As an active pianist, Pi-Ju Chiang appears frequently in collaborative and solo recitals in Taiwan, North America, Europe and Mexico. She first gained professional acclaim as an accompanist performing the opera “L’orfeo” by Monterverdi at a college annual opera gala in 1996 in Taiwan. During this time she was also the private accompanist of Angelo Marenzi who is a professor of voice in Taipei National University of Art in Taiwan (TNUA). Her exceptional ability in collaborative piano took her to the Bari Opera Theater in Italy where she accompanied two operas in 1997 “La Boheme” and “Il Travatore”. She was invited to give solo and duo piano recitals in Mexico. She was awarded third prize in the 2000 Sidney M. Wright Endowed Presidential scholarship/Competition in piano accompanying in Texas. Her outstanding talent in collaborative piano earned her full scholarship offer from Rice University from 2001-2003. During this time she was the only student accepted in the studio of Brian Connelly, the head and director of the piano chamber music/accompanying program of Rice. Ms Chiang was selected to be a participant from hundreds of international competitors in the 2004 Cleveland Art Song Festival. She was invited to play for Brazilian soprano Lilly Abreu, professor of voice at Carnegie Mellon University, with whom she played in concerts in Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. Ms. Chiang is the 2005 recipient of the Rosa Lobe Memorial Award in Accompanying in Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) recognizing the highest level of artistic achievement, and immediately upon graduation appointed to CIM collaborative piano faculty. Ms. Chiang was selected to perform in master classes for important artists and received very high feedback, including Stephanie Brythe, Janet Bookspan, David Daniel, Warren Jones, Martin Katz, Ida Kavafian, Arthur Rowe, Eric Rosenblith, Cavani Quartet, and Osiris Trio.
A native of Taiwan, Ms. Chiang began studying piano at age four. At nine she was selected into a professional music training program in Taiwan for gifted children and was awarded first prize for three consecutive years in National Taiwan Piano Competition. In 1998 she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Piano Performance from TNUA. There she studied with pianists Song-Jen Hsu and Rolf-Peter Wille. Ms. Chiang received her first Masters Degree in Piano Performance at The University of Texas at Austin where she studied with David Renner and Timothy Lovelace. She was awarded her second Masters Degree in Piano Chamber/Accompanying at Rice University where she studied with Brian Connelly. She earned Professional Studies Diploma in Collaborative Piano at Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) where she studied with Anita Pontremoli. Yun-Ting Lee is a First-year M.M. violin student of David Cerone and
William Preucil at the Cleveland Institute of Music. A native of Taiwan,
Yun-Ting started violin at the age of 5 with Ming-de Zhong. He continued
his study in Arizona with Dr. Phyllis Skoldberg, and then received his
B.M. from the Cleveland Institute of Music under the directions of
William Preucil and David Updegraff. The Grand Prize winner of the 2003
Phoenix Symphony Guild Young Artist competition, Mr. Lee has also won numours
other awards including 1st prizes in Southwest/Arizona divisions of Music
Teacher’s National Association compeitions, the Arizona chapter of the ASTA compeititon,
three consecutive first places in the PSGYO Competition Upper Strings
division, and the conductor’s prize from the Cleveland Institute of
Music Concerto Competition. Yun-Ting has appeared as soloist with the
Phoenix Symphony, the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra, and has
given recitals in the United States and the Netherlands.
Yun-Ting has been Concertmaster of the Arizona All-State Orchestra,
Phoneix Symphony Guild Youth Orchestra, and the Cleveland Institute of
Music orchestra. He has worked under such conductors as Michael Stern,
Gerard Schwarz, Larry Livingston, Louis Lane, Michael Gilbert, James
Gaffigan, and Gerhardt Zimmermann. An Avid chamber musician, Mr. Lee
participated for two years in the Intensive Quartet Program at CIM, and has
performed in chamber music concerts around the United States. In 2006 Yun-Ting
performed in Carnegie Hall with the New York String Orchestra Seminar. Yun-Ting
has played in masterclasses for Donald Weilerstein, Ruggerio Ricci, Schlomo
Mintz, Joel Smirnoff, Kathleen Winkler, Emerson String Quartet, Takacs
String Quartet, and members of the Orion and Pacifica Quartets. Yun-Ting
is an alumnus of The International Holland Music Sessions, Interlochen
Arts Camp, Meadowmount School for Strings, International Institute for
Young Musicians, Encore school for strings, and Music Academy of the West.
Cellist Chia-Ling Chien was born in Taipei, Taiwan and began playing the piano at the age of 6, and cello at the age of 9. Winner of numerous competitions as a cellist and pianist in Taiwan, she was the four-year first prize winner of Taipei Cello Competition; three-year prize winner of Taipei Piano Competition; second prize winner of National Taiwan Cello Competition, and second prize winner of International Taipei Chopin Piano Competition. Chia-Ling later came to the United States, where as a scholarship student, she attended the Idyllwild Arts Academy. During those years, she was invited to perform Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme with the IAA chamber orchestra. Chia-Ling won the Best Bach Performance Prize for String at The Corpus Christi International Competition in 2006; winner of Cleveland Institute of Music Concerto Competition winner in 2006, which lead her to a performance with Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra in March 2007.; the recipient of the Ellis A. Feiman Memorial Award in Cello in 2007; the recipient of Anna Sosenko Trust Foundation Award. Chia-Ling receipted her Bachelor of Music degree in cello performance with Stephen Geber at The Cleveland Institute of Music, and she is pursuing her Master of Music degree in cello performance with Desmond Hoebig at The Cleveland Institute of Music. Chia-Ling has participated in several music festivals; Idyllwild Arts Academy Summer Program; Pacific Music Festival, 2002 in which she was the youngest participant and was invited for year 2003 and 2004; Blossom Music Festival in which she performed the side-by-side concert with The Cleveland Orchestra; three-year fellowship student at Aspen Music Festival and School from 2005 to 2007. In the summer 2007, Chia-Ling was invited to perform Brahms string sextet with world renowned violinists Gil Shaham and Adele Anthony. Most recently, Chia-Ling was appointed to be the acting associated principal cellist of San Diego Symphony for 2007-2008 season by Jahja Lin. Chia-Ling is currently playing on a 1973 Carls Becker, which was kindly loaned to her by The Colburn Foundation.
AI NIHIRA, Violinist
Born in Tokyo, Japan, Ms. Nihira began studying the violin at agefour in Seattle, Washington with Mihoko Hirata. She moved to Los Angeles in 1990 where she studied with Margaret Shimizu, Richard Schwabe, and Henry Gronnier at the Colburn School of Performing Arts. She has participated in the Pacific Music Festival Quartet Program, Tanglewood Music Center, Taos School for Strings, and Encore School for Strings.
Ms.Nihira received her Bachelor's degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music where she studied with William Preucil, and her Master's degree at the Yale School of Music
with Peter Oundjian. She is currently a student of William Preucil and Stephen
Rose in the Artist Diploma program at the Cleveland Institute of Music.
