college piano repertoire, and group piano pedagogy.
Julie is the coauthor, with Katherine Fisher, of the Piano Safari Method, an innovative curriculum for beginning pianists.
Andrew Higgins, Clinician
Andrew Higgins was born in England and after studying Piano at the London College of Music and graduating from the University of Surrey specialising in Composition and Performance with Musicology, he spent 15 formative years touring the world as a session musician and music producer in the ‘not so swinging eighties’.
During the 1990’s he decided to devote more time to composition and to the teaching of music history, theory and composition as well as the piano. Several of his piano pupils have since gone on to study at specialised Music Schools or at University level and one is now a concert pianist in his own right.
Andrew joined Alfred Publishing in 1996, which coincided with his discovery of the pedagogical insights of the late Dr Amanda Vick-Lethco in the now classic Alfred’s Basic Piano Library. Her all-encompassing holistic approach focussing on the ‘pianist as musician’, inspired him to develop Dr Lethco’s ideas still further by incorporating improvising and memorising techniques into ABPL’s teaching philosophy. So much so, that when Dr Lethco attended one of his seminars, she confessed to having no idea that her books could be used in such a creative way!
Since 2020 Andrew has worked as a freelance teacher, composer, writer and consultant. He continues to work with teachers on developing best practise strategies for creative teaching. In 2020 he was asked by the Royal Irish Academy of Music to develop the Academy Piano Course for their junior students. Many teachers have remarked on the freedom and flexibility in his approach to music, and, while Andrew considers improvisation and composition an intrinsic aspect of making music in the 21st century, this is always underpinned by a clear emphasis on sound technique and musicality.
As a composer/songwriter Andrew continues to add to a growing roster of pieces and songs. The Three Celtic Legends published by Alfred Publishing are evocative tone pictures for the piano reflecting English Coastal Landscapes and two collections of piano pieces Seasons and Birds were published by EVC Publications. His songs, something of a guilty pleasure, appear under The QuietLife Project soubriquet and range widely from accessible popular styles to more complex progressive tracks.
During the 1990’s he decided to devote more time to composition and to the teaching of music history, theory and composition as well as the piano. Several of his piano pupils have since gone on to study at specialised Music Schools or at University level and one is now a concert pianist in his own right.
Andrew joined Alfred Publishing in 1996, which coincided with his discovery of the pedagogical insights of the late Dr Amanda Vick-Lethco in the now classic Alfred’s Basic Piano Library. Her all-encompassing holistic approach focussing on the ‘pianist as musician’, inspired him to develop Dr Lethco’s ideas still further by incorporating improvising and memorising techniques into ABPL’s teaching philosophy. So much so, that when Dr Lethco attended one of his seminars, she confessed to having no idea that her books could be used in such a creative way!
Since 2020 Andrew has worked as a freelance teacher, composer, writer and consultant. He continues to work with teachers on developing best practise strategies for creative teaching. In 2020 he was asked by the Royal Irish Academy of Music to develop the Academy Piano Course for their junior students. Many teachers have remarked on the freedom and flexibility in his approach to music, and, while Andrew considers improvisation and composition an intrinsic aspect of making music in the 21st century, this is always underpinned by a clear emphasis on sound technique and musicality.
As a composer/songwriter Andrew continues to add to a growing roster of pieces and songs. The Three Celtic Legends published by Alfred Publishing are evocative tone pictures for the piano reflecting English Coastal Landscapes and two collections of piano pieces Seasons and Birds were published by EVC Publications. His songs, something of a guilty pleasure, appear under The QuietLife Project soubriquet and range widely from accessible popular styles to more complex progressive tracks.
Ching-chu Hu, OhioMTA Commissioned Composer of the Year
Born in Iowa City, Iowa, Ching-chu Hu studied at Yale University, Freiburg Musikhochschule in Freiburg, Germany, The University of Iowa, and the University of Michigan, where he earned his Doctorate of Musical Arts in Composition. His composition teachers included William Bolcom, William Albright, Michael Daugherty, Leslie Bassett, Bright Sheng, Evan Chambers, David Gompper and Richard Hervig. His conducting teachers included Alastair Neale, David Stern, and James Dixon. He also studied piano with Donald Currier, Stéphane Lemelin, and Logan Skelton and bass with Diana Gannett and Eldon Oberecht.
Honors have included composer-in-residence at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival, and guest composer at the American Music Week Festival in Sofia, Bulgaria. He has been a composition fellow at the Aspen and Bowdoin Music Festivals, Yaddo, The MacDowell Colony, and the Banff Centre for the Arts. He has received performances in various national and international festivals and concerts, including the Alternativa Festival (Center “DOM”) in Moscow and Wigmore Hall in London, England. He wrote the score for The Life and Times of Jimmy B., which was awarded a Directors Guild of America’s East Coast Filmmaker Award. He was the first recipient of the Bayley-Bowen Fellowship, Denison University’s first endowed fellowship for a junior faculty member.
Recent commissions include works for the Granville (Ohio) Bicentennial Committee, the University of Iowa School of Music’s Centennial celebration, the Greater Columbus Community Orchestra, the Newark Granville Symphony Orchestra, the Columbus Children’s Choir and the Chamber Music Connection and the Western Springs School of Talent Education. Recent commissions include works for the Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival, the Granville (Ohio) Bicentennial Committee, the University of Iowa School of Music’s Centennial celebration, the Greater Columbus Community Orchestra, the Newark Granville Symphony Orchestra, the Columbus Children’s Choir and the Chamber Music Connection, string duo Low and Lower, Western Springs Suzuki Talent Education Program’s 30thAnniversary Concert in Chicago Symphony Center’s Orchestra Hall as well as Newark Granville Youth Symphony’s John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts performance. Other premieres include commissioned work for marimbist Mayumi Hama and pianist Minju Choi.
Ensembles performing his work include the Kiev Philharmonic, the National Dance and Opera Orchestra of China, the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, the Columbus Symphony Youth Orchestra, Moscow Conservatory’s Studio New Music Ensemble, Brave New Works New Music Ensemble, the Brooklyn Rider String Quartet, Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, the University of Iowa Center for New Music. Solo artists include violinists Wolfgang David, Scott Conklin and Gabe Bolkosky, flutists Betty Bang Mather and Tamara Thweatt, bassists Robert Black and Anthony Stoops, soprano Jennifer Goltz, erhu artist Guo Gan, percussionist Chris Froh, saxophonist Chris Beaty, and conductors Donald Portnoy, Peter Stafford Wilson, and Chris Younghoon Kim.
Reviews have described his music as “breathtaking,”(allmusic) “richly textured” (Charleston Post and Currier), and “incredible” (The Columbus Dispatch). The Strad Magazine writes of his “tender luminous harmonies,” and the American Record Guide describes his music as “meditative and solemn…the best work [on the CD Violinguistics].”
His music can be heard on the ERM Media’s “Masterworks of the New Era” CD series (vol. 4), Albany Records CD “Finnegan’s Wake” (Troy 680), “Star of the County Down” (Troy 937), “Spirals: American Music in Moscow” (Troy 1095), “Vive Concertante” (Troy 1110-11), “Violinguistics” (Troy 1138), “Insights: New Music for Double Bass” (Troy 1457), and Capstone Records’ “Journeys” (CPS-8809).
Ching-chu Hu is Professor of Composition and Theory and was recently named the Richard Lucier Endowed Professor.
Honors have included composer-in-residence at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival, and guest composer at the American Music Week Festival in Sofia, Bulgaria. He has been a composition fellow at the Aspen and Bowdoin Music Festivals, Yaddo, The MacDowell Colony, and the Banff Centre for the Arts. He has received performances in various national and international festivals and concerts, including the Alternativa Festival (Center “DOM”) in Moscow and Wigmore Hall in London, England. He wrote the score for The Life and Times of Jimmy B., which was awarded a Directors Guild of America’s East Coast Filmmaker Award. He was the first recipient of the Bayley-Bowen Fellowship, Denison University’s first endowed fellowship for a junior faculty member.
Recent commissions include works for the Granville (Ohio) Bicentennial Committee, the University of Iowa School of Music’s Centennial celebration, the Greater Columbus Community Orchestra, the Newark Granville Symphony Orchestra, the Columbus Children’s Choir and the Chamber Music Connection and the Western Springs School of Talent Education. Recent commissions include works for the Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival, the Granville (Ohio) Bicentennial Committee, the University of Iowa School of Music’s Centennial celebration, the Greater Columbus Community Orchestra, the Newark Granville Symphony Orchestra, the Columbus Children’s Choir and the Chamber Music Connection, string duo Low and Lower, Western Springs Suzuki Talent Education Program’s 30thAnniversary Concert in Chicago Symphony Center’s Orchestra Hall as well as Newark Granville Youth Symphony’s John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts performance. Other premieres include commissioned work for marimbist Mayumi Hama and pianist Minju Choi.
Ensembles performing his work include the Kiev Philharmonic, the National Dance and Opera Orchestra of China, the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, the Columbus Symphony Youth Orchestra, Moscow Conservatory’s Studio New Music Ensemble, Brave New Works New Music Ensemble, the Brooklyn Rider String Quartet, Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, the University of Iowa Center for New Music. Solo artists include violinists Wolfgang David, Scott Conklin and Gabe Bolkosky, flutists Betty Bang Mather and Tamara Thweatt, bassists Robert Black and Anthony Stoops, soprano Jennifer Goltz, erhu artist Guo Gan, percussionist Chris Froh, saxophonist Chris Beaty, and conductors Donald Portnoy, Peter Stafford Wilson, and Chris Younghoon Kim.
Reviews have described his music as “breathtaking,”(allmusic) “richly textured” (Charleston Post and Currier), and “incredible” (The Columbus Dispatch). The Strad Magazine writes of his “tender luminous harmonies,” and the American Record Guide describes his music as “meditative and solemn…the best work [on the CD Violinguistics].”
His music can be heard on the ERM Media’s “Masterworks of the New Era” CD series (vol. 4), Albany Records CD “Finnegan’s Wake” (Troy 680), “Star of the County Down” (Troy 937), “Spirals: American Music in Moscow” (Troy 1095), “Vive Concertante” (Troy 1110-11), “Violinguistics” (Troy 1138), “Insights: New Music for Double Bass” (Troy 1457), and Capstone Records’ “Journeys” (CPS-8809).
Ching-chu Hu is Professor of Composition and Theory and was recently named the Richard Lucier Endowed Professor.
Artina McCain, Clinician
Described as a pianist with “power and finesse” (Dallas Arts Society), “beautiful and fiery” (KMFA Austin) and having a “sense of color, balance and texture” (Austin Chamber Music Center) Artina McCain, has a built a three-fold career as a performer, educator and speaker.
Recent performance highlights include guest appearances with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Oregon East Symphony, and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. As a recitalist, her credits include performances at the Mahidol University in Bangkok, Hatch Recital Hall in Rochester, Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens in Jacksonville, FL and the Desoto Arts Commission in Desoto, TX. In 2022 she will make her debut at Wigmore Hall in a concert of works by African composers.
McCain's performances have been heard on radio CKWR Toronto, KMFA Classical Austin, and Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK). Television appearances include features on CSPAN for the MLK 50 Commemoration. McCain is a three-time Global Music Awards winner for the album “I, Too” (Naxos), a collaboration with soprano Icy Monroe, focused on African American Spirituals and Art Songs.
Dedicated to promoting the works of Black and other underrepresented composers, McCain curates Black Composers Concerts for multiple arts organizations and is an American Prize winner for her solo piano recordings of these works. She has toured the works of Black Female Composers with award-winning artists Gwendolyn Alfred, soprano and James Rodriguez, baritone. She has also won performance awards for curating the Austin Chamber Music Centers’ Black Composers Concert from the Austin Critics Table. In 2021, Hal Leonard will publish her transcriptions of African American Folk Songs.
McCain was a featured inspirational leader in the award-winning PBS documentary series Roadtrip Nation: Degree of Impact in an episode exploring the real-world impact of professionals with doctoral degrees in and outside of academia. After years of battling a performance injury and now enjoying 10 years of full recovery, McCain is an advocate for musicians’ wellness. Her article on performance injury and Muscle Activation Techniques was published in Clavier Companion and she is a regular contributor for the Piano Magazine. To help other musicians, she hosts an annual Musicians Wellness Forum in Austin, TX which explores the benefits and options for alternative care. McCain has presented on these topics and others at the Music Teachers National Association Conference and the National
Conference of Keyboard Pedagogy. McCain has performed and served on the faculty of numerous summer festivals including the Austin Chamber Music Festival, the Illinois Summer Youth Music, the Gateways Music Festival in Rochester, NY, and the Walled City Music International Piano Festival and Competition in Ireland. McCain graduated cum laude from Southern Methodist University. She received her Master of Music from Cleveland Institute of Music and holds a doctoral degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Currently, she is Assistant Professor of Piano and Coordinator of Keyboard Studies at the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music at the University of Memphis and Co-Founder/Director of the Memphis International Piano Festival and Competition. Artina McCain is a Yamaha Artist.
Recent performance highlights include guest appearances with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Oregon East Symphony, and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. As a recitalist, her credits include performances at the Mahidol University in Bangkok, Hatch Recital Hall in Rochester, Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens in Jacksonville, FL and the Desoto Arts Commission in Desoto, TX. In 2022 she will make her debut at Wigmore Hall in a concert of works by African composers.
McCain's performances have been heard on radio CKWR Toronto, KMFA Classical Austin, and Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK). Television appearances include features on CSPAN for the MLK 50 Commemoration. McCain is a three-time Global Music Awards winner for the album “I, Too” (Naxos), a collaboration with soprano Icy Monroe, focused on African American Spirituals and Art Songs.
Dedicated to promoting the works of Black and other underrepresented composers, McCain curates Black Composers Concerts for multiple arts organizations and is an American Prize winner for her solo piano recordings of these works. She has toured the works of Black Female Composers with award-winning artists Gwendolyn Alfred, soprano and James Rodriguez, baritone. She has also won performance awards for curating the Austin Chamber Music Centers’ Black Composers Concert from the Austin Critics Table. In 2021, Hal Leonard will publish her transcriptions of African American Folk Songs.
McCain was a featured inspirational leader in the award-winning PBS documentary series Roadtrip Nation: Degree of Impact in an episode exploring the real-world impact of professionals with doctoral degrees in and outside of academia. After years of battling a performance injury and now enjoying 10 years of full recovery, McCain is an advocate for musicians’ wellness. Her article on performance injury and Muscle Activation Techniques was published in Clavier Companion and she is a regular contributor for the Piano Magazine. To help other musicians, she hosts an annual Musicians Wellness Forum in Austin, TX which explores the benefits and options for alternative care. McCain has presented on these topics and others at the Music Teachers National Association Conference and the National
Conference of Keyboard Pedagogy. McCain has performed and served on the faculty of numerous summer festivals including the Austin Chamber Music Festival, the Illinois Summer Youth Music, the Gateways Music Festival in Rochester, NY, and the Walled City Music International Piano Festival and Competition in Ireland. McCain graduated cum laude from Southern Methodist University. She received her Master of Music from Cleveland Institute of Music and holds a doctoral degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Currently, she is Assistant Professor of Piano and Coordinator of Keyboard Studies at the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music at the University of Memphis and Co-Founder/Director of the Memphis International Piano Festival and Competition. Artina McCain is a Yamaha Artist.
Emely Phelps, Clinician
Recently appointed Artist-Teacher of Piano at Ohio University, pianist Emely Phelps enjoys a multifaceted career as a soloist, chamber musician and teacher. Praised by the Boston Globe for her “fleet, energetic, and bright-toned” playing, Emely made her solo orchestral debut with the National Symphony Orchestra as the grand prizewinner of their Young Soloists Competition, and has since been a featured soloist with the Las Colinas Symphony Orchestra, Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic, Little River Symphony, McLean Symphony, and the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra. She has presented solo recitals throughout North America and Europe, with annual appearances in New York and Boston beginning in 2016, and additional highlights including recitals at Slot Schagen and Muiderslot in the Netherlands, Strathmore Hall’s Music in the Mansion Series, Banff Centre for the Arts, the Alden Theater, Meredith College, and Glen Eyrie.
From 2008-2016, Emely was the pianist of Trio Cleonice, with whom she performed in more than 15 states, toured Europe - including a recital at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam - and won second prize at the Schoenfeld International String Competition in Harbin, China. The group also served as the Graduate Piano Trio-in-Residence at New England Conservatory from 2011-2014, actively highlighted piano trios of the 20thand 21st centuries - including a trio written for the group by Richard Wernick, and for 2 ½ years curated a monthly chamber music series, Trio Cleonice and Friends, in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Besides her work with Trio Cleonice, Emely has also appeared as a guest artist with the Borromeo String Quartet and has attended numerous chamber music festivals, including five summers at Yellow Barn, three summers at Kneisel Hall, and two summers at Banff, as well as the International Holland Music Sessions and Four Seasons Winter Workshop. She currently maintains active duo partnerships with violist Jonathan Bagg and flutist Hannah Porter Occeña, and performs regularly with Electric Earth concerts.
Emely currently teaches applied piano and keyboard repertoire at Ohio University, and heads the graduate collaborative piano degree program at the school. Prior to her appointment at OU, she was the head piano TA at Stony Brook University, teaching for and managing their undergraduate piano program. Emely has also been on the faculties of both the Yellow Barn Young Artists Program and the Icicle Creek Chamber Music Festival, and will be teaching at Icicle Creek’s Young Pianists Camp this summer. She has maintained private teaching studios in New York and Boston for over a decade, was a member of the piano faculty at The Geneva Conservatory of Music in Manhattan from 2008-2010, and has coached chamber music at New England Conservatory’s Preparatory Division and Stony Brook University.
A native of Frederick, Maryland, Emely studied with Carole Kriewaldt and Marjorie Lee before receiving her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the Juilliard School as a student of Julian Martin. She also studied with Vivian Weilerstein during Trio Cleonice’s tenure at NEC, receiving a Graduate Diploma in chamber music. Emely is currently completing her doctoral studies at Stony Brook University with Christina Dahl.
From 2008-2016, Emely was the pianist of Trio Cleonice, with whom she performed in more than 15 states, toured Europe - including a recital at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam - and won second prize at the Schoenfeld International String Competition in Harbin, China. The group also served as the Graduate Piano Trio-in-Residence at New England Conservatory from 2011-2014, actively highlighted piano trios of the 20thand 21st centuries - including a trio written for the group by Richard Wernick, and for 2 ½ years curated a monthly chamber music series, Trio Cleonice and Friends, in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Besides her work with Trio Cleonice, Emely has also appeared as a guest artist with the Borromeo String Quartet and has attended numerous chamber music festivals, including five summers at Yellow Barn, three summers at Kneisel Hall, and two summers at Banff, as well as the International Holland Music Sessions and Four Seasons Winter Workshop. She currently maintains active duo partnerships with violist Jonathan Bagg and flutist Hannah Porter Occeña, and performs regularly with Electric Earth concerts.
Emely currently teaches applied piano and keyboard repertoire at Ohio University, and heads the graduate collaborative piano degree program at the school. Prior to her appointment at OU, she was the head piano TA at Stony Brook University, teaching for and managing their undergraduate piano program. Emely has also been on the faculties of both the Yellow Barn Young Artists Program and the Icicle Creek Chamber Music Festival, and will be teaching at Icicle Creek’s Young Pianists Camp this summer. She has maintained private teaching studios in New York and Boston for over a decade, was a member of the piano faculty at The Geneva Conservatory of Music in Manhattan from 2008-2010, and has coached chamber music at New England Conservatory’s Preparatory Division and Stony Brook University.
A native of Frederick, Maryland, Emely studied with Carole Kriewaldt and Marjorie Lee before receiving her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the Juilliard School as a student of Julian Martin. She also studied with Vivian Weilerstein during Trio Cleonice’s tenure at NEC, receiving a Graduate Diploma in chamber music. Emely is currently completing her doctoral studies at Stony Brook University with Christina Dahl.
Stephen Pierce, Clinician
South African born pianist, Stephen Pierce enjoys a multi-faceted career as a sought-after teacher, presenter, performer, adjudicator, and scholar. At the USC Thornton School of Music, he is Associate Professor of Practice and oversees the secondary piano and keyboard pedagogy programs and teaches applied piano, and courses in piano pedagogy, and keyboard literature. Pierce also teaches piano privately in Pasadena, CA, and at Interlochen Arts Camp, MI each summer. His students range in age from 8 to adult and have won awards for their playing at the local, state, and national levels.
Pierce holds degrees in Piano Performance from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music (CCM), and the University of Pretoria, South Africa, and two licentiates of music from the University of South Africa (UNISA). At the University of Pretoria, he graduated as the top student in the Faculty of Humanities and was honored with the Vice-Chancellor and Principal’s medal for academic excellence. At CCM, he won the award for teaching excellence for graduate teaching assistants. Pierce’s mentors include Joseph Stanford, Frank Weinstock, and Michelle Conda.
Pierce has performed in the USA, Canada, Czech Republic, and throughout South Africa, and with artists such as Carol Wincenc, and the flutists of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. During his studies in Cincinnati, Pierce performed with the CCM Philharmonia as a result of winning the CCM Piano Concerto Competition. In South Africa, he has performed with orchestras such as the Natal Philharmonic, the National Symphony, and the Chamber Orchestra of South Africa. He has won prizes and awards for his playing including second prize and two special prizes at the UNISA National Piano Competition in South Africa. He has also received awards for his teaching including the D.J. Rhoode Overseas Scholarship for Piano Pedagogy from the University of South Africa (UNISA). In addition, his performances have been broadcast on South African television and radio.
A regular speaker and clinician throughout the US and South Africa, Pierce has presented masterclasses, workshops, and lectures in South Africa and the United States. He has also given innumerable pedagogical sessions at institutions throughout the country, at conferences such as the MTNA National Conference, and the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy (NCKP), as well as for arts entities such as The Gilmore. His articles, reviews and other written contributions have appeared in journals such as American Music Teacher, Piano Pedagogy Forum, The California Music Teacher, and The South African Music Teacher, as well on the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) Online Teacher Portal and the Yamaha Educator Suite. At present, Pierceserves as editor of CAPMT Connect, the official journal of the California Association of Professional Music Teachers (CAPMT).
Pierce is also a proud member of the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) College of Examiners, an RCM Certified Teacher, and an RCM Academic Ambassador. At USC, he helped co-found the Musician’s Wellness committee, is the co-faculty advisor for the MTNA USC Collegiate Chapter, and previously served as the Pi Kappa Lambda Eta Chapter Secretary for eight years. At the state level, Pierce is the current Collegiate Chapter State Chair and District 9 Director for the California Association of Professional Music Teachers (CAMPT), while formerly serving as the CAPMT Vice President for Conferences. At the national level, Pierce has been a member of the planning committees for both the MTNA National Conference, and the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy (NCKP), while previously serving on the prestigious MTNA e-Journal Editorial Committee, and the MTNA Teacher Enrichment Grant Committee.
Pierce holds degrees in Piano Performance from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music (CCM), and the University of Pretoria, South Africa, and two licentiates of music from the University of South Africa (UNISA). At the University of Pretoria, he graduated as the top student in the Faculty of Humanities and was honored with the Vice-Chancellor and Principal’s medal for academic excellence. At CCM, he won the award for teaching excellence for graduate teaching assistants. Pierce’s mentors include Joseph Stanford, Frank Weinstock, and Michelle Conda.
Pierce has performed in the USA, Canada, Czech Republic, and throughout South Africa, and with artists such as Carol Wincenc, and the flutists of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. During his studies in Cincinnati, Pierce performed with the CCM Philharmonia as a result of winning the CCM Piano Concerto Competition. In South Africa, he has performed with orchestras such as the Natal Philharmonic, the National Symphony, and the Chamber Orchestra of South Africa. He has won prizes and awards for his playing including second prize and two special prizes at the UNISA National Piano Competition in South Africa. He has also received awards for his teaching including the D.J. Rhoode Overseas Scholarship for Piano Pedagogy from the University of South Africa (UNISA). In addition, his performances have been broadcast on South African television and radio.
A regular speaker and clinician throughout the US and South Africa, Pierce has presented masterclasses, workshops, and lectures in South Africa and the United States. He has also given innumerable pedagogical sessions at institutions throughout the country, at conferences such as the MTNA National Conference, and the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy (NCKP), as well as for arts entities such as The Gilmore. His articles, reviews and other written contributions have appeared in journals such as American Music Teacher, Piano Pedagogy Forum, The California Music Teacher, and The South African Music Teacher, as well on the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) Online Teacher Portal and the Yamaha Educator Suite. At present, Pierceserves as editor of CAPMT Connect, the official journal of the California Association of Professional Music Teachers (CAPMT).
Pierce is also a proud member of the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) College of Examiners, an RCM Certified Teacher, and an RCM Academic Ambassador. At USC, he helped co-found the Musician’s Wellness committee, is the co-faculty advisor for the MTNA USC Collegiate Chapter, and previously served as the Pi Kappa Lambda Eta Chapter Secretary for eight years. At the state level, Pierce is the current Collegiate Chapter State Chair and District 9 Director for the California Association of Professional Music Teachers (CAMPT), while formerly serving as the CAPMT Vice President for Conferences. At the national level, Pierce has been a member of the planning committees for both the MTNA National Conference, and the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy (NCKP), while previously serving on the prestigious MTNA e-Journal Editorial Committee, and the MTNA Teacher Enrichment Grant Committee.
Matthew Shaftel, Clinician
Dr. Matthew Shaftel is currently Dean of the College of Fine Arts at Ohio University, where he has focused on helping Ohio to share and develop its distinctive role in the Arts and community transformation in the region, state, and well beyond. He has previously served as Dean of the Westminster College of the Arts at Rider University and the administrator of the Princeton campus, which included the Grammy award winning Westminster Choir College. Shaftel also served as Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs at Florida State University, where he led the development of a signature general-education program, Liberal Studies for the 21st Century. He received three degrees from Yale University.
Highly active as a teacher, scholar, and musician, he has won three university-wide teaching awards and was a quarterfinalist for two national awards. Dr. Shaftel has published numerous articles and books, including a textbook published by Oxford University Press. His award-winning volume on Cole Porter, coedited with Susan Weiss and Don Randel, was released in 2016 by the University of Illinois Press, and a volume on opera is forthcoming from Oxford University Press. He acted as Editor for two journals: MTO-A Journal of the Society for Music Theory and College Music Symposium and is currently the Publications Chair for the Society for Music Theory. He is immediate past president of Music Theory Southeast and the Tallahassee Youth Orchestras. Dr. Shaftel also has a great deal of practical experience as a performer. He has given recitals and master classes throughout North America and parts of Europe and spent six years as the founding director of the Asolo Song Festival and Institute for Song Interpretation, which took place in northern Italy. He has been active as a church musician for more than two decades and has served on numerous community and not-for-profit boards.
Highly active as a teacher, scholar, and musician, he has won three university-wide teaching awards and was a quarterfinalist for two national awards. Dr. Shaftel has published numerous articles and books, including a textbook published by Oxford University Press. His award-winning volume on Cole Porter, coedited with Susan Weiss and Don Randel, was released in 2016 by the University of Illinois Press, and a volume on opera is forthcoming from Oxford University Press. He acted as Editor for two journals: MTO-A Journal of the Society for Music Theory and College Music Symposium and is currently the Publications Chair for the Society for Music Theory. He is immediate past president of Music Theory Southeast and the Tallahassee Youth Orchestras. Dr. Shaftel also has a great deal of practical experience as a performer. He has given recitals and master classes throughout North America and parts of Europe and spent six years as the founding director of the Asolo Song Festival and Institute for Song Interpretation, which took place in northern Italy. He has been active as a church musician for more than two decades and has served on numerous community and not-for-profit boards.
Christopher Fisher, Clinician
Dr. Christopher Fisher is Director of the Ohio University School of Music in Athens, Ohio where he is Professor of Piano. He continues to direct the internationally respected undergraduate and graduate programs in piano performance and pedagogy and serves as Artistic Director of the Ohio University Piano Pedagogy Seminar. Recognized for his teaching, Dr. Fisher was the 2010 recipient of the Ohio Music Teachers Association Collegiate Teacher of the Year Award and the Ohio University School of Music Distinguished Teaching Award.
Dr. Fisher is the author of Teaching Piano in Groups (Oxford University Press, 2010), the only comprehensive group piano pedagogy textbook of its kind. A Chinese translation of Teaching Piano in Groups is now available throughout Asia. Dr. Fisher is the co-author of the revised and expanded edition of Piano Duet Repertoire (Indiana University Press, 2016) and co-author of Functional Skills for Pianists (Oxford University Press, 2022). In collaboration with Dr Sally Cathcart, Dr. Fisher is currently working as co-editor of the Oxford Handbook of Piano Pedagogy. He has published in leading keyboard journals including Keyboard Companion, American Music Teacher, Clavier, and Clavier Companion. He is a contributing composer for the innovative piano method, Piano Safari (www.pianosafari.com), which is used by piano teachers and students around the globe. His educational compositions are published by Piano Safari and Alfred Music.
In demand as a workshop clinician, Dr. Fisher has presented lectures nationally and internationally, including the National Conferences of the Music Teachers National Association (Washington, D.C., 2001; Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2007; Atlanta, 2009; San Antonio, Texas, 2016; Orlando, Florida, 2018), the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy (Lombard, Illinois, 2013; 2017; 2019), the Music & Drama Education Expo (London, England, 2018), the National Group Piano and Piano Pedagogy Forum (Norman, Oklahoma, 2006; Austin, Texas, 2010), the Australasian Piano Pedagogy Conference (Canberra, Australia, 2008), Encontro Internacional de Pianistas de Piracicaba (Piracicaba, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 2016), The Curious Piano Teachers Live Conferences (Belfast, Northern Ireland, 2018 and Oxford, England, 2018) and the American Music Therapy Association (Orlando, Florida, 2005). He has served as a guest lecturer at leading universities and conservatories across the U.S., the U.K. and China including recent engagements at The Juilliard School in New York (U.S.), the University of Oxford (U.K.), and the Tianjin-Juilliard School (China).
As a performing artist, Dr. Fisher frequently plays both solo and collaborative recitals, including duet and duo piano performances with wife, pianist Katherine Fisher as the Fisher Piano Duo. As a recording artist, Dr. Fisher can be heard on the MSR Classics label (Samplings: New Music for Bassoon and Piano; MS1547).
Dr. Fisher is an active member of Music Teachers National Association and has served as Vice-President for Conferences and Vice-President for Membership for the Ohio Music Teachers Association. He is the faculty advisor for the Ohio University Collegiate Chapter of MTNA, recipient of both the 2019 and 2015 MTNA Collegiate Chapter Award. Dr. Fisher maintains a studio of pre-college students who have been successful at state and regional piano competitions and festivals. He frequently serves as an adjudicator and master class clinician at piano festivals and competitions throughout the United States and abroad, including the MTNA Stecher & Horowitz Two Piano Competition, the OHIO International Piano Duet & Duo Competition, and the United States Virtuoso Artists International Piano Competition.
A native of Missouri, Dr. Fisher holds degrees from Wichita State University (Master of Music in Piano Pedagogy) and Northwest Missouri State University (Bachelor of Arts). He was awarded the Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma where he was the recipient of the prestigious Alumni Graduate Fellowship. His piano and piano pedagogy teachers include Edward Gates, Jane Magrath, Barbara Fast, Julie Bees, Sylvia Coats, Richard Bobo, and Betty Preston.
Prior to his current appointment, Dr. Fisher served as Chair of the Keyboard Division, Assistant Director of the School of Music, and Director of Studies for the Ohio University Honors Tutorial College Music Program.
Dr. Fisher resides in Albany, Ohio with his wife Katherine and their children Isaiah and Anna.
Christopher Fisher is a Yamaha Artist.
www.chrisfisherpiano.com
Dr. Fisher is the author of Teaching Piano in Groups (Oxford University Press, 2010), the only comprehensive group piano pedagogy textbook of its kind. A Chinese translation of Teaching Piano in Groups is now available throughout Asia. Dr. Fisher is the co-author of the revised and expanded edition of Piano Duet Repertoire (Indiana University Press, 2016) and co-author of Functional Skills for Pianists (Oxford University Press, 2022). In collaboration with Dr Sally Cathcart, Dr. Fisher is currently working as co-editor of the Oxford Handbook of Piano Pedagogy. He has published in leading keyboard journals including Keyboard Companion, American Music Teacher, Clavier, and Clavier Companion. He is a contributing composer for the innovative piano method, Piano Safari (www.pianosafari.com), which is used by piano teachers and students around the globe. His educational compositions are published by Piano Safari and Alfred Music.
In demand as a workshop clinician, Dr. Fisher has presented lectures nationally and internationally, including the National Conferences of the Music Teachers National Association (Washington, D.C., 2001; Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2007; Atlanta, 2009; San Antonio, Texas, 2016; Orlando, Florida, 2018), the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy (Lombard, Illinois, 2013; 2017; 2019), the Music & Drama Education Expo (London, England, 2018), the National Group Piano and Piano Pedagogy Forum (Norman, Oklahoma, 2006; Austin, Texas, 2010), the Australasian Piano Pedagogy Conference (Canberra, Australia, 2008), Encontro Internacional de Pianistas de Piracicaba (Piracicaba, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 2016), The Curious Piano Teachers Live Conferences (Belfast, Northern Ireland, 2018 and Oxford, England, 2018) and the American Music Therapy Association (Orlando, Florida, 2005). He has served as a guest lecturer at leading universities and conservatories across the U.S., the U.K. and China including recent engagements at The Juilliard School in New York (U.S.), the University of Oxford (U.K.), and the Tianjin-Juilliard School (China).
As a performing artist, Dr. Fisher frequently plays both solo and collaborative recitals, including duet and duo piano performances with wife, pianist Katherine Fisher as the Fisher Piano Duo. As a recording artist, Dr. Fisher can be heard on the MSR Classics label (Samplings: New Music for Bassoon and Piano; MS1547).
Dr. Fisher is an active member of Music Teachers National Association and has served as Vice-President for Conferences and Vice-President for Membership for the Ohio Music Teachers Association. He is the faculty advisor for the Ohio University Collegiate Chapter of MTNA, recipient of both the 2019 and 2015 MTNA Collegiate Chapter Award. Dr. Fisher maintains a studio of pre-college students who have been successful at state and regional piano competitions and festivals. He frequently serves as an adjudicator and master class clinician at piano festivals and competitions throughout the United States and abroad, including the MTNA Stecher & Horowitz Two Piano Competition, the OHIO International Piano Duet & Duo Competition, and the United States Virtuoso Artists International Piano Competition.
A native of Missouri, Dr. Fisher holds degrees from Wichita State University (Master of Music in Piano Pedagogy) and Northwest Missouri State University (Bachelor of Arts). He was awarded the Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma where he was the recipient of the prestigious Alumni Graduate Fellowship. His piano and piano pedagogy teachers include Edward Gates, Jane Magrath, Barbara Fast, Julie Bees, Sylvia Coats, Richard Bobo, and Betty Preston.
Prior to his current appointment, Dr. Fisher served as Chair of the Keyboard Division, Assistant Director of the School of Music, and Director of Studies for the Ohio University Honors Tutorial College Music Program.
Dr. Fisher resides in Albany, Ohio with his wife Katherine and their children Isaiah and Anna.
Christopher Fisher is a Yamaha Artist.
www.chrisfisherpiano.com
