| STRINGS |
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| Dr. Judy Wu CHUNG, cello
Dr. Judy Wu, a native of Taiwan based in Houston, Texas, continues to expand her music horizon in the areas of performing and teaching. She received her Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music in Cello performance from the University of Texas at Austin and her Bachelor of Fine Arts from National Taiwan Normal University. While at UT Austin, she studied with the renowned pedagogue, Phyllis Young, and taught as a Teaching Assistant in the String Department and String Project. She was the winner of the 2nd Annual WRR Chamber Music Competition in 2005 and also received several outstanding recognitions from the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. She has accumulated over 25 years of teaching experience and has a passion dor developing and directing new music programs and camps for our students to reach their full potential, such as Little Bach Music Camp, MAC Camp, and All-State Music Camp, music competitions and festivals. She earned the Texas Teacher Certification and is a Suzuki cello certified teacher. |
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| Samuel CHO, cello, piano Samuel Cho was born in San Francisco, United States and grew up in Taipei, Taiwan. His early musical experiences were primarily with drums, guitar, piano and singing a cappella. However, he found his greatest satisfaction in playing and teaching the cello, which led him to pursue a music career. Samuel was awarded his Master of Musical Arts from Conservatory and Dance at the University of Missouri Kansas City, where he was a member of the Graduate Fellowship String Quartet, and his Bachelor of Musical Arts degree from Georgia Southern University. As an educator, Samuel served as music faculty at St. Mary's Academy in St. Mary, Kansas, String Sprouts program in Kansas City, Missouri, Savannah Country Day School in Savannah, Georgia and Triplains USD 275 public school in Winona, Kansas. |
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| Jonathan LI, violin
Jonathan Li was born in New York and raised in Houston. Solo with the Houston Civic Symphony. Concertmaster of the all-region orchestra. Studied Music Theory at the University of Texas at Austin, and violin under Dr. Eugene Gratovich. In September of 2005, he joined New Heart Music Ministries as a full-time staff. |
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| Phoebe WANG, viola, violin
Phoebe Wang started playing the violin when she was five years old. She added viola to her training when she was sixteen. Continuing her focus on the viola, she studied with Rachel Ku, member of the Philadelphia Orchestra. She has had the privilege of soloing with the Cairn University Symphony Orchestra, sitting Principal Viola in the Peabody Modern Orchestra, and performing with the Jacksonville Symphony. A lover of chamber music, she attended the Bowdoin International Music Festival where she was in the studio of Carol Rodland and Masumi Per Rostad. In addition, she received private orchestral coaching from David Kim, concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra. She obtained her Master of Music as a student of Victoria Chiang at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. She received the Olga Von Hartz Memorial Prize in Strings, nominated by the strings faculty. At Peabody, she studied orchestral excerpts with CJ Chang, Principal Viola of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and violin/viola pedagogy with Rebecca Henry, co-chair of the string department at the Peabody Preparatory. In addition to teaching and performing, She enjoys serving at her church’s worship service. She has sung in church choirs as a soprano, served as a worship leader, and accompanied services as a pianist. |
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| PIANO |
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| Dr. Gustavo BIANCHI, piano Dr. Gustavo Bianchi has taught private lessons, beginners to advanced, all ages for more than 20 years. He has successfully organized and prepared students for solo recitals, theory/piano exams such as ABRSM, as well as competitive events. His lessons incorporate all styles but focus on classical genres with emphasis on technique, theory skills, ear training and musicality. His flexible, creative approach individually tailored to each student’s needs and to keep students engaged. He received a 2012 Outstanding Pre-College teaching achievement award from the Austin Music Teachers Association. Dr. Bianchi earned his doctoral degree from the University of Texas at Austin and his master's and bachelor's degrees from Florida State University. He also attended the pre-college music program at the New England Conservatory, as well as the Longy School of Music in Boston. Dr. Bianchi was a teaching assistant at the University of Texas at Austin from 2003 to 2005. Upon graduation, he was hired as an adjunct faculty for the Butler school of Music in the capacity of collaborative pianist. Over the years, he has performed and taught masterclasses for several universities and cultural organizations in the USA, from California to Pennsylvania. He served as Vice president of the ADMTA from 2011 to 2014 and has been in the board of the Mika Hasler Young Artist Competition Foundation since its inception in 2012. In 2014, Dr. Bianchi performed several concerts and masterclasses in Beijing, Xi'an, and Hangzhou, China. Dr. Gustavo Bianchi has enjoyed a distinguished international career, having performed in halls across the US, South America, and Asia. His long list of honors and awards includes prizes at the Sidney Wright Piano Accompanying Competition (first prize, 2003), the presti-gious Bartok and Kabalevsky International Piano Competition (first prize, 1998), and the Flor-ida Young Chang Artist Competition (first prize, 1998) to name a few. He also received a Pre-emptive Fellowship to attend University of Texas at Austin. |
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| Joshua CHUA, piano
Born in Malaysia, Joshua Chua started his musical training at the age of five. He was awarded the “A.B.R.S.M Grade 8 music theory” in 2003, and the “Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music diploma certificate” (L.R.S.M) in 2005. He also received his master degree in collaborative piano performance from Moores School of Music under Timothy Hester. He has more than sixteen years of piano teaching experience, and has helped numerous students achieve excellent results in A.B.R.S.M piano and theory exams. Besides, he has more than fifteen years of experience in collaborative piano performance, and has worked with numerous vocalists and instrumentalists in diploma exams, concerts, and competitions; as well as serving in worship music team. As an experienced church pianist and keyboardist, he had conducted workshops at different churches in Houston and Asia. |
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| Ken LI, piano
Born and raised in Houston, Ken Li has studied with Joyce Webb, Annette Chan and John Weems and was awarded several top prizes and has performed with several orchestras within Texas. Received bachelor of music degree in piano performance at Rice University in Houston, studying with Robert Roux. |
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| VOICE |
| Dr. Ephraim CHENG, baritone
Ephraim Cheng received Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Houston under Elena Nikolaidi and Katherine Ciesinski. Winner of the University of Houston Music Competition and the Carlo Bergonzi Vocal Competition. Accumulated over 10 years of teaching experience and over 20 years of worship leading experience. Founder of New Heart Music Ministries and he dedicated himself to full-time Christian ministry. |
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| Dr. Yen-Yu SHIH, mezzo soprano and piano
Dr. Yen-Yu Shih is a multi-talented musician who in addition to being an accomplished vocalist and pianist, has served as stage manager and producers for a wide variety of musical productions including music festivals, musical theaters, operas and concerts. Her performance experience is extensive, having been worked with several philharmonic and chamber groups and as a guest soloist to even more.
Dr. Shih has won a list of honors and competitions in academics and has received rave reviews for performances given both in the U.S. and abroad. She has been honored with the Recognition of Outstanding Academic Achievement from ASU Herberger College of Fine Arts throughout her graduate study and received the full-scholarship to pursuit her doctoral study in ASU. Since the start of her career, she has devoted to perform and promote the vocal chamber music that involved other musical instruments including piano trio, string quartet, piano quintet, Baroque ensemble and small chamber orchestra.
Dr. Shih possessed the Master’s degree and the Doctorate of Music Arts in Voice Performance from Arizona State University. She also received an additional Master’s degree in Performing Arts Production from Florida International University and received her Bachelor of Music Education degree from the National Taipei University of Education.
After completing her degrees, she served as faculty at the Sierra Music Academy, Sacramento, and held her own voice and piano studio in Pasadena(CA). She has offered professional vocal clinics, private lessons and group classes to students, choirs, music theaters, churches and schools throughout her teaching career. In 2010-2012 she established and served as the music director of National Taiwan University Alumni Chorus, South California, which performed several choir concerts under her direction. In 2012 with her husband, Dr. Ding-Shyue Yang and the family, she relocated in Houston(TX). She currently accepted the position of Music Director for the CAMA Chorus in 2017. |
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