2021 Distinguished Guest Artist Faculty
Angela Cheng, Professor of Piano at Oberlin College and Conservatory, is praised for her brilliant technique, tonal beauty, and superb musicianship. She has appeared as a soloist with more than 100 orchestras, including the Israel Philharmonic, Boston Pops, Buffalo Philharmonic, and the symphonies of Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, St. Louis, Houston, San Diego, Indianapolis, Syracuse, Utah, and Colorado.
An avid recitalist, Cheng has performed solo and chamber recitals throughout North America, Asia, and Europe, including New York City (Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, and the 92nd Street Y), Wigmore Hall in London, Disney Hall in Los Angeles, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., as well as venues in Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Montreal, Toronto, Taiwan, Italy, and Australia. In 2012, she made her Carnegie Hall debut as soloist with the Edmonton Symphony.
In 2009, at the invitation of Pinchas Zukerman, Cheng toured Europe and China with the Zukerman Chamber Players. She joined them again in the spring of 2010 for a U.S. tour, which included concerts at Kennedy Center and the 92nd Street Y in New York. Subsequent seasons have seen multiple tours of Europe and South America, including performances in Paris, London, Prague, Moscow, Warsaw, Budapest, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, at the Musikverein in Vienna, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and at the Salzburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Verbier, and Ravinia festivals.
Cheng has been invited to give master classes throughout North America and in Asia, including the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts, Taichung University in Taiwan, Indiana University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Texas. She has served on the jury of many competitions, including the Cleveland International Piano Competition, the Esther Honens International Piano Competition, the Montreal International Piano Competition, the William Kapell International Piano Competition, the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, the Hilton Head International Piano Competition, the New Orleans International Piano Competition, and the American Pianists Association Competition.
A native of Hong Kong, Cheng studied extensively with Menahem Pressler at Indiana University and with Sascha Gorodnitzki at the Juilliard School. At Oberlin, she was honored with the 2011-12 Excellence in Teaching Award.
An avid recitalist, Cheng has performed solo and chamber recitals throughout North America, Asia, and Europe, including New York City (Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, and the 92nd Street Y), Wigmore Hall in London, Disney Hall in Los Angeles, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., as well as venues in Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Montreal, Toronto, Taiwan, Italy, and Australia. In 2012, she made her Carnegie Hall debut as soloist with the Edmonton Symphony.
In 2009, at the invitation of Pinchas Zukerman, Cheng toured Europe and China with the Zukerman Chamber Players. She joined them again in the spring of 2010 for a U.S. tour, which included concerts at Kennedy Center and the 92nd Street Y in New York. Subsequent seasons have seen multiple tours of Europe and South America, including performances in Paris, London, Prague, Moscow, Warsaw, Budapest, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, at the Musikverein in Vienna, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and at the Salzburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Verbier, and Ravinia festivals.
Cheng has been invited to give master classes throughout North America and in Asia, including the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts, Taichung University in Taiwan, Indiana University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Texas. She has served on the jury of many competitions, including the Cleveland International Piano Competition, the Esther Honens International Piano Competition, the Montreal International Piano Competition, the William Kapell International Piano Competition, the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, the Hilton Head International Piano Competition, the New Orleans International Piano Competition, and the American Pianists Association Competition.
A native of Hong Kong, Cheng studied extensively with Menahem Pressler at Indiana University and with Sascha Gorodnitzki at the Juilliard School. At Oberlin, she was honored with the 2011-12 Excellence in Teaching Award.
Alvin Chow, Professor of Piano at Oberlin College and Conservatory, has appeared throughout North America and in Asia as an orchestral soloist and recitalist. In addition, he has performed extensively in duo-piano recitals with his wife, Angela Cheng, and his twin brother, Alan.A native of Miami, Florida, he graduated summa cum laude and co-valedictorian at the University of Maryland, where he was a student of Nelita True. Chow received the Victor Herbert Prize in Piano upon graduation from the Juilliard School, where he studied with Sascha Gorodnitzki, and held the Joseph Battista Memorial Scholarship at Indiana University as a student of Menahem Pressler.
Chow was the first Fulbright College Visiting Artist in Piano at the University of Arkansas during 1987-88. He later taught at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Since 1999, he has been a member of the artist faculty at Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he is currently chair of the Piano Department and the Ruth Strickland Gardner Professor of Music.
Chow has performed in major concert halls including the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.; Orchestra Hall in Chicago; Weill and Steinway Halls in New York City; and the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria.
He has presented as recitalist in Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Seattle, Denver, Detroit, and Miami, and has appeared as soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra, Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Pan-Asia Symphony in Hong Kong, and the Mozarteum Orchestra in Salzburg, among others.
Chow was the first Fulbright College Visiting Artist in Piano at the University of Arkansas during 1987-88. He later taught at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Since 1999, he has been a member of the artist faculty at Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he is currently chair of the Piano Department and the Ruth Strickland Gardner Professor of Music.
Chow has performed in major concert halls including the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.; Orchestra Hall in Chicago; Weill and Steinway Halls in New York City; and the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria.
He has presented as recitalist in Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Seattle, Denver, Detroit, and Miami, and has appeared as soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra, Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Pan-Asia Symphony in Hong Kong, and the Mozarteum Orchestra in Salzburg, among others.
SMU & IYP Piano Faculty
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Catharine Lysinger, Founding Director of SMU IYP, is Professor of Practice in Applied Piano and head of the Piano Pedagogy area at SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts, where she is also the Director of the Piano Preparatory Department. Lysinger is a prizewinner in national and international piano competitions, including first prize in the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) National Young Artist Competition and first prize in the Wideman International Piano Competition. She is on faculty at Brancaleoni International Music Festival in Italy each summer.
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Kevin Gunter, Co-Director of SMU IYP, is Senior Lecturer and Class Piano Coordinator at Southern Methodist University, where he instructs music major and non-music major undergraduate and graduate students. He is also a Host for Cliburn in the Classroom in DISD. Gunter holds degrees in piano from Samford University and Southern Methodist University, where he studied with Dr. Betty Sue Shepherd and Dr. David Karp, respectively. He also maintains an award-winning studio of pre-college students in SMU's Piano Preparatory Department. He is published in the MTNA e-Journal, and he presented a solo lecture at 2019 MTNA National Conference in Spokane, Washington.
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Hyae-jin Hwang, Co-Director of SMU IYP, is Lecturer of Piano Pedagogy at SMU.
She received both master’s and doctoral degrees in piano pedagogy and performance from the University of Michigan under the tutelage of Logan Skelton and John Ellis. While pursuing her graduate studies she received full tuition scholarships as well as the Joanne Smith Pedagogy Award. Hwang holds a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from Florida Gulf Coast University, where she studied applied piano with Michael Baron and pedagogy with Joanne Smith. During this time, she was a recipient of the Hans and Erna Siebert Excellence Scholarship and the Steinway Society Scholarship. Her additional studies include masterclasses of Ralph Votapek, Joseph Kalichstein, Jon Kimura Parker and Yoshikazu Nagai, among many others. |
Carol Leone is nationally recognized as an artist-teacher of piano. Dr. Leone has performed and taught throughout the United States, Europe and Asia and has been a prizewinner in national and international piano competitions. Leone is also active in keyboard festivals and conferences as a teacher, lecturer and adjudicator. She has been named Texas Music Teachers Association’s Collegiate Teacher of the Year. Dr. Leone is a leading artist-teacher on ergonomic piano keyboards to promote a pianist’s wellness and the chair of Piano Studies at SMU.
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Since his orchestral debut at age 11, pianist Dr. Alex McDonald has soloed with the Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de Mexico, the Louisiana Philharmonic, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, and the Utah Symphony Orchestra, among others. He has performed across the United States as well as in Israel, Mexico, Canada, Japan, and South Korea; additionally, he has been a featured performer on PBS, WRR (Dallas/Ft. Worth), KUHA and KUHF (Houston), NPR, and WQXR (New York City). Awards and fellowships include second prize at the 2007 New Orleans International Piano Competition and second prize at the 2001 Gina Bachauer International Young Artist Piano Competition. In 2008, he was named a Harvey Fellow by the Mustard Seed Foundation. In 2013, he was a participant in the Fourteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.
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David Karp, nationally known pianist, composer, educator, lecturer and author, holds degrees from the Manhattan School of Music and the University of Colorado with additional doctoral studies at Teachers College, Columbia University. He has performed, lectured and conducted workshops and seminars at many colleges and universities. He has served as a judge for several the National Cliburn Amateur Piano Competitions and is a sought-after master teacher and adjudicator throughout Texas.
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Graduate Fellows
The IYP faculty also includes current SMU graduate teaching fellows, who have either completed or are in the process of completing a double master's degree in piano performance and pedagogy.
