Share with us some of your professional accomplishments.

I am currently based in Philadelphia where I teach piano performance and chamber music at St. Joseph’s University and maintain a private studio at Settlement Music School. I have been featured in performances at Weill Recital Hall (Carnegie Hall), Merkin Concert Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Tenri Cultural Institute, Milton Court Concert Hall, and the Yamaha Salon, as well as Paul Hall (The Juilliard School). Past highlights include a recital for the Barbican Center’s Sound Unbound Weekend, performances with the New Sussex Symphony, Westfield Symphony, Manalapan Battleground Symphony, Guildhall Brass Ensemble, Cambridge Graduate Orchestra, Bravura Philharmonic, and the American premier of an original composition by Karen Lefrak, as a featured performe in the Youth America Grand Prix Gala (David H. Koch Theater). A huge advocate for contemporary music, my performances of Gorecki's Piano Sonata and Four Preludes as well as Richard Rodney Bennett's Noctuary: Variations on a Theme by Scott Joplin were received by critics to high acclaim (Classical Source, Art Desk, The Guardian), and have all been recorded and broadcast on BBC Radio 3.
 

My performing career has taken me across Spain, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Canada, and I have won numerous awards at both the national and international level. I have been a participant in the Gijon International Piano Festival, an artist in residence and scholarship recipient of the Banff Summer Music Festival, and scholarship recipient of the Orford Arts Festival. I return regularly to the UK to work with Nelly Ben-Or, courtesy of the Nelly Ben-Or Trust (est. Sir Colin Davies), to study the in depth relationship between piano playing and the Alexander Technique. I have also benefited from several master classes with renowned pedagogues such as Steven Kovacevich, Marc Durand, Robert McDonald, Andre Michel Schub, Joseph Kalichstein, Jerome Lowenthal, Robert Levin, John Perry, and Jacques Rouvier.

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What excites you about Luzerne Music Center?

It will be my first summer at Luzerne! As a young musician, I unfortunately did not have the opportunity to attend summer music programs geared towards pre-college students and have found teaching at these programs both rewarding and invigorating. There is no question that students leave camp with more confidence in themselves and their music making, having spent a significant amount of time surrounded by like-minded people with similar interests. When I used to attend music festivals myself, I always enjoyed attending Banff Music Festival because of its location. Located in the mountains of Alberta, distant from the hustle and bustle of major cities, I always felt as though I was transported to another world, making my own musical experience and growth all the more intense. Students at Luzerne experience this same growth through surrounding themselves with a wonderful support system, world-class faculty, and the beautiful Adirondacks!

 

What can campers expect to learn working with you this summer?

I have had the opportunity to work with students of many different backgrounds and levels and am confident in my ability to provide students with a wealth of knowledge obtained through years of experience teaching, performing, and mentoring. An avid advocate for outreach and community, I have over 5 years of experience teaching at summer music programs and enthusiastically go above and beyond to inspire and excite students in their studies. I love to cultivate curiosity while always challenge my students to think outside the box, and ask the right kinds of questions!

Share with us some of your professional accomplishments.

Currently, I live in West Hartford, Connecticut, where I spend my time teaching, practicing, and performing.I love connecting with audiences around the world through music, whether I am performing as a soloist with a large ensemble, such playing Beethoven’s Choral Fantasie at The Bushnell, giving a solo recital in a gorgeous, intimate venue like Hill-Stead Museum, or even discussing Bach’s Goldberg Variations and playing a livestream performance for a webinar series at Norfolk Library. Just before the pandemic, I embarked on two concert tours as a laureate of Sicily’s IBLA Grand Prize, where I had received the Bach Special Mention. One of the concert tours took me through seven countries beginning in Tbilisi, Georgia, traveling through Southeast Asia, performing in Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, and ending with a recital at Tokyo’s Kioi Hall. The second concert tour in the US culminated at Weill Recital Hall (Carnegie Hall) in New York. While performing on tour was incredibly memorable, I also enjoyed working with students in masterclasses around the world: learning about different cultural perspectives while working towards the common goal of playing music. As a teacher, I currently work with students of all ages and levels. I am serving as the Director of Music at Quinnipiac University, where I teach courses in piano, music history, and theory. I have also taught keyboard literature at The Hartt School. On the pre-college level, I teach piano and chamber music at The Hartt School Community Division. My students have won top prizes in competitions like the Virtuoso Pianists Competition in Hartford, Hartt Honors Artist Competition, Renee B. Fischer Competition, Connecticut Bach Festival, and more.

 

What excites you about Luzerne Music Center?

In my opinion, there is no better way to study music or to spend a summer than to go to a place like Luzerne Music Center. You can practice intensively without distractions, learn music from different teachers, make friends with peers who share your love for music, listen to world-class performances, and be inspired by the beautiful outdoors! I remember attending my first piano camp when I was fourteen years old. Even though the camp was for only one week, it seemed like my growth as a pianist accelerated faster at camp than taking lessons for the entire year. I practiced with so much concentration and inspiration being in a creative atmosphere. Even more, the friendships I made were remarkable and fulfilling. I learned so much about life and music from my friends, as well as my teachers.

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I am excited to teach at Luzerne Music Center and to help create that incredible educational experience for the next generation of young artists. Because of the small class sizes at Luzerne, I’ll be able to work closely together with students as a teacher and mentor. Lastly, I am thrilled to be making music with my wonderful colleagues, performing concerts for the students and the community!

 

What can campers expect to learn while working with you this summer?

Studying music is about learning content as well as process! In terms of content, we will be working on repertoire that students are interested in, learning about style and musical context at the same time as building piano technique. Every student possesses a unique creative voice, and I look forward to working with students to discover how their voices can shine through effective, effortless piano technique and deeper understanding of each composers’ language. After all, studying music gives us the chance to understand our own humanity through art and to communicate that understanding through sound! Further, the study of music is also about process. We will study the art of learning: how to practice in order to get the most from our time and effort, including studying the score and polishing an interpretation. The steps of the artistic process are accelerated at camp because of the plentiful opportunities for lessons, practice, studio classes, and performances. Perhaps the most important processes we will be exploring are learning how to listen deeply and how to trust our musical instincts especially when we perform. I am looking forward to the joy of using our creativity in learning together!

Share with us some of your professional accomplishments.

My professional life is equally divided between teaching and performing. My performing engagements have led me to over 500 concerts in the USA, Israel, France, Serbia, Iceland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Slovakia as a solo performer and chamber musician. Beside many notable solo recitals in USA and abroad, including Carnegie Weill Hall, I have played as a soloist with Connecticut Valley Symphony Orchestra, Razgrad Philharmonic, Symphony Orchestra of the Army House of Serbia, National Symphony of Bulgaria and Foot in the Door Ensemble. As a member of Prometheus Duo with saxophonist Joseph Abad, I performed more than 50 concerts since 2016, premiering new music and traditional chamber music repertoire. The Duo was granted with artist-in residency at the Avaloch Farm Music Institute in 2016 and 2017, and was featured on the Parma Records CD compilation - “Spectra Vol.2” in 2018. I was also fortunate to collaborate with many great artists and ensembles, such as double-bassist Robert Black, soprano Maureen O’Flynn, Martha Graham principal dancer Miki Orihara, Foot in the Door, 016, HICO and many others.
 

Currently, I am head of the piano department at Silver Music school in NYC and piano faculty at JCC Thurnauer School of Music in New Jersey. My students were equally successful at competitions in the USA and abroad, and I am proud to say that many of my students enrolled in universities, and pursued professional piano performing and teaching careers.

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What excites you about Luzerne Music Center?

This is going to be my first time at LMC and I am very excited to meet piano students from all over the world, as well as other faculty. Summer music festivals are wonderful experiences for students and faculty, and as I hear from everyone, LMC offers a wonderful music program at a beautiful location. What else can a musician wish for?

 

What can campers expect to learn working with you this summer?

My teaching style is always geared toward student’s current needs and level. I like to encourage my students to ask questions and get animated about learning music in order to achieve their best. The focal point of my teaching is on the sound quality and the understanding of music. From there, appropriate work has to follow to achieve a  high-level performance. Teaching the most effective ways to practice and learn is a big part of my teaching philosophy.

Share with us some of your professional accomplishments.

While maintaining a busy teaching schedule at the University of Szeged and the Vántus Conservatory, I also enjoy an active international performing career as well, performing solos with the Budapest Strings, the Orchestra de Ciudad de Buenos Aires, among others. My performances include appearances in Hungary, Italy, Poland, Austria, Germany, Argentina, the Middle East and throughout the United States.

 

Since establishing my private studio in the United States in 2001, my students have been regular top prize winners at piano competitions, and several of them have continued their studies at the Juilliard School of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Bowdoin and Indiana University School of Music.

I am currently pursuing a Doctoral degree at the Franz Liszt Academy, while holding a full time teaching position at the University of Szeged, serving as International Liaison for the Music Department.

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What excites you about Luzerne Music Center?

Luzerne Music Center is a magical place! I will be returning for my 12th summer here, where I have witnessed so many students go through positive life changing experiences. The peaceful setting of the whispering pines and the lake create the atmosphere that brings us close to one another as human beings as well as musicians. The opportunities and insight we are able to give these young musicians by living in such close proximity, leading by example and letting them witness the daily life of professional musicians is priceless.

 

What can campers expect to learn working with you this summer?

While working together, all piano students can expect to utilize my extensive knowledge of music, piano playing and repertoire as a treasure chest: taking absolutely everything they need to better their own playing in an open and friendly environment. We each have different struggles at the various stages of learning piano. With daily masterclasses, I give students intensive and practical guidance towards successful, fulfilling and meaningful performances.  I am eager to provide immediate help as well as long term advice in technique, serving the deeper understanding of musical meaning and expression.