FACULTY

Faculty 2025

Dr. Xun Pan · Dr. Ivo Kaltchev · Prof. Cinzia Bartoli · Dr. Ruiqi Fang · Dr. Alessandra Feris · Dr. Eric Fung · Prof. Matthew Graybil · Prof. James Jin · Prof. Fabiola Kim · Dr. Julian Langford · Prof. Chongxiao Liu · Prof. Chi-Wei Lo · Prof. Victor Rosenbaum · Dr. Leo Singer · Dr. Philip Tacka · Dr. Chao Wu · Dr. Xiaopei Xu · Prof. Xiaofeng Zhang

The highlights of the Chinese-American pianist Xun Pan’s recent chamber music concerts collaborate with the American String Quartet, Hai-Ye Ni, Priscilla Lee, Dara Morales, and the Gabriel Chamber Ensemble. He just finished a 15-city concert tour in 30 days in China in May/June of 2024. As a Steinway Artist, he was inducted into the Steinway & Sons Teacher Hall of Fame in 2023.

Mr. Pan received his early musical training from hisgrandmother and pianists-parents, Pan Yiming and Ying Shizhen. He continued his studies at theCentral Conservatory of Music in Beijing, Syracuse University in New York, and earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Rutgers University in New Jersey. 

Mr. Pan has won many international piano competitions and awards, beginning with first prize in the 1986 China National Piano Competition in Beijing, and the "Dr. Luis Sigall" International Piano Competition in Chile in 1987, the International Festival Piano Competition in Korea in 1990, the Frinna Awerbuch International Piano Competition in New York in 1992, and the Artists International Competition in New York in 1993.A student of Theodore Lettvin, Mr. Pan has performed solo recitals worldwide from Carnegie Weill Hall to the Beijing National Center for Performing Arts. He has performed in Moscow, Santiago, Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai, London, Los Angeles, Frankfurt, Taipei, Budapest, Salzburg, Sicily, New York, Seoul, Pyongyang, Biel, Bern, Brussels, Vina Del Mar, Washington DC, Lisbon, Toronto, Boston, San Jose, San Francisco, and many other cities in the world. He “…excites his audience with extraordinary power and masterful technique.” (The Star-Ledger)

A noted chamber musician, Mr. Pan is the pianist of the Newstead Trio, Trio Clavino, and Gabriel Chamber Ensemble. Their work has been broadcast live on radio and television, and they have released several highly-acclaimed recordings. Trio Clavino toured seven cities in China with Fulbright Grants managed by US Embassy in Beijing in 2014, and again in 2016. Mr. Pan has been served as a judge in many competitions include "Frinna Awerbuch" International Piano Competition in New York, United States Music Open Competition in Oakland, CA, United States International Music competition in Stanford, CA, Pancho Vladigerov International Piano Competition in Shumen, Bulgaria, and Maria Clara Cullell International Piano Competition in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Dr. Pan is the Director of Keyboard Studies of The Tell School of Music at Millersville University of Pennsylvania, and is a visiting professor at many universities and conservatories in China, includes Central Conservatory of Music, China Conservatory of Music,Guangzhou Xinghai Conservatory of Music, Sichuan Conservatory of Music, China Northwest University for Nationalities, Fuzhou University, Yantai University, Shandong University, Qinghai Normal University, and Wenzhou University. He also taught master classes at Manhattan School of Music, Boston University, Frost School of Music at University of Miami, University of West Florida, Benjamin T Rome School of Music at The Catholic University of America, Dartmouth College, Mozarteum University (Austria), Bellini Music Institute (Italy), Tbilisi State Conservatoire (Georgia), and others. He taught and served as the Chairman of the Piano Department at Pennsylvania Academy of Music between 1996 and 2009. 

Dr. Pan is one of the founding members and the Co-Artistic Director of the Lancaster International Piano Festival in Pennsylvania, USA.  

His performed the entire 32 piano sonatas, 10 piano/violin sonatas, 8 piano/cello works, and 13 piano trios of Beethoven when celebrating his 250th anniversary of birth.

Prizewinner of international piano competitions and a Bösendorfer Concert Artist, pianist Ivo Kaltchev has enjoyed a successful performing career as recitalist, soloist with orchestras, chamber musician, and recording artist. “Formidable technique” (Piano Journal, England), “possesses the genius of rubato” (Diapason, France), “distinctive and original” (Soviet Culture, Russia), “impressive” (Frankfurter Neue Presse, Germany), “most beautifully and idiomatically played” (International Record Review, England), “glittering,” “big technique” (Washington Post, U.S.), “a master of the whole range of pianistic attacks and coloristic effects” (The Star Ledger, U.S.)—these are some of the words that music critics have used to describe Dr. Kaltchev’s artistry and piano playing.

Dr. Kaltchev has performed in musical centers throughout the world, including Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Library of Congress, Changsha Concert Hall, China Conservatory Concert Hall, Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory’s Malii and Rachmaninov Halls, St. Petersburg State Philharmonic Hall, Warsaw National Philharmonic Hall, Salle Moliere (Lyon, France), Tel Aviv Museum Recanati Auditorium, Mendelssohn Hochschule für Musik Hall (Leipzig, Germany), Princeton University’s Richardson Auditorium, and the Bulgaria Great Hall. He has been a guest artist at music festivals in Austria, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Czech Republic, France, Bulgaria, Italy, Portugal, Finland, Ukraine, Korea, China, Singapore, Thailand, Canada and the U.S. Some of the highlights of recent seasons include a solo recital and a concerto performance with the EOS Orchestra in Alice Tully Hall, concert tours in Asia, as well as performances of the complete solo piano works of Claude Debussy as well as the complete art songs of Henri Duparc. A respected chamber musician, Dr. Kaltchev has performed with Shanghai String Quartet, Harrington String Quartet, pianists Ilana Vered and Milena Mollova, French actress Marie Christine Barrault as well with members of the New York Metropolitan Opera, New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

Dr. Kaltchev’s critically acclaimed commercial recordings for the Bulgarian “Gega New” label include an all-Charles Griffes CD (hailed by the French magazine Diapason as “the most accomplished interpretation known until now”), a CD with the world premieres of solo piano works by the French composer Florent Schmitt, as well as a recently released CD with works of Debussy.

Dr. Kaltchev holds degrees and diplomas from Yale University and Rutgers University, Sofia Academy of Music, and the Liszt Hochschule für Musik (Weimar). He is the recipient of the Catholic University of America Awards for Overall Teaching Excellence (2017) and Achievement in the Creative Arts (2019) as well as to other piano pedagogy awards for teaching excellence presented by the Piano Teachers Society of America, the American Protégé International Concerto Competition, the Princeton Steinway Society and other organizations.  He has presented lectures, workshops, and master classes in Europe, China, Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Costa Rica, the Virgin Islands, and the U.S.           

Dr. Kaltchev is an active adjudicator and has judged international piano competitions in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and the U.S. Dr. Kaltchev’s students have won more than 70 prizes at international and national piano competitions and have performed with numerous orchestras including I Solisti di Perugia (Italy) and Orquestra De Camara De Cascais E Oeiras (Portugal).  His students have been accepted for graduate and undergraduate piano studies at Juilliard, Peabody, Eastman, Manhattan, Indiana, San Francisco, Northwestern, Mannes, SUNY Stony Brook, Roosevelt, Miami and other leading universities and schools of music in the U.S.

Currently, Dr. Kaltchev is Professor of Piano and Head of the Piano Area at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.  He is the co-director of the Lancaster International Piano Festival (www.lancasterpianofest.com) as well as the Artistic Director of the Bulgarian Music Society Concert Series at the Bulgarian Embassy in Washington, DC (www.bulgarianmusicsociety.org ).  He has taught as a Visiting Piano Professor at the Beijing China Conservatory of Music and the Yale University School of Music.

Cinzia Bartoli studied and graduated with honours at the Conservatory “N. Paganini” of Genova (Italy). After achieving the “Diplome Superieur d’enseignement” at the Ecole Normale de Musique “Alfred Cortot” of Paris in the classroom of Jean Micault (the last assistance and more important pupil of the great pianist Alfred Cortot). She attended refinement courses with Professors Paul Badura-Skoda and Stefan Askenase at the Musical Academy “Ottorino Respighi” in Assisi (Italy). From 1986 to 1990 Cinzia Bartoli continued her studies with M.me Ilonka Deckers in Milan, one of descending of the Hungarian Piano School of Franz Liszt. Throughout her studies,she was awaerded prizes and acknowledgement in numerous national and international competitions, including Albenga and Stresa Competitions in Italy (1st prize), “F. Schubert Competition” and the Musical Competitions in France (2nd prize) and received a merit at the International Competition “Golden Palm” in Finale Ligure (Italy). She has performed in 24 country in the most important city and concert-hall of them (France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Poland, Hungharian, Romany, Serbia, Montenegro, Croazia, Greece, Albany, Spain, Portugal, Norway, USA, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Japan, Australia, China, South Corea.

She has performed also in all Italy in the most important Concert-hall of country. Her reputation as a soloist has led her to such prestigious venues around of the world together with her love of chamber music and she appeared regularly in chamber and orchestra music recitals. During a recent tourney in Germany,she was considered by the critics as an “extraordinary interpreter” of Ravel (Rhein-Neckar-Heidelberg). In 2019 she played the Ravel integral opus for piano in Paris at Theatre de l’Isle St. Luis. In 2023 Cinzia Bartoli had recording Ravel’s integral opus for piano for the label Centaur Records in Louisiana. Spotify Link 

Cinzia Bartoli has also performed many recording for RAI (Italian Radio and Television Broadcasting) as a solo pianist and accompanist of opera singers. She was a piano teacher for many years in Rome at the Arts Academy, Academy of music Alirio Diaz, Parma and La Spezia Conservatory of music and in the Academy “Casa della musica” of Genova. Actually she’s teaching piano in the graduates school of music for the Italian Ministery of Instruction. She teached also in numerous Masterclass around the world: Argentina, Brazil, USA, Japan, China and Europe. Promoter and President of the Music Association “Dioniso” of Savona, Cinzia Bartoli has been organizing a concert season with important national and international performances for 35 years in Genova and Savona (Italy).

In 2017 she had win the award of “Excelent womens in the Arts” by Italy Fidapa Associations. She was member of jury in numerous International Piano Competition.

“Decidedly personal” “Intelligent playing” and “Versatile.” These are just a few examples of how critics have glowingly described pianist Ruiqi Fang’s solo recital at the Basílica Menor del Convento de San Francisco de Asís in Havana, Cuba. The recital “will be long remembered; a woman with unquestionable sensitivity, whom has performed works of Baroque and Impressionism with absolute thoroughness.” (CMBF National Radio Music, June 2015). Ms. Fang has also been interviewed by CBS Sunday News, Music Weekly, Chinese Business News, Yangcheng Evening News, and Sanqin Daily.

Ruiqi Fang has performed as a recitalist and chamber music player in major concert venues around the world, such as Beijing Concert Hall (Beijing, China), Zhongshan Park Music Hall (Beijing, China), National Centre for the Performing Arts (Beijing, China), Beijing National Library Concert Hall (Beijing, China), Xi’an Concert Hall (Xi’an, China), Taipei National Concert Hall (Taipei), Palau de la Música (Valencia, Spain), Weil Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall (New York, USA), Merkin Concert Hall (New York, USA) and Staller Center for the Arts (Long Island, USA). Ms. Fang has frequently appeared as a soloist with professional orchestras, including the Cuba National Symphony, Manhattan Chamber Sinfonia, and Manhattan School of Music Brass Orchestra. In 2015, she performed the Bartok Piano Concerto No.1 with the Cuba National Symphony under the baton of Enrique Pērez Mesa, and it was the premiere of this concerto in Cuba.

As the first prize winner of the Eisenberg-Fried Concerto Competition, Ruiqi Fang is also the top prize winner in other numerous piano competitions, including the Zhujiang Youth Piano Competition, the First Kawai Piano Competition , the Second Steinway Piano Competition, Xi'an Conservatory of Music Concerto Competition, Taipei Chopin International Piano Competition, Artur Balsam Competition for Duos, and Lillian Fuchs Chamber Music Competition.

Also active as a collaborative pianist, Ruiqi Fang has worked with numerous leading musicians, including flutist Sir James Galway, flutist Sandrine Tilly, violinist Didier Lockwood and violinist Asi Matathias. Additionally, she has collaborated with the musicians at the United States Navy Band 42nd International Saxophone Symposium, CCTV Vocal Competition in China, Young Concert Artists Auditions, New York Concert Artists Auditions, Concert Artists Guild Auditions, Astral Artists Auditions, Astral Artists Auditions, Sphinx Competition, New York International Music Competition and the New York Solo Competition.

Ruiqi Fang holds the coveted Doctor of Musical Arts degree, Master of Music degree and Professional Studies Diploma from Manhattan School of Music, under the tutelage of the world-renowned pedagogue Dr. Solomon Mikowsky. She also received her Bachelor of Music degree from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. Other musical influences include Christoph Eschenbach, Manaheim Pressler, Stephen Hough, Lucie Robert, and Sylvia Rosenberg. Ruiqi Fang is currently on the faculty of Xi’an Conservatory of Music and is a visiting lecturer at the Central Conservatory of Music Distance Learning Program.

Praised for her artistry and passion, Brazilian pianist Alessandra Feris has established a distinguished career as a performer, pedagogue, and advocate for Latin-American piano music. She has performed widely across South America, Central America, Mexico, Europe, and the United States, with successful solo debuts in major venues including the Theatro São Pedro in Porto Alegre (Brazil), the Costa Rican National Theater, the Steinway Haus in Frankfurt (Germany), the Palácio de Bellas Artes (Sala Manuel M. Ponce) in Mexico City, and the Auditório León de Greiff in Bogotá, Colombia.

Alessandra Feris holds a bachelor’s degree from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, an Artist Diploma from the University of Music Franz Liszt in Germany, a master’s degree from the University of Iowa, and a doctoral degree from Florida State University. Her major teachers include Dirce Knijnik, Thomas Steinhöfel, Réne Lecuona, Read Gainsford, and the legendary Lazar Berman.

Committed to excellence in teaching, Dr. Feris has received the John Simms Piano Award at the University of Iowa, the Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award at Florida State University, and the Mississippi Humanities Council Teacher of the Year Award. A sought-after pedagogue, she has been a guest adjudicator for various national and international competitions, including the Lancaster International Piano Competition, the Hyatt Piano Competition, the Pianissimo Piano Competition in Colombia, and the Piano Latinoamericano Competition in Costa Rica. Her students have frequently won piano competitions such as the South Dakota MTNA Young Artist, SDMTA Collegiate Piano, Truran Piano Competition, and the University of South Dakota Concerto Competition.

Her guest-artist engagements include masterclasses and performances at universities and conservatories worldwide, including the Colburn School, Bowling Green State University, Purdue University, University of Nevada-Reno, Radford University, Texas Woman’s University, Goshen College, Irvine Valley College, University of Arizona, Washington State University, University of Kansas, University of Central Florida, Louisiana State University, Montclair State University, North Dakota State University, Auburn University, University of Southern Mississippi, Kansas State University, Huntingdon College, University of North Dakota, Chadron State College, University of South Alabama, University of Montevallo, Southern University, Wayne State University, University of Costa Rica, University of Aveiro in Portugal, University of Buenos Aires in Argentina, Ionian University in Greece, Royal Birmingham Conservatory in England, National University of Music in Peru and several universities in Colombia and Brazil.

Alessandra Feris is devoted to the diffusion of Latin-American piano music and has been a guest performer at the Trester Festival for Latin-American Music at the University of Arizona, the LatinAmerican Piano Festival at Texas A&M University in Commerce, the Ibero-American Festival Cinco Sentidos in Jena, Germany, and the Brasilien trifft Berlin Festival. She is a passionate contemporary pianist and is often invited to premiere works by living composers. Recent premieres include Love Letters by Steven Sacco, Wissenschaftsgläubigkeit by Paul Lombardi, and Mni Wiconi by Jeffrey Paul.

Dr. Feris has recently joined the University of North Carolina at Greensboro as Assistant Professor of Piano. She has previously served as Associate Professor of Piano at the University of South Dakota and Piano Faculty/Artist-in-Residence at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. She is an artist-teacher at the InterHarmony International Music Festival in Italy and the Lancaster International Piano Festival in Pennsylvania.

Dr. Eric Fung is a distinguished Chinese-American pianist renowned for his “vibrant vitality, unflappable logic, flexibility in nuances, and requisite lyricism,” as lauded by the New York Concert Review. In 2002, he was awarded the prestigious title of “Bach Prize Winner” at the International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in Leipzig, Germany, in recognition of his profound interpretation of the composer’s works. His doctoral dissertation, Johann Sebastian Bach’s Overture in the French Manner, BWV 831: A Study in Motive, Harmony, and Rhythm, further exemplifies his dedication to deriving musical interpretation through rigorous research and analysis.

Born in Hong Kong, Dr. Fung began his formal music training at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts under the tutelage of Eva Lue. He earned the Piano Performance Diploma from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (UK) before pursuing further studies in the United States. He holds degrees in piano performance from the Eastman School of Music (BM, Performer’s Certificate, and MM) and the Juilliard School (DMA), two of the world's leading conservatories. His principal teachers include Natalya Antonova, Martin Canin (student of Rosina Lhévinne), and Oxana Yablonskaya (student of Tatiana Nikolayeva), linking him to the Russian piano tradition. He has also received coaching from esteemed pedagogues such as Boris Berman, Christopher Elton, Claude Frank, Peter Frankl, and Robert Levin in masterclasses.

During his formative years, Dr. Fung developed a deep interest in music theory and analysis. At Eastman, he studied under Matthew Brown and Steven Laitz, earning a master’s degree in music theory pedagogy. His research at Juilliard was supervised by Carl Schachter, a preeminent authority of Schenkerian analysis.

As a performer, Dr. Fung has received accolades from eminent music critics. Following his performance of Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Juilliard Orchestra at Lincoln Center under Maestro Otto Werner Mueller, Anthony Tommasini of the New York Times praised his playing as “refined and elegant.” Harris Goldsmith of the New York Concert Review, after his Carnegie Hall performance, described him as “a pianist with a musical persona akin to Rudolf Serkin.”  The Hong Kong Economic Review noted his unique aesthetic, tracing it back to his study and passion for Bach’s works.

Dr. Fung has collaborated with numerous orchestras around the world, including the Juilliard Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Middle Germany Chamber Orchestra, Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, Hershey Symphony Orchestra, Lebanon Valley College Orchestra, Central Pennsylvania Symphony Orchestra, and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University Orchestra. He has also been a featured artist at international music festivals such as the Israel Festival in Jerusalem, European Piano Forum in Berlin, Puigcerda Music Festival in Spain, Philadelphia Bach Festival, Kamerman Piano Series in Pensacola, Lancaster International Piano Festival, and the Hong Kong Arts Festival.

In 2022, Dr. Fung broadened his performance horizon by joining the cast of Nadia, a play with chamber music about the legendary French music pedagogue Nadia Boulanger, written by Mina Fisher. He has since become a regular cast member, collaborating with mezzo-sopranos Maria Jette and Adriana Zabala, and violinists Stephanie Arado and Stéphanie Moraly in performances on stages in US and France.

Dr. Fung is currently the Carmean Endowed Professor of Music (Piano Performance) at Lebanon Valley College in Pennsylvania. As an educator, he has conducted masterclasses and lectures at numerous institutions and professional organizations, including the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance in Israel, Sichuan Conservatory of Music in China, Xinghai Conservatory of Music in China, National Tainan University in Taiwan, National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan, Soochow University in Taiwan, East Tennessee State University, Hope College in Michigan, University of Illinois at Carbondale, Hong Kong Baptist University, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, the Tom Lee Music Foundation, and numerous music teacher associations. He frequently adjudicates competitions, including the Lancaster Symphony Concerto Competition, Greater Princeton Steinway Society Scholarship Competition, New Jersey Music Teachers Association Piano Competition, and MTNA Competition.

Dr. Eric Fung is a Steinway Artist.

Praised by The New Yorker as an “exceptional young artist” and by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune as a “major talent,” American pianist Matthew Graybil has performed as a recitalist, concerto soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Mexico. He made his orchestral debut at age 14 and has subsequently performed with the Fort Worth Symphony and the National Chamber Players among many others.

Highlights of Graybil’s solo career include recitals in many of the world’s music capitals, including New York, Paris, Chicago, Baltimore, Mexico City, Philadelphia, Toronto and Washington DC in venues such as Carnegie’s Zankel Hall, Subculture, Le Poisson Rouge, Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center and Lincoln Center. In addition, Graybil is an avid chamber musician, with over 300 performances to his credit. He has collaborated with such artists as Itzhak Perlman.

As an exponent of music from the 20th and 21st century, he recently gave the New York premiere of Walter Piston’s Concerto for Two Pianos Soli. He has appeared on radio and television, including Vermont Public Radio, Connecticut Public Radio, WNYC’s The Leonard Lopate Show, WQXR’s Young Artist Showcase and Reflections from the Keyboard, WWFM’s The Piano Matters hosted by David Dubal, CBS Chicago and PBS, where he was featured in the documentary Beyond the Practice Room.

He has been a prize-winner in national and international competitions including the New York Piano Competition, the MTNA/Yamaha National Piano Competition, the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts competition, the Juilliard Gina Bachauer Competition, the Nina Wideman International Piano Competition and the Missouri Southern International Piano. Mr. Graybil has been invited to festivals including Pianofest in the Hamptons, the Ravinia Steans Institute, the Perlman Music Program, the Sarasota Music Festival and the American Academy in Fontainebleau, France.

Matthew’s debut album was released in 2012 as part of the Victor Elmaleh Collection. In a review of the album, Fanfare Magazine wrote that “he becomes so at one with the [music] that the line between composer and performer vanishes. Matthew Graybil’s playing marks him … as one of the most sensitive, poetic young pianists to debut on record in recent memory.” A record of Chopin’s Complete Etudes, Op. 10 was released by the Chopin Project in 2016 and his recording, with Larry Weng, of Walter Piston’s Concerto for two pianos soli was released in February 2018 for Steinway & Sons records. He returned to Steinway’s recording studio in August, 2018 to record selections from his Debussy centennial celebration program entitled “Debussy: His friends and his enemies” which is now available on Steinway Spirio pianos worldwide. In March 2020, he released his most recent album with violinist Niv Ashkenazi, entitled “Violins of Hope” for Albany Records. His most recent album with violinist Keiko Tagunaku entitled Devilish, will be released in late 2024.

Graybil began his piano studies at age 6 and was a pupil of Vincent Craig and Harvey Wedeen before he enrolled in the Juilliard School, where he received his Bachelor and Master's degrees under the tutelage of Jerome Lowenthal and Matti Raekallio.

Matthew Graybil resides in New York City

A passionate and versatile musician, Xin (James) Jin is currently working as Professional Teaching Fellow (Violin Performance) in Auckland University School of Music, Guest Concertmaster of the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, Director of Auckland Academy of Music, Director of NZ Chamber Orchestra, Director of Asia Pacific Performing Arts, Music Director of the Auckland Chinese Philharmonic Choir, and Artistic Director of Auckland Academy of Music International Festival.

James was born in China and moved to New Zealand with his family in 2001, where he started to grow and develop as a violinist. Highlights of his performances from this period include Brahms' violin concerto with the Wellington Chamber Orchestra and the Manawatu Sinfonia Orchestra, and concert pieces with the Michael Monaghan Young Musicians Foundation Orchestra. James was the youngest contestant in the 1st China International Violin Competition (2006), as well as the only representative from Australasia. James was contracted by the Wellington Vector Orchestra as Principle Violinist in 2007, and in the following year he was admitted, with the award of full scholarship, to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music to study with Prof. Ian Swensen.

In America James has won top prizes in competitions including the Mu Phi Epsilon International Music Competition and the Y.E.S. Foundation Young Arts' Competition. James has also worked with many distinguished teachers, artists, ensembles and conductors in the Tanglewood Music Festival, Music Academy of the West and the Siena International Music Festival.

Returning to New Zealand in 2015, James has won the New Zealand School of Music Concerto Competition and the Waikanae Music Society scholarship. In 2015 James joined the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra as Associate Principle 2nd Violinist and curator of Auckland Phil’s Up-Close Chamber Concert Series. After working for the Auckland Philharmonia for 8 years, James joined the faculty of the School of Music in Auckland University. James performs regularly in recitals and concerts in different countries around the world including New Zealand, Australia, USA, and China as a soloist, chamber musician, conductor, and concertmaster.

As an educator, James is committed to creating programmes and platforms where aspiring young musicians have the opportunities to work and perform with highly skilled peers and professionals from other parts of the world. James and his wife Xing Wang are the Co-Directors of the AAM International Festival, and they have taken students to participate in various festivals, courses, and concert tours worldwide, including the Lancaster International Piano and Chamber Music Festival, the Eurochestries Festival,  the Michael Hill International Violin Competition Fellowship Programme, the Bacui Bay Area Chamber Music Festival (Guangzhou), and the Auckland-Zhuhai Exchange Concert Programme of the Huafa Mozart Hall.

Praised by The New York Times as “a brilliant soloist” who “played with extraordinary precision and luminosity,” violinist Fabiola Kim is a dynamic and versatile artist who maintains an active career as a soloist, chamber musician, recording artist, and pedagogue.

Her most recent album, Paraphrases, was released on the Solo Musica label in July 2025 and is available on all major streaming platforms. Her previous recording, 1939—featuring the Munich Symphony Orchestra under Kevin John Edusei—has received international acclaim from BBC Music Magazine, The Strad, Gramophone, American Record Guide, and others.

Ms. Kim began playing the violin at the age of four and made her concerto debut with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra just three years later. She has since won numerous awards and competitions, including the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra Concerto Competition (as the youngest winner in its history), the Aspen Music Festival Violin Concerto Competition, the Juilliard Concerto Competition, and the Kumho Prodigy Music Award—given to the most promising young musicians in Korea. She is also a prizewinner of the Corpus Christi International Competition and the Irving M. Klein International String Competition.

Ms. Kim has collaborated with distinguished conductors such as Alan Gilbert, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Gilbert Varga, Jane Glover, and Nicholas McGegan. Her past solo appearances include performances with the Seoul and Suwon Philharmonics; a European tour with the Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra to the Bruckner Festival in Linz and the Merano Festival in Italy; and engagements with orchestras including the Juilliard Orchestra, Aspen Philharmonia, Kangnam Symphony, Korean Symphony, Broward Symphony, Prime Symphony, Livingston Symphony, Köln Chamber Orchestra, North Czech Philharmonic, Orquestra Sinfónica OSUANL, Budapest Symphony Orchestra MAV, Hofer Symphoniker, Berlin Symphoniker, Korean Chamber Orchestra, Westdeutsche Sinfonia, Munich Chamber Orchestra, and the Colburn Orchestra.

An avid chamber musician, Ms. Kim has appeared at renowned festivals such as the Aspen Music Festival, Ravinia Steans Institute, Verbier Festival, and La Jolla Music Society SummerFest.

A dedicated educator, Ms. Kim serves as Assistant Professor of Violin at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance. She is Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Sounding Point Academy with Robert Lipsett and serves on the faculty of Center Stage Strings.

Ms. Kim earned her Artist Diploma at the Colburn School under Robert Lipsett and received her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Sylvia Rosenberg and Ronald Copes.

Julian Langford is a cellist who brings intense passion to every performance he gives, whether it involves solo repertoire, chamber music or being the principal cellist of an orchestra.

Julian has prolific performing experience, playing in major concert halls such as Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Avery Fisher/David Geffen Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, Bruno Walter Auditorium in Lincoln Center, the Tenri Cultural Institute, Morgan Library & Museum in New York City, among others. Julian has performed concertos with many orchestras, including the Elgar Cello Concerto with the Bergen Philharmonic and the first Shostakovich Cello Concerto with the Chappaqua Orchestra. In 2008, Julian performed the Schubert Two Cello Quintet with world renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City, and was invited to be a guest artist with Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble on PBS’s Live from Lincoln Center at Damrosch Park. In 2018, Julian went on tour in China, where he performed and taught master classes in multiple venues in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Beijing. In 2019, Julian went on tour in Korea, where he performed as part of the New York Classical Players Korea tour and played in major venues such as the Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul, the Samcheok Cultural Arts Center, and the Daegu Concert House.

Chamber music has been a staple in Julian’s performing career. He performed the Weber Clarinet Quintet with internationally acclaimed clarinetist Charles Neidich at the Tenri Cultural Institute and also performed with the esteemed Emerson String Quartet at the Staller Center Recital Hall. Julian has founded professional chamber music groups as well. He was a founding member of the New York Trio, a piano trio mentored by Grammy Award-winning composer Robert Aldridge and performed in Washington D.C., Connecticut, and upstate New York. The New York Trio also collaborated with Broadway singer Frank D’Ambrosio in their performances. Additionally, Julian was a founding member and cellist of the Anello String Quartet, who was mentored by the Emerson String Quartet and the Juilliard String Quartet in New York. The Anello Quartet performed in the “Alarm Might Sound” concert series in Olivebridge, NY and was invited to give a concert at the Canadian Consulate in New York.

As an orchestral musician, Julian has performed as principal cellist in the True North Symphony Orchestra in Carnegie Hall, the New York Classical Players, the Chappaqua Orchestra, the Aspen Music Festival and School, and the Tanglewood Young Artist’s Orchestra. He was also selected as principal cellist for the Stony Brook Symphony Orchestra in its first ever Orpheus-style orchestra cycle without a conductor.

Julian was awarded first place in the Young Classical Virtuosos of Tomorrow Competition and performed in the Kimmel Center as part of his award. He was the grand prizewinner of the Chappaqua Orchestra Concerto Competition. Julian was also a prizewinner in several other competitions, including the Pearl and Julius Young Music Competition and the Coeur d’Alene Symphony Young Artists Competition.

As a student at the Manhattan School of Music Precollege Division, Julian studied with renowned cellist David Soyer from the legendary Guarneri String Quartet, in which much of his early influence and artistic approaches originate. Julian received his Bachelor of Music degree and Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School studying with Richard Aaron. He received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Stony Brook University under the tutelage of Colin Carr. Julian is currently on the cello faculty at the Xi’an Conservatory of Music in China.

Yamaha Artist, an avid recitalist, Chongxiao Liu has concertized throughout Asia, Europe and America, including the United States, Russia, Germany, Italy, France, Bulgaria, South Korea and other countries, as well as venues in Beijing, Wuhan, Chengdu, Qingdao, Changsha and other places in China.

In addition, he has appeared as a soloist with China Philharmonic Orchestra, Beijing Film Orchestra and Qingdao Opera and Dance Theatre Symphony Orchestra. His recordings such as Schubert “Wanderer Fantasy in C Major” D. 760 for Hong Kong Radio 4 and released album with works by Liszt and Brahms have been met with critical praise.

Mr. Liu was invited as a guest to give masterclasses and lectures worldwide, including Washington International Piano Festival, Lancaster International Piano Festival in America, TASTEN Piano Festival and Dreieich Music Festival in Germany, Concerti di Primavera, Autunno Musicale, Concerti del Filologico, and Concerti nel Cortile di San Francesco in Italy, Liangzhu Piano Festival in Hangzhou, China etc. He also appeared at numerous competitions as a piano judge.

He is an Associate Professor of Piano Department at Wuhan Conservatory. Mr. Liu received his BM and MM degrees in China Conservatory of Music and graduated with honors. And then he continued his artistic training in Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory under Prof. Pavel Nersessian as a visiting scholar.

Chi-Wei Lo is a pianist, improviser, and arranger whose performances utilize a plethora of musical languages. As a co-founder of the Psychopomp Ensemble, Lo has continually pushed boundaries, blending interdisciplinary art forms with both traditional and avant-garde musical elements to create compelling concert experiences.

With a career spanning diverse platforms, Lo has been presented by the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, North American Medical Orchestra, The Lancaster Piano Festival, College Music Society, UCLA, Lilypad, Chamber Music Charlestown, The Harvard Musical Association, The Chinese American Museum (LA), Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts, Caroga Arts Collective, New Asia Chamber Music Society, the German Society of Pennsylvania, and the Counterpoint Ensemble (Taiwan), among many others.

Lo’s dedication to his craft is evident in his diverse projects and achievements. In 2018, he was commissioned by the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corporation (KRTC) for its 10th anniversary, resulting in the creation of his album Piano Improvisations and the issuance of a limited edition metro-card in Taiwan. His solo tours, such as The Dance of the Seven Deadly Sins, Declaration of Aesthetics, and Twelve Over Twelve, not only showcased his extraordinary musical prowess but also included benefit concerts, reflecting his belief that musicians should contribute to their communities.

In addition to his musical output, Lo is a writer, contributing reviews and interviews to the Boston Musical Intelligencer, where his observations and musical knowledge further enrich the music community. He has also served as a judge for the Lancaster International Piano Festival competition and the A. Ramón Rivera Piano Competition.

Lo holds both a Bachelor of Music (B.M.) and a Master of Music (M.M.) in piano performance from The Juilliard School. He is expected to complete his Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) at the New England Conservatory in Contemporary Musical Arts (formerly known as Contemporary Improvisation) this year. Currently, Lo is shaping the next generation of musicians as an Assistant Professor in Composition at Berklee and a Theory Instructor at the New England Conservatory.

Dr. Leo Singer is an accomplished American cellist, educator, and scholar. He is the Director of the University of Michigan Youth Performing Arts Pre-College, a program offering world-class instruction to young musicians. During the summer, he serves on faculty at the prestigious Center Stage Strings and performs at festivals worldwide, including the Caroga Arts Music Festival and the Sevcik Academy in the Czech Republic.

Singer has collaborated with numerous renowned artists, including members of the Emerson, Cavani, Verona, and Euclid String Quartets, as well as Clive Greensmith, Carol Wincenc, and Robert McDuffie. As a pedagogue, his students have gone on to attend leading music institutions such as The Juilliard School, Rice University, Manhattan School of Music, the University of Michigan, and elite summer programs like Aspen, Pacific Music Festival, and Music Academy of the West.

A passionate scholar of technique, Singer authored Changes of Position, a book exploring foundational principles for the left hand. His prior leadership roles include serving as Coordinator and Distinguished Artist of Cello at the McDuffie Center for Strings and founding the Ann Arbor Chamber Fest, a concert series showcasing doctoral and professional chamber musicians.

Singer holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Yale University, graduating with distinction in the intensive music major. He earned his Master’s and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees at the University of Michigan, where he was teaching assistant to renowned pedagogue Richard Aaron. His other primary teachers include Ole Akahoshi, Andre Emelianoff, and Sibylle Johner.

Internationally known pianist and teacher, Victor Rosenbaum, has received critical acclaim since his first Boston debut recital after joining the New England Conservatory faculty in 1967.  Of that Boston performance the Boston Globe wrote: Rosenbaum “makes up for all the drudgery the habitual concert-goer has to endure in the hope of finding the real, right thing”.  His critical praise continues to this day.  Describing his most recent CD, “Brahms: The Last Piano Pieces” (Bridge), which was released in fall 2020, Glyn Pursglove of MusicWeb International said: “Rosenbaum’s account of of these pieces seems to me impeccable.  The whole disc is magisterial; a mature pianist bringing deep thought and empathy to a series of mature pieces which stand revealed, as clearly as I have heard, as masterpieces.  This will be the disc I turn to when I next want to hear any of these remarkable pieces”.  Retired from New England Conservatory after 55 years of consecutive teaching, the 2022-23 season brought him guest teaching and performing residencies in Puerto Rico, Israel, Japan, Korea, Austria, Bulgaria, and Taiwan, where he was recently appointed Visiting Professor of Piano and Chamber Music at National Taiwan Normal University.

Over more than five decades, Rosenbaum has concertized widely as soloist and chamber musician in the United States, Europe, Israel, Brazil, Russia, and Asia (including 25 annual trips to Japan) in such prestigious halls as Tully Hall in New York and the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia. A committed chamber music performer, he has collaborated with such artists as Leonard Rose, Paul Katz, Laurence Lesser, Arnold Steinhardt, Robert Mann, Joseph Silverstein, James Buswell, Malcolm Lowe, Walter Trampler, and the Brentano, Borromeo, and Cleveland String Quartets, and was a member of two trios: The Wheaton Trio and The Figaro Trio.  Rosenbaum has played and/or taught at many summer festivals, among them Tanglewood, the Rockport Chamber Music Festival, Kfar Blum and Tel Hai (in Israel), Yellow Barn, Kneisel Hall (Blue Hill), Musicorda, Masters de Pontlevoy (France), the Heifetz Institute, the International Keyboard Institute and Festival in New York, the International Music Seminar in Vienna, the Bowdoin International Music Festival, the Festival at Walnut Hill School, the Puerto Rico International Piano Festival,The Art of the Piano Festival in Cincinnati, the Atlantic Music Festival, Piano Texas, the Adamant Music School, and the Eastern Music Festival, where he headed the piano department for five years. Rosenbaum is also a contributor to the online site “Musicale” (WeAreMusicale.com).

Recital appearances have brought him to Chicago, Minneapolis, Tokyo, Taipei, Vienna, Beijing, St. Petersburg (Russia), Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and New York, among others.  In addition to his absorption in the music of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (in particular Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, and Brahms), Rosenbaum has performed and given premieres of works by many 20th and 21st Century composers, including John Harbison, John Heiss, Peter Westergaard, Norman Dinerstein, Arlene Zallman, Donald Harris, Daniel Pinkham, Miriam Gideon, Stephen Albert, and many others.  A musician of diverse talents, Rosenbaum is also a composer and has frequently conducted in the Boston area and beyond.

Rosenbaum, who studied with Elizabeth Brock and Martin Marks while growing up in  Indianapolis, and went on to study with Rosina Lhevinne at the Aspen Festival and Leonard Shure in New York (while earning degrees at Brandeis University and Princeton), has become a renowned teacher himself.  During his long tenure on the faculty of New England Conservatory, he chaired its piano department for more than a decade, and was also Chair of Chamber Music. On the faculty of Mannes School of Music in New York from 2004-2017, he has also been Visiting Professor of Piano at the Eastman School of Music, a guest teacher at Juilliard, and presents lectures, workshops, and master classes for teachers’ groups and schools both in the U. S. and abroad, including at London’s Royal Academy of Music, Royal College of Music, and Guildhall School, the conservatories of St. Petersburg and Moscow, Beijing Central Conservatory, Shanghai Conservatory, the Toho School in Tokyo, Tokyo Ondai, Seoul National University, most major schools in Taiwan, and other institutions such as the Menuhin School near London, and the Jerusalem Music Center.  Rosenbaum’s students have established teaching and performing careers in the US and abroad, and have won top prizes in such competitions as the Young Concerts Artists, Charles Wadsworth International Competition, New Orleans International Competition, Casagrande International Piano Competition, Gina Bachauer Competition, and the New York International Competition, among others.  Rosenbaum’s sixteen years as Director and President of the Longy School of Music (1985-2001) transformed the school into a full-fledged degree granting conservatory as well as a thriving community music school. 

In addition to his Brahms disc, Rosenbaum’s recordings on the Bridge and Fleur de Son labels include a Mozart CD, three Schubert discs, one of which was described as “a poignant record of human experience”, and two recordings of Beethoven which the American Record Guide named as among the top classical recordings of 2020. 

The New York Times put it succinctly after his performance at Tully Hall: Rosenbaum “could not have been better”.  And a headline in the Boston Globe summed up the appeal of Rosenbaum’s playing: “Fervor and Gentleness Combined”.

(Mr. Rosenbaum can be reached at vrosenbaum@aol.com)

Philip Tacka received his doctorate from The Catholic University of America and completed a year of postdoctoral work at the Franz Liszt Academy, Budapest/Zoltan Kodály Pedagogical Institute in Hungary.

He is a Professor of Music in The Tell School of Music at Millersville University of Pennsylvania. His research interests encompass all aspects of music education, with a particular emphasis on music perception and cognition. He writes in collaboration with Dr. Micheál Houlahan, chair of The Tell School of Music. Their publications include Kodály Today and the accompanying seven volumes in the Oxford University Press series. Two new volumes, Choral Artistry: A Kodály Perspective for Middle School to College Level Choirs and Choral Sight Reading, are scheduled to be published in 2023 by Oxford.

He has been involved in Kodály Teacher Training programs every year since the early 1980s. He has written and provided professional development for four United States Department of Education grants awarded to both the Austin and Houston, Texas Independent School Districts. Dr. Tacka has also served on editorial boards and as a grant evaluator for more than a decade on the American Fellowship Panel for the American Association of University Women.

Before his current position, he was an Associate Professor of Music in the Department of Art, Music & Theatre at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.. He worked with the Georgetown University Medical School’s Institute for Cognitive and Computational Science in the neuropsychology of music perception.

He regularly presents papers and workshops both nationally and internationally on aspects of music education, music perception and cognition, and Kodály studies. He has lectured in Italy, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Estonia, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. In March 2016, he was awarded the Organization of American Kodály Educators (OAKE) Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2017, he received a distinguished alumnus award from the Government of Hungary.

A Steinway Honorary Teacher, Chinese pianist Chao Wu has concertized throughout the concert halls and radio stations as a soloist in Great Britain and China. In 2021, Dr. Wu received a grant from Hubei Education Department to research the study and performance of the British 20th century piano works, and released her first album《The Planets》; then again, she released her second album《Echoes from Nature》in 2024. In these albums, she presents the most influenced British composers in 20th century like Gustav Holst, John Ireland, William Lloyd Webber, Frank Bridge, Fredrick Delius, Richard Rodney Bennett, and Arnold Bax. 

Dr. Wu is a Professor of Piano and Director of Keyboard Studies in The Academy for Performing Arts at Wuhan Conservatory of Music. Prof. Wu received her education in Wuhan Conservatory of Music, China Conservatory of Music, and earned her doctoral degree from Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in England. She has studied with Lin Jingjing, David Quigley, and Victor Sangiorgio, and has been winning many piano competitions prizes in China. 

Dr. Wu often gives masterclasses and lectures, as well as judging the piano competitions. She is the visiting professor and often performing in many schools including York University, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Henan Luoyang Normal University, Huanggang Normal University, Nanchang Aviation University, and Hubei Institute of Science & Technology.

In the past year, she performed three solo concerts at Qintai Concert Hall in Wuhan: “Night of Classic Masters”, “Towards Glory”, and “Echoes from Nature”. Her repertoire covers many different time periods and styles, including classical, romantic, and 20th century British works.

Dr. Wu has been committed to promoting Chinese piano music, and currently preparing for the premiere of “24 Piano Preludes – Twenty-four Solar Terms” and its album publishing in 2025. This set of piano works was composed by Liao Shengjing, one of the leading Chinese composers in the 20th century, using the unique Chinese twenty-four solar terms as the themes. It is also the first and only set of 24 preludes composed by a Chinese composer following the footsteps of Bach, Chopin, Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich, and others.  

“A sensitive pianist and talented artist.” — Martha Argerich

Hailed by The Boston Globe as “a world-class pianist” and the BMInt as “spellbinding and expressive”, Xiaopei Xu has been featured as a soloist on three continents, striving for creativity in her artistic expression. She made her Boston Symphony Hall debut in 2018, performing Chopin Piano Concerto No.1 with Maestro Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops.

Xu has received international acclaim with top prizes at the New York International Piano Competition, Oberlin International Piano Competition, Tureck International Bach Competition, Richmond Piano Competition and the Washington D.C. International Young Artist Competition. She has been invited to major festivals including Pianofest in the Hamptons, PianoTexas, Banff Music Centre, Sarasota Music Festival, Russia Young Artist Festival, and the Walnut Hill Music Festival. Xu has also been invited regularly to give masterclasses and lectures in Nanjing, Beijing, Qingdao, amongst other cities in China. Xu has been exclusively interviewed by Shanghai Morning Post, Qilu Evening news, Music Weekly, Yanzhao Metropolis Daily, and Shanxi Evening News. Her concerts have been reported by The Boston Globe, Sing Tao Daily, Boston Musical Intelligencer, Lancaster New Era, and more.

Xu’s recent performances have been presented by the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, Harvard Musical Association, Foundation for the Chinese Performing Arts, The Stecher and Horowitz Foundation, German Society of Pennsylvania, Lancaster International Piano Festival, Chinese American Museum(LA), Ukraine Forward, College Music Society… etc.

In addition to her musical endeavors, Xu integrates her love for visual arts with music, creating multidisciplinary collaborations as a way to enhance the artistic experience. A painter herself, she has been commissioned for several installations and collaborative projects. Xu created a combined art and concert experience at the Germany Society of Pennsylvania, as well as an exhibition of her artwork in “The Seven Deadly Sins,” an interdisciplinary concert at the New England Conservatory. Collections of her drawings have been published by the Clara Haskil Competition’s Jeune Critique.

Xu holds her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Boston University, Master’s degree from Yale University and Bachelor’s degree from the New England Conservatory of Music. Her principal teachers include Hung-Kuan Chen, Xun Pan, Meng-Chieh Liu, and Boaz Sharon. She has also worked with influential musicians such as Claude Frank, Richard Goode, and Paul Badura-Skoda.

Praised by Piano Art magazine as “one of the best pianists among the world’s young generation”, Petrof Artist Xiaofeng Zhang is an internationally acclaimed pianist and educator whose career spans concert performance, competition adjudication, and teaching excellence.

Born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, Xiaofeng began piano studies at the age of three and soon displayed exceptional musical talent. He was admitted to the Piano Department of the Middle/High School Affiliated to the Central Conservatory of Music, studying with Professor Zhang Jin. In his junior year of high school, he was simultaneously accepted by the Manhattan School of Music, Mannes School of Music, and the University of Michigan School of Music, winning the First Prize Scholarship from the Solomon Teaching Foundation. Renowned pedagogue Solomon Mikowsky described him as “a rare talent.” Xiaofeng Zhang continued his studies at the Central Conservatory of Music, where he studied under Professor Yang Jun. He later earned his Master’s degree in Piano Performance from the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin in Germany, ranking first in both entrance examinations and graduating with highest honors under Professor Gabriel Kupfernagel.

Beside wining in numerous competitions, include the China International Piano Competition, Shanghai International Piano Competition, Ettlingen International Piano Competition (Germany), and the China Golden Bell Award for Music (Piano Division), the Taiwan “Rachmaninoff” International Piano Competition, Brazil “Freedom and Art” International Piano Competition, Chopin 150th Memorial Competition, and the China “Pearl River Cup” Piano Competition, Xiaofeng was also the recipient of the 2001 Yamaha Asian Music Scholarship at the Central Conservatory of Music, and participated in the production of China’s first Czerny Op. 740 Etudes DVD and the official Grade 9 Piano Examination Syllabus Demonstration DVD in 2000.

As an active concert pianist, Zhang has performed extensively across China, the United States, Germany, Brazil, Italy, the Netherlands, France, Austria, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. His appearances at the National Centre for the Performing Arts, Zhongshan Music Hall, Beijing Concert Hall, and China Central Television’s New Year Concerts have been met with great acclaim. He performed as a soloist with several major orchestras in China, including China National Symphony Orchestra, China Philharmonic Orchestra, China Film Symphony Orchestra, Hangzhou Philharmonic Orchestra, and Daqing Symphony Orchestra.

Xiaofeng Zhang currently serves as the Deputy Director of the Piano Department in the Middle/High School Affiliated to the China Conservatory of Music. He is also the Music Consultant in several Chinese cities, including Lanxi, Lin’an, Zhuji, Jinhua, Yiwu, Tonglu, Tiantai, Xinyi, and Yulin. Since joining the faculty at the China Conservatory of Music in 2002, Zhang has taught many outstanding young pianists. His students have won prizes in prestigious competitions such as: Oberlin International Piano Competition (USA), Tchaikovsky International Youth Piano Competition (Russia), Zhuhai Mozart International Youth Piano Competition, “New Star Arts Festival” International Piano Competition (Russia), Chopin International Piano Competition (Estonia), Lancaster International Piano Festival Competition and Florida International Piano Competitions (USA), and many competitions held in China like Steinway International Youth Piano Competition, Asian Youth Chopin Piano Competition, TOYAMA Asian Piano Competition, KAWAI Piano Competition, Macau Piano Invitational, and Hailun & Gadoway International Youth Piano Competitions. Many of his students have been admitted to world-renowned conservatories, including the Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, Eastman School of Music, Peabody Conservatory, New England Conservatory, Yale School of Music, Oberlin Conservatory, Royal Academy of Music (UK), Mozarteum University Salzburg, Hannover University of Music, Berlin University of the Arts, Hamburg University of Music, Frankfurt University of Music, and Lübeck University of Music, among others. Some of his nstudents have gone on to teach at institutions including the China Conservatory of Music, Xi’an Conservatory of Music, Lee University (USA), New England Conservatory (USA), and the Mozarteum University Salzburg (Austria). Xiaofeng Zhang has repeatedly received the title of “Outstanding Teacher” from international competition committees and the “Outstanding Educator Award” from the China Conservatory’s affiliated school.

Zhang has been invited as a jury member in many piano competitions and international festivals including the Florida International Piano Festival and Competition, the Lancaster International Piano Festival Competition, and many competitions in China.