Washington International Piano Festival: Faculty

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Alessio Bax (recital and master class only)
Yuri Didenko
Nikita Fitenko
Brian Ganz (recital and master class only)
Ivo Kaltchev
Kim Hae-young
Scott McBride Smith (workshop and master class only)
Atsuko Okada
Xun Pan

Alessio Bax

Pianist Alessio Bax is praised for creating “a ravishing listening experience” with his lyrical playing, insightful interpretations and dazzling facility. “His playing quivers with an almost hypnotic intensity,” says Gramophone magazine, leading to “an out-of-body experience” (Dallas Morning News). First prize winner at the Leeds and Hamamatsu international piano competitions and a 2009 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient, he has appeared as soloist with over 90 orchestras, including the London and Royal Philharmonic orchestras, Dallas and Houston symphonies, NHK Symphony in Japan, St. Petersburg Philharmonic with Yuri Temirkanov, and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra with Sir Simon Rattle.

This season, Bax returns as soloist with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic under Temirkanov for the opening concert of the St. Petersburg Winter Festival, and collaborates with Finnish conductor Pietari Inkinen in Denmark . He performs solo recitals in New York City at Rockefeller University , at Boston Conservatory's Piano Masters Series, at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington , D.C. , at the Chopin Society in Saint Paul , and at Spivey Hall in Atlanta , as well as in Venezuela , South Korea and Japan. Bax makes his Carnegie Hall debut at Weill Recital Hall with cellist Sol Gabetta, with whom he appeared last season at the Kennedy Center. He also returns to the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and tours with violinist Chee-Yun as well as his frequent duo partner, pianist Lucille Chung. October marks the release of Alessio Bax plays Brahms on the Signum Records label, featuring the four Ballades, Op. 10, Klavierstücke, Op. 76 and both books of the Paganini Variations, Op. 35.

Highlights of Bax's recent seasons include appearances with the Dallas Symphony under Jaap van Zweden and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in the UK , debuts at New York 's Metropolitan Museum of Art and the 92 nd Street Y, and performances with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, where he recently completed three seasons as a member of CMS Two.

This past summer, Bax participated in nine different festivals in the U.S. and Spain, including first appearances at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival and Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, and a return to the Bard Music Festival. He performed and recorded Mozart's Piano Concertos K. 491 and K. 595 with the Southbank Sinfonia in London for release by Signum Records in 2013.

Bax's most recent disc in his acclaimed discography, “Rachmaninov: Preludes and Melodies” (Signum Records), received critical praise across the board. Classics Today hailed it as “impassioned, world-class Rachmaninov,” and American Record Guide designated it as a “Critics' Choice 2011.” Bax's 2009 CD, Bach Transcribed, also received rave reviews from Gramophone magazine (“awesome”) and Fanfare (“this disc is a must”). Baroque Reflections, his 2004 recording for Warner Classics, was selected as a Gramophone "Editor's Choice” and American Record Guide “Critics' Choice” (“a disc to treasure”). In 2005, Bax and pianist Lucille Chung recorded Saint-Saëns's Carnival of the Animals with conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. They have also recorded the complete works for two pianos and piano four hands of György Ligeti on Dynamic Records. In addition, Bax has chronicled the complete works for piano and organ of Marcel Dupré for Naxos , and Brahms's Piano Concerto No. 1 live with the New Japan Philharmonic, for Fontec. Also on Fontec, Bax released a live recording of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Hamamatsu Symphony Orchestra.

Bax's extensive concerto repertoire has led to performances with such esteemed conductors as Marin Alsop, Sergiu Commissiona, Alexander Dimitriev, Vernon Handley, Jacques Lacombe, Jonathan Nott, Vasily Petrenko, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Sir Simon Rattle, Dimitry Sitkovetsky, Yuri Temirkanov, Christopher Warren-Greene, and Jaap van Zweden. His festival appearances include London 's International Piano Series (Queen Elizabeth Hall), the Verbier Festival in Switzerland , England 's Aldeburgh and Bath festivals, and the Ruhr Klavierfestival, BeethovenFest and Schloss Elmau in Germany . Bax has given recitals at major music halls in Rome , Milan , Madrid , Mexico City, Paris , London , Tel Aviv, Tokyo , Seoul , Hong Kong , New York , and Washington , DC . An active chamber musician, he has collaborated with Emanuel Ax, Joshua Bell, Andrés Diaz, Pamela Frank, Steven Isserlis and Anne-Marie McDermott, among others.

In 2005, Alessio Bax was selected to play the Fugue of Beethoven's "Hammerklavier" Sonata for Maestro Daniel Barenboim in Barenboim on Beethoven. The documentary was produced by Channel 13/PBS in conjunction with Bel Air Media, BBC, and NHK Japan. It was broadcast worldwide and released as a DVD box set in 2006 on the EMI label. His performances have been broadcast live on the BBC, CBC (Canada), RAI (Italy), RTVE (Spain), NHK (Japan), WDR, NDR and Bayerische Rundfunk (Germany), Hungarian Radio Television, Serbian RTE, WQXR (New York) and American Public Media's “Performance Today,” among others.

Alessio Bax graduated with top honors at the record age of 14 from the conservatory of his hometown in Bari , Italy . He studied in France with François-Joël Thiollier and attended the Chigiana Academy in Siena under Joaquín Achúcarro. He moved to Dallas in 1994 to continue his studies with Achúcarro at SMU's Meadows School of the Arts, and he is now on the teaching faculty there. He and his wife, pianist Lucille Chung, reside in New York City . Alessio Bax is a Steinway artist.

Yuri Didenko

Internationally acclaimed Russian pianist Yuri Didenko has performed recitals and with orchestras in the best concert halls of Moscow, including Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory and Moscow International House of Music, cities of the former Soviet Union and abroad: USA, Japan, Great Britain, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Poland, Greece, Malta, Chile, China, countries of Western Africa, Turkey, Cyprus, South Korea.
The British magazine Pianoforte referred to his performances as "bold, open, powerful, and technically accomplished old-school virtuosity." The Belgian newspaper La Semaine d'Anvers wrote of him as a "brilliant pianist" and mentioned his "large and bright sonority" as well as dynamism. His concerts in USA were highly appraised by the press. "Didenko captured the hearts of the audience when he performed several selections by Sergei Rachmaninov", a critic wrote about one of his recitals."Immortal works by Schubert, Liszt, and Rachmaninov sounded with an incredible force of conviction, emotional power and brightness under the magic hands of Yuri Didenko, the chairman of the Jury of Dimitrios Vikelas International competition. When the music finds its ideal interpreter, he enchants his listeners, fillings their hearts with beauty, passion, and harmony. Yuri Didenko proved to be this ideal performer", - a Greek newspaper "Epikaira" wrote about his performance. Didenko's wide and diverse repertoire includes works of different styles - from Bach to Messiaen and avant-garde music of the twentieth century.

Mr. Didenko studied piano at the Central Music School affiliated with the Moscow Conservatory with Alexander Mndoyants and then at the Moscow Conservatory with Professor Merzhanov. Since 1994, he has been on the piano faculty of the Moscow Conservatory. Mr. Didenko is a prizewinner of numerous competitions in Italy, USA, Belgium; he is the winner of the International Concert Artists Competition in Royal Tunbridge Wells (Great Britain). In 2003, Mr. Didenko received the Russian Federation Ministry of Culture Award "For Special Achievements in Culture".
Yuri Didenko recorded several compact discs with various romantic and XX century works including Brahms's Variations on the Theme by Paganini, Liszt's Six Grandes Etudes de Paganini, Rachmaninoff's Sonata No. 2, two trios by Rachmaninoff (with Graf Mourja, violin, and Mikhail Utkin, cello) Visions de L'Amen by Messiaen for two pianos (with Maria Parshina). He made numerous recordings on the Russian State Radio.

Mr. Didenko is in demand for master classes in many cities of Russia, Ukraine, Greece, Malta, Germany, Poland, as well as USA, South Korea, and China. He has also served on piano juries of several international piano competitions (as a member and as a chairman of the jury) in Russia, Poland, USA, Greece, Kazakhstan, Ukraine. From 1996 to 2002, Mr. Didenko was an active member and secretary of the Rachmaninov Society of Russia. He is also member of the Presidium of the Scriabin Foundation.

Nikita Fitenko

Internationally acclaimed pianist and Yamaha Artist Nikita Fitenko has performed recitals and with orchestras in the former Soviet Union, Europe, Asia, and South and North America. He has appeared as a soloist with such orchestras as St. Petersburg Capella Symphony, Russian Chamber Philharmonic, Russian Philharmonic Orchestra of Moscow, St. Petersburg State Conservatory Orchestra, State Hermitage Orchestra, Slovak National Philharmonic, Corvallis Symphony Orchestra, Lewisville Symphony, Rapides Symphony, Northeast Texas Symphony, and Northwestern Symphony Orchestra. His future engagements this year besides the concerts in the US will bring him to England, Sweden, Malta, China, South Korea, and Japan.
While performing a wide and diverse repertoire, Nikita Fitenko is an acknowledged master of Russian piano music. His CDs for Altarus Records of complete piano works by leading contemporary Russian composers Georgy Sviridov and Sergei Slonimsky have garnered rave reviews from the international music press. Fanfare Music Review wrote, "Fitenko plays magnificently!" Slonimsky himself described Fitenko's interpretation of his piano music as "outstanding." He also added, "It is very vivid, imaginative, virtuosic, fascinating, and pianistically brilliant." Mr. Fitenko's recording of Scriabin's Piano Concerto with the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra of Moscow was released internationally on Classical Records label. His latest recording of works by Bach, Beethoven, Mussorgsky, and Rachmaninov for Classical Records will be released this fall.
In addition to solo recitals, Nikita Fitenko performs extensively in piano duo with Katerina Zaitseva. Hailed by critics for their "superlative sound, superlative interpretation, and superlative pianism…", the duo has performed worldwide with most recent appearances at the Moscow State Conservatory Hall (Russia), Madeira Music Festival (Portugal), Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage (Washington, D.C.), Yamaha Hall (NYC), Piano Duo Series (Tokyo, Japan), Nancyphonies Music Festival (France), University of Florida Young Pianists Festival, and Berkeley University (California, USA). Their critically acclaimed CD featuring works for piano four hands by Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms has been released internationally by the Classical Records label and is available through Amazon.
Native of St. Petersburg, Russia, Nikita Fitenko graduated from the St. Petersburg State Conservatory with a citation for excellence given to only five other graduates in the last fifty years. After receiving the Anton Rubinstein Memorial Award he came to study to the US pursuing his master's and doctoral degrees from the University of North Texas. His principal teachers included Roman Lebedev, Igor Lebedev, and Joseph Banowetz.
Dr. Fitenko has been invited to serve on many international piano competition juries, including 2012 Nordic International Piano Competition (Malmo, Sweden), 2011 Chopin International Piano Competition (Hartford, CT), 2010 Scriabin International Piano Competition (Grosetto, Italy), 2009 American Pianists Association's Classical Fellowship Awards (Indianapolis, IN), 2008 Rachmaninov International Piano Competition (Moscow, Russia), and 2003 World International Piano Competition (Cincinnati, OH) among others. He has presented master classes at the Verdi Conservatory of Music (Turin, Italy), Hochschule fur Musik (Saarbruken, Germany), Estonian Academy of Music (Tallinn, Estonia), Korean National, Yeonsei, Hanyang, Sejong, ChungAng Universities (South Korea), Sichuan Conservatory, Xinghai Conservatory, Jinan University, Hangzhou University (China), as well as at the 2010 Convention of the Maryland State Music Teachers Association, 2009 Chinese-American International Piano Institute (Chengdu, China), and 2009 University of Florida Young Pianists Festival (Gainesville, FL). Among his students are winners of national and international competitions including National MTNA Competition.
Currently, Dr. Fitenko holds a position of Associate Professor of Piano at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. and co-directs the Washington International Piano Festival. Prior to that he was Associate Professor and Coordinator of Keyboard Area at Northwestern State University of Louisiana. He is also the founder of Louisiana International and Florida International Piano Competitions.

Brian Ganz

Brian Ganz is widely regarded as one of the leading pianists of his generation. The Washington Post has written: "One comes away from a recital by pianist Brian Ganz not only exhilarated by the power of the performance but also moved by his search for artistic truth."
For many years Mr. Ganz has made it his mission to join vivid music making with warmth and intimacy onstage, often guiding listeners on a journey of discovery inside the composer's craft. The result is a new kind of listening experience in which great works come to life with insight and authentic emotional power.

A laureate of the Marguerite Long Jacques Thibaud and the Queen Elisabeth of Belgium International Piano Competitions, Mr. Ganz has appeared as soloist with such orchestras as the St. Louis Symphony, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the National Philharmonic, the Baltimore Symphony, the National Symphony and the City of London Sinfonia, and has performed with such conductors as Leonard Slatkin, Piotr Gajewski, Marin Alsop and Mstislav Rostropovich. After the Brussels competition, La Libre Belgique wrote, "We don't have the words to speak of this fabulous musician who lives music with a generous urgency and brings his public into a state of intense joy."

In January of 2011, Mr. Ganz began a multi-year project with the National Philharmonic in which he will perform the complete works of Chopin at the Strathmore Music Center. The inaugural recital, called "masterly" by the Washington Post, featured solo works of the romantic composer. Future recitals will include all the chamber works and songs as well as the complete solo works. The orchestral works will feature Mr. Ganz in collaboration with the National Philharmonic and Maestro Gajewski. The second recital of the series took place in February of this year before a capacity crowd at Strathmore. The next recital, with the theme "Small Worlds," is scheduled for January 19 of 2013 and will feature the 24 Preludes, Op. 28. Also in 2012 Mr.Ganz has performed in the Cartagena International Music Festival in Colombia and the Alba Music Festival in Italy. He has played the Debussy Fantaisie for Piano and Orchestra with the National Philharmonic and Maestro Gajewski, and the Grieg Piano Concerto with the Chesapeake Orchestra on the River Concert Series at St. Mary's College of Maryland.

Mr. Ganz is Artist-in-Residence at St. Mary's College of Maryland and is on the piano faculty of the Peabody Conservatory of Music. He lives in Annapolis.

Ivo Kaltchev

Prizewinner of international piano competitions and a Bösendorfer Concert Artist, pianist Ivo Kaltchev is enjoying 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), "superb musicianship" (Phar, Israel), "distinctive and original" (Soviet Culture, Russia), "impressive" (Frankfurter Neue Presse, Germany), "most beautifully and idiomatically played" (International Record Review, England), "glittering," " big technique" (The Washington Post, USA), "his tonal qualities are astounding…first class" (American Record Guide, USA), "fine" (Fanfare, USA), "a master of the whole range of pianistic attacks and coloristic effects" (The Star Ledger, USA) - these are some of the words which music critics have used to describe Mr. Kaltchev's unique artistry.

Dr. Kaltchev has performed in musical centers throughout the world, including Carnegie Weill Concert Hall, Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, Kennedy Center, Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory Malii and Rachmaninov Halls, St. Petersburg State Philharmonic Hall, Warsaw National Philharmonic Hall, Salle Moliere (Lyon, France), Teatro Verdi (Salerno, Italy), Tel Aviv Museum Recanati Auditorium (Israel), Mendelssohn Hochschule für Musik Hall (Leipzig, Germany), Princeton University's Richardson Auditorium, the Library of Congress, and the Bulgaria Great Hall.

He has performed and taught at music festivals throughout the world including the Washington International Piano Festival (Washington DC), the European Academy for Music and Arts (Montepulciano, Italy), the Chinese-American International Piano Institute (Changdu, China), the Perugia International Music Festival (Italy), Nancyphonies International Music Festival (France), Mozart International Music Festival (Frankfurt, Germany), the Toledo International Music Festival (Spain), the Sofia Music Weeks International Festival (Bulgaria), the Lincoln Center French Music Festival, the Prague Spring International Music Festival (Czech Republic), the Varna Summer International Festival (Bulgaria), the Rutgers SummerFest (USA), Vivace International Music Festival (USA), and Florida University Young Pianist Festival (USA). Some of the highlights of recent seasons include both a solo recital and a concerto performance with the New York Festival Orchestra (now EOS Orchestra) in Alice Tully Hall, performances of the complete solo piano works of Debussy and the complete songs of Henri Duparc as well as concerts in the U.S., China, Russia, Germany, Spain, Finland, Bulgaria, Italy, France, Czech Republic and the Virgin Islands. A respected chamber musician, Mr. Kaltchev has collaborated with the New York Metropolitan Opera soloists Sharon Christman, Fabiana Bravo and Patrick Carfizzi; pianist Ilana Vered; Essex Quartet; French actress Marie Christine Barrault as well as members of the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. His engagements for the 2010-11 concert season include recitals and master classes in the United States, Thailand, Singapore, Portugal, Switzerland, Mexico, and China.
Mr. Kaltchev's critically acclaimed commercial recordings on 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") and a CD with the world premieres of solo piano works by the French composer Florent Schmitt. Mr. Kaltchev has been a featured artist for the New York City's WNYC and WQXR Radio Stations, Radio Free Europe (Germany), Radio Moscow, Klara Radio Station (Brussels, Belgium), Bulgarian National TV and Radio, and many others.

Mr. Kaltchev holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Rutgers University (USA), the Master of Music degree from Yale University (USA), the Bachelor of Music degree from the Sofia State Academy of Music (Bulgaria) and a Diploma from the Franz Liszt Hoscschule fur Musik (Weimar, Germany). His principal teachers include pianists Ilana Vered, Boris Berman, Milena Mollova as well as chamber musicians from the Guarneri and Tokyo String Quartets.

Dr. Kaltchev is a recipient of pedagogy awards for teaching excellence from the Piano Teachers Society of America and the Princeton Steinway Society. He has presented lectures, workshops and master classes at the World Piano Pedagogy Conference, the European Piano Teachers Association Conference, the American College Music Society Conference, the Improving University Teaching International Conference, the Yale University as well as in the United States, Europe, China, Korea and the Virgin Islands. Dr. Kaltchev is an active adjudicator and has judged the following international piano competitions: Maria Clara Cullell International Latin American Piano Competition (Costa Rica), Louisiana International Piano Competition (USA), Vladigerov International Piano Competition (Bulgaria), Jacinto Guerrero Piano Competition (Spain), Florida International Piano Competition (USA), Andorra International Piano Competition, International Young Artist Piano Competition (USA), Liszt-Garrison International Piano Competition (USA) and Los Angeles International Liszt Piano Competition (USA). Mr. Kaltchev's students are prizewinners of more than 20 piano competitions and have performed with numerous orchestras including I Solisti di Perugia (Italy). Dr. Kaltchev is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Bulgarian Music Society Concert Series at the Bulgarian Embassy in Washington DC.
Currently, Dr. Kaltchev is Associate Professor of Piano and Chair of the Piano Division at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He is also a Visiting Professor at the China Conservatory of Music in Beijing, China and Co-Director of the Washington International Piano Festival in Washington DC. During the Fall 2010 semester, Dr. Kaltchev taught at the Yale University School of Music as a Visiting Professor.

Kim Hae-young

Professor Kim Hae-young graduated from Kyunggi girl's high school, Seoul National University, Korea, and Musik Hochschule in Wien, Austria. After that she continued Musikwissenschaft and musikalische Frueh-erziehung in Germany.

She has performed throughout Korea, in Belgium, Germany, Austria, Greece, Bulgaria, Spain, America and Finland (Helsinki conservatoire) as soloist, chamber music player and with several national and international philharmonic orchestras, including Pleven, Haskobo, and Vidin orchestras. Every summer, she has been on a jury of piano competition in the Forum Barcelona, Spain and has lectured and given master classes in Barcelona. She introduced the new pieces of Jeno Takas, Jukka Linkola, and Edmon Tapio in Korea and other countries. Her most recent performances include "Apollo" by Jukka Linkolla at the Contemporary Music Festrival in Terrassa, Spain; Sonata for 2 pianos & percussion by Bartok, and lecture-recital on Piazzolla's music using as an example "le grand Tango" for cello and piano.

Professor Kim Hae-young is in demand for master class throughout South Korea and in many European countries. She serves as jury member of the national and international competitions every year. Most recently she was on a jury of Vladigerov International Competition in Shumen, Bulgaria and the Young Pianist International Competition in Sofia, Bulgaria. She serves as an international adviser and faculty member of the Asian International Piano Academy & Festival with Competition in Korea.
She is also a vice-president of the piano society in Korea. She was a dean of academic affairs and head of graduate school at Chugye University for the Arts. Currently she is a professor and head of piano department at Chugye University for the Arts as well as member of the development committee at the Ministry of Education of South Korea.

Scott McBride Smith

Scott McBride Smith is a recognized leader in world-wide music education. As the Cordelia Brown Murphy Professor of Piano Pedagogy at the University of Kansas, he focuses on national issues of teacher training and piano pedagogy. As President and CEO of the International Institute for Young Musicians, he leads a summer program offering specialized training for gifted young performers from around the world. And as co-author of the groundbreaking new series American Popular Piano, he has helped create a course of study for today's student - providing tools that inspire the necessary hard work while playing music they love.

The growing interest in his philosophical and cognitive approach to music teaching has resulted in appearances across the US, Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America, including workshops and showcases at every Music Teachers National Association Conference since 1999. But he has never lost the ability to see humor in the profession and laugh.

A long-time teacher of prize-winning students in Irvine, California, Dr. Smith's students were the California State Champions in the years 1988, 1990, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2009. Former students have been First Prize winners in the Naftsger Competition, Tchaikovsky Competition and in competitions of the Music Teachers National Association. His former student Alan Woo won the Julliard School Concerto Competition in 2010, at the age of 19. His student Chaeyoung Park (whom he co-teaches with his colleague, Dr. Jack Winerock) was the Kansas and West Central Divison champion in the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 MTNA Junior Competitions, won First Place in the 2012 IIYM International Competition and was the youngest contestant and finalist in the 2012 Eastman Competition. The Wakarusa Trio (Puyin Bai, clarinet; Shokhrukh Sadikov, viola; and Kai Yin Crystal Lam, piano), whom he coaches, is the 2013 National Champion, winning First Place in the MTNA Chamber Music (Strings) national competition in Anaheim in March, 2013.

Dr. Smith is co-author of the college text The Well-Tempered Keyboard Teacher and associate editor of the magazine Clavier Companion. He is co-author of Christopher Norton's Guide to Microjazz.

Dr. Smith has served as Visiting Professor at the Bela Bartok Conservatory in Lima, Peru; at the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts; in China, at the Sichaun Conservatory of Music and at the Shenzhen Arts School; and in Taiwan, sponsored by the International Piano Teaching Foundation.

Scott McBride Smith received his doctorate from the University of Southern California, where he was co-winner of the Outstanding Graduate in Piano award. A former member of the Music Teachers National Association National Board, he is also a member of the European Piano Teachers Association and a Level One Certified member the Early Childhood Music and Movement Association. He is Immediate past President of the California Association of Professional Music Teachers and a former president of the Southwest Division of the Music Teachers National Association.

Atsuko Okada

Atsuko Okada was born in Tokyo in 1954. After graduating from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music (Currently - Tokyo University of the Arts) in 1976, she advanced to further graduate studies at the university and earned the Doctorate of Philosophy degree in Western music on the recognition of the recital and thesis on Scriabin. Ever since, she has built a career to become a widely respected pianist and music critic.
Dr. Okada is an internationally acclaimed Japan's premier interpreter of Scriabin's legacy. She has been invited to various festivals and conferences, including the music festival on Scriabin's 125th birth anniversary (Moscow, 1997) and the 2nd International Congress commemorating Chopin's 150th death anniversary (Warsaw, 1999), during which she held recitals and delivered lectures. Dr. Okada's portfolio as a researcher/writer/editor includes such desired items as 'Scriabin, the Complete Works for Piano' (Shunju-sha, Tokyo) and "A moment is of itself eternity" - pianism at the end of the century" (Sakuhin-sha, Tokyo), a collection of own critical essays.
At present, Dr. Okada is a professor at Tokyo College of Music, a part-time professor at Tokyo University of the Arts, and a councilor of the Japan Piano Teachers Association. Previously, she was a research fellow of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and an associate professor at Kyoto City University of Art. Dr Okada is very much in demand as a regular guest faculty at various master classes (France, Korea, Japan: from Hokkaido to Okinawa) and as a juror at international competitions, including the 2007 Ciurlionis International Piano Competition (Vilnius).

Xun Pan

Chinese-American pianist Xun Pan received his early musical training from his grandmother and pianists-parents, Pan Yiming and Ying Shizhen. He continued his studies at the Central 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, Pyong-Yang, London, Los Angeles, Frankfurt, Taipei, Budapest, New York, Vina Del Mar, Lisbon, Toronto, Boston, and many other cities in the world. He "…excites his audience with extraordinary power and masterful technique" (Intelligencer Journal).
A noted chamber musician, Mr. Pan is the pianist of the Newstead Trio and Trio Clavino, two of the most distinguished piano trios in North America. Their work has been broadcast live on radio and television, and they have released several highly acclaimed recordings. Mr. Pan is a visiting professor at China Conservatory of Music, China Northwest University for Nationalities, Fuzhou University, Yantai University, Shandong University, Qinghai Normal University, and at Wenzhou University.