Success Stories

Explore Recent News and Success Stories about MSM Students, Alumni, and Faculty.

  • Feb 19, 2024Piano
    Students

    MSM piano student Jas Ogiste receives critical praise from The New York Times

    MSM piano student Jas Ogiste (MM  ’25), who studies at MSM with Jiayin Li, was singled out by The New York Times in its recent review of “The Chevalier,” a production about the composer Joseph Boulogne, also known as Chevalier de Saint-Georges, who was born in Guadeloupe in 1745.

    “The pianist Jas Ogiste performs tender, yearning solos for Marie Antoinette’s character,” writes The New York Times.

    The production took place at the United Palace theater in Washington Heights in New York City, and will be available for streaming later in February.

    Jas Ogiste was performing as a member of the The Harlem Chamber Players, praised by the paper as offering “sparkling, taut performances.”

    New York Classical Review also applauded Jas Ogiste’s performance: “Pianist Jas Ogiste of the Harlem ensemble ably accompanied Elliott in Bologne’s violin sonatas and set a reflective tone for the epilogue with a moody solo, the composer’s Adagio in F minor.”

    The Jas Ogiste was recently featured in MSM’s Black History Month concert which can be seen here.

    Read the New York Times review here.
    Read the New York Classical Review here.

     

  • Jan 29, 2024Piano
    Faculty

    MSM faculty member Elio Villafranca headlines at the University of Arkansas Black Music Symposium on February 2

    MSM faculty member pianist Elio Villafranca will be the headlining musician and a lecturer at the University of Arkansas‘s annual symposium dedicated to educating and exposing the community to the music contributions of Black Americans. The 11th annual conference will be held Jan. 31 to Feb. 4.

    The theme for the 2024 symposium, “Celebrating Afro-Caribbean Music,” explores the rich culture of the Caribbean nations and their contributions to music genres ranging from reggae and salsa to merengue, calypso and more. Throughout the symposium, there will be lectures that support the theme exploring the ways in which Afro-Caribbean music relates to the experiences of Black musicians as well as social movements.

    On Feb 2, Elio Villafranca will deliver a lecture on “The Music of the Afro Diaspora in the Caribbean,” hold a master class, and be the featured performer at an evening concert. 

    More information on the event here.

  • Jan 4, 2024Piano
    Alumni

    $150,000 Sphinx Venture Fund grant awarded to MSM alumna Dr. Leah Claiborne for The Ebony Music Project

    An exceptional $150,000 Sphinx Venture Fund grant has been awarded to MSM alumna Dr. Leah Claiborne for The Ebony Music Project.

    The Sphinx Foundation writes in an announcement about the grant: “This initiative, under her leadership, is set to enrich the landscape of classical music with a comprehensive database of works by Black composers. Congratulations to Dr. Claiborne on this impactful and innovative project!”

    Leah Claiborne, D.M.A. promotes diversity in the arts by championing piano music by Black composers in her performances, research, and teaching. Dr. Claiborne received her undergraduate degree from Manhattan School of Music in 2012 where she received the Josephine Whitmore graduation award. This award was given to a graduating senior “whose personal qualities enriches the spirit of the school and community at large.”

    Learn more about The Ebony Music Project here.

    Learn more about pianist and educator Leah Claiborne here.

  • Dec 22, 2023Piano
    Alumni

    MSM alumna Mun-Tzung Wong named Music Director of the Riverdale Choral Society

    Mun-Tzung Wong (MM ’10, PS ’11) has been named Music Director of the Riverdale Choral Society in New York City. She is also Music Director and Choirmaster at St. John’s Anglican Church in Passaic.

    She is also a pianist, conductor, mezzo-soprano, vocal and instrumental coach, and pedagogue. She studied classical piano at MSM with Marc Silverman.

    She has served as assistant conductor at the International Vocal Arts Institute, St. Petersburg Opera Company, New Rochelle Opera,  Missouri Symphony Orchestra, and more. She has performed at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Symphony Space, and Lincoln Center. As a mezzo-soprano, she has appeared as a soloist in performances of the Mozart Requiem and Mass in C minor, Bach St John Passion, Händel’s Messiah, and others.

    Learn more about Ms. Wong appointment here.

  • Sep 7, 2023Piano
    Faculty

    MSM piano faculty member Lisa Yui releases recording of Schumann Fantasie in C major and Liszt Sonata in B minor

    MSM faculty member Lisa Yui says she is releasing these two recordings because for her, the compositions “are examples of the greatest legacies of the human mind and heart.”

    The CD was recorded over three days in New York City in 2017. Ms. Yui writes about her reasons for waiting six years to release in an article here.

    Schumann Fantasie in C major; Liszt Sonata in B minor is available on Bandcamp and was released on Sep. 7, 2023 on all major streaming platforms.

  • Sep 5, 2023Piano
    Faculty

    MSM piano faculty member and alumna Joanne Polk releases solo CD

    Joanne Polk‘s CD of solo piano music by 19th-century French composer Louise Farrenc (1804-1875) is released today on the Steinway & Sons label.

    Entitled The Silence Between the Notes, the CD features, according to Joanne, “gorgeous poetic moments, as well as etudes that are quite challenging.  Most of the music has never heard before.”

    The CD is available on on streaming platforms; MSM students, faculty, and staff may listen to the CD on MSM’s NAXOS page in the MSM Library.

    More about the CD and Joanne Polk here.
    More about Louise Farrenc here.

  • Jun 6, 2023Piano
    Alumni

    MSM alumna Eunbi Kim wins 2023 Astral National Competition

    Pianist Eunbi Kim (MM ’12) is one of seven top prize winners of the respected Astral National Competition. At MSM she was a student of Daniel Epstein. Of the seven winners of this multiple instrument competition, Eunbi was one of three pianists selected as winners.

    Eunbi is noted for her “creative curiosity and fearless experimentation” (New York Public Radio). Her most recent album debuted at #2 on the Billboard Classical Charts and featuring world-premiere recordings of works written for her by Angélica Negrón, Pauchi Sasaki, Sophia Jani, and Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR). She has performed at the Kennedy Center and Greene Space WNYC/WQXR.

    She serves on the Board of Trustees for the New York Foundation for the Arts, and is co-founder of bespoken, a mentorship program for female-identifying and non-binary musicians.

    More about the competition here.
    More about Eunbi Kim here.

  • Jun 2, 2023Contemporary Performance
    Alumni

    MSM Piano alumni Lucy Yao (MM ’18) and Dorothy Chan (MM ’12) featured in New York Philharmonic’s new cabaret style series NIGHTCAP

    Chromic Duo, comprised of MSM Piano alumni Lucy Yao (MM ’18) and Dorothy Chan (MM ’12), were featured in NIGHTCAP, the New York Philharmonic’s cabaret-style series of music and conversation in the new Kenneth C. Griffin Sidewalk Studio. From Lucy and Dorothy: “Blending toy piano, electronics, and multimedia into genre-fluid performances and installations, we [Chromic Duo] cultivate spaces to share stories inspired by our experiences as third-culture kids within the Asian-American diaspora.”

    Chromic Duo’s featured work FROM ROOTS WE CARRY was dedicated to the AAPI community and is a monument and ritual that explores the complex intergenerational legacies that live inside us. The performance also featured MSM Contemporary Performance Program alumna Madeline Hocking (MM ’22, Contemporary Violin).

    Learn more about The Chromic Duo and FROM ROOTS WE CARRY here

    Learn more about the New York Philharmonic’s NIGHTCAP here

  • Apr 11, 2023Piano
    Students

    MSM student Seiran Tozlian (BM ’26) wins a top award at the Chopin International Piano Competition

    The Connecticut Chopin Foundation in Hartford, Connecticut sponsors the prestigious annual Chopin International Piano Competition. In this year’s Professional category, pianist Seiran Tozlian (BM’ 26) (in photo, on right) of Armenia who is a freshman at MSM received the second prize. Along with a cash prize, the winners are invited to perform in Poland.

    Tozlian, 20, is also a prize winner at the Anselmo Academy of Music’s Fifth International Competition in New York and a semi-finalist at the 2023 Boesendorfer-Yamaha International Piano Competition.

    Tozlian studies at the Manhattan School of Music with Alexandre Moutouzkine.

    More about the Chopin International Piano Competition in Hartford, CT, here.

  • Apr 5, 2023Piano
    Alumni

    MSM alumnus Kirill Gerstein is featured in The New York Times discussing the importance of composer Sergei Rachmaninoff

    MSM alumnus pianist Kirill Gerstein (BM ’99, MM ’00) talks with The New York Times about the importance of Sergei Rachmaninoff on the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth.

    Kirill Gerstein is releasing on April 14 a new account of Rachmaninoff solo works and the Second Piano Concerto, with the Berliner Philharmoniker under Kirill Petrenko.

    Read article here.

  • Apr 3, 2023Piano
    Faculty

    MSM faculty members Jeffrey Cohen (piano) and Lucie Robert (violin) to perform at the Liszt Academy in Budapest

    On April 7, MSM piano faculty members Jeffrey Cohen (in center of photo) and MSM strings faculty member Lucie Robert (violin) will perform Brahms and Schubert in a chamber recital at the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary, along with Gábor Farkas (in photo on left).

    Admission is free.

    More information about the concert here.

     

  • Mar 20, 2023Piano
    Faculty

    Piano Magazine features an article by MSM piano faculty member Lisa Yui

    An article by MSM alumna and piano faculty member Lisa Yui’s entiled “Piano Music by Composer’s from Asia: A History of the Piano in Asia” has been published in the spring 2023 edition of Piano Magazine.

    Dr. Yui is a long-time faculty member at MSM and hosts the ongoing performance series in Greenfield Hall called Lives of the Piano.

    Read the article in Piano Magazine here.

  • Feb 7, 2023Piano
    Students

    MSM doctoral student pianist Sophiko Simsive performs with Claremont Trio at the Gardner Museum in Boston

    Pianist Sophiko Simsive, a current MSM doctoral student from Georgia studying with Solomon Mikowsky, performed on February 5 at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston as part of the Claremont Trio.

    The group performed works by Emilie Mayer, Cecile Chaminade, and Brahms.

    The Claremont Trio has been called “one of America’s finest young chamber groups” by The Strad magazine.

    Learn more about the Claremont Trio here.
    Learn more about Sophiko Simsive here.

  • Jan 27, 2023Piano
    Faculty

    The New York Times features MSM piano faculty member and alum Bryan Wagorn appearing in the MET’s Fedora

    MSM piano faculty member, alumnus, and MET orchestra member Bryan Wagorn (DMA ’13) is performing onstage in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Fedora, as a pianist.

    The New York Times writes about this exceptional highly visible role for a MET orchestra member here.

  • Oct 27, 2022Piano
    Faculty

    Pianist and MSM faculty member Yefim Bronfman is featured in New York Philharmonic concerts Nov 2 to 5

    MSM faculty member and internationally renowned pianist Yefim Bronfman (HonDMA ’15) returns to the New York Philharmonic Orchestra from November 2 to 5 to perform Mozart’s jubilant Piano Concerto No. 22.

    Also on the program, Music Director Jaap van Zweden leads the Orchestra in Anton Bruckner’s monumental Symphony No. 7.

    More about the concert here.

    More about Yefim Bronfman here.

  • Oct 11, 2022Conducting
    Alumni

    MSM alumnus, conductor, pianist, and composer Kristjan Järvi is featured in respected Estonian World publication

    Estonian conductor, composer, pianist, and prolific recording artist Kristjan Järvi (BM ’95), who has more than 60 albums to his credit, is featured in Estonian World, the most popular English-language Estonian web magazine.

    The feature includes a video interview conducted by the Living the Classical Life videocast in which Järvi discusses his immersive experiential musical events that foster unity between audience and performers alike. He also speaks about his musical beginnings within the prominent Järvi dynasty, starting as a pianist while growing up in New York.

    Read the article here.

  • Sep 11, 2022Piano
    Students

    MSM doctoral student Yeontaek Oh wins first prize at the 2nd International Piano Festival Rio de Janeiro

    Yeontaek Oh, a South Korean doctoral student at MSM, placed first at the 2nd International Piano Festival Rio de Janeiro along with Xiaohui Yang from China on September 10. Yeontaek studies at MSM with Solomon Mikowsky.

    The event received 35 entries from 14 countries. The Rio de Janeiro International Piano Festival continues the BNDES International Piano Competition, which discovered and promoted talents from Brazil and abroad from 2009 to 2016.

    More about the festival with video of Yeontaek Oh here.

  • Sep 3, 2022Piano
    Students

    MSM alumnus and current doctoral student Juan Lazaro named a 2022 MET Opera Lindemann Young Artist

    Peruvian/Russian pianist and répétiteur Juan Lazaro (MM ’17), currently a doctoral student at MSM, has been accepted into the Metropolitan Opera‘s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.

    The program was created in 1980 to identify and develop extraordinarily talented young artists in the realm of opera. It has trained a new generation of celebrated American and international opera singers, as well as coaches and pianists, who perform at the highest standards in productions at the Met and opera houses around the world.

    Learn more here.

  • Aug 17, 2022Piano
    Alumni

    Pianist and alumna Erica (Xiaoyan) Guo appointed joins Minnesota Opera as Resident Opera

    Pianist and MSM alumna Erica (Xiaoyan) Guo (BM ’15), a former student of Solomon Mikowsky at MSM, has been performing as music staff at the Santa Fe Opera this summer in Carmen and Tristan und Isolde. This fall, she joins the Minnesota Opera as a resident artist and principal pianist.

    The Chinese-born Ms. Guo has spent over a decade performing internationally as a solo pianist, collaborative pianist, and chamber musician. She has performed at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Nymphenburg Palace, and Temppeliaukion Kirkko and Musiikkitalo in Helsinki, Finland.

    Now a highly sought after collaborator in both opera and song, her repertoire includes Later the Same EveningLa finta giardinieraOwen Wingrave, Die Zauberflöte, Falstaff, Partenope, The Bartered Bride, Proving Up, Le nozze di Figaro, and La bohème, as well as an extensive catalog of song repertoire.

    Learn more about Erica here.

  • Jun 26, 2022Piano
    Alumni

    MSM alumnus Kirill Gerstein (BM ’99, MM ’00) performs to a sold-out crowd of 23,000 in Berlin

    On June 25, MSM alumnus Kirill Gerstein (BM ’99, MM ’00) performed to a sold-out crowd of more than 32,000 spectators at the Berliner Philharmoniker’s season finale at the Waldbühne outdoors venue in Berlin.

    Conducted by Kirill Petrenko, Kirill played Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and the Rachmaninoff arrangement of the Kreisler “Liebeslied” as an encore.

    At MSM, Kirill studied with Solomon Mikowsky.

    Learn more about Kirill here.

  • Jun 17, 2022Piano
    Alumni

    MSM alumnus Jason Flowers (BM ’19, MM ’21) interviewed by CBS News New York

    Classical pianist and MSM alumnus Jason Flowers (BM ’19, MM ’21) recently graduated from Columbia University’s Teachers College, and is now a music instructor. He was interviewed by CBS News New York on June 16, commenting on a recent study that shows children respond well to having a male teacher of color.

    “I think when my students look at me, they can see something that they can relate to. They see opportunity,” he told the network.

    Watch the news report here.

    Learn more about Jason here.

  • Jun 16, 2022Piano
    Alumni

    Pianist and MSM alumnus Chang Hyoung-joon (DMA ’92) named new president of the Seoul Arts Center

    The Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has named pianist and professor Chang Hyoung-joon (BM ’86, MM ’88, DMA ’92) the new president of the Seoul Arts Center effective June 17.

    Chang will lead the country’s top art complex for the next three years. Located in southern Seoul, the center has attracted more than 55 million visitors since its opening in 1988.

    Born in 1962, Chang received his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from the Manhattan School of Music studying with Constance Keene. He has been teaching piano at Seoul National University since 1995.

    He has collaborated with world-renowned orchestras such as the London Philharmonic and the Tokyo Philharmonic.

    Read more here.

  • Mar 29, 2022Piano
    Alumni

    Book by MSM alumnus Donald Isler (BM ’73; MM ’75) features interviews with many MSM faculty and alumni

    In the series of dozens of essays that comprises Afterthoughts of a Pianist/Teacher: A Collection of Essays and Interviews, author Donald Isler (BM 1973; MM 1975) reflects on more than fifty years’ experience teaching, attending concerts, and living a professional life dedicated to music.

    Featured in the book include famous names from the School’s past like Constance KeeneArtur Balsam, and Karl Ulrich Schnabel. There are also chapters and interviews devoted to Arkady Aronov, Efrem Briskin, Michae Davidman, Solomon Mikowsky, Dmitry Rachmanov, Yuan Sheng, and Lisa Yui.

    MSM faculty member Lisa Yui writes, “The interviews are informative and observant, the articles witty and self-reflective. Each is fascinating, informative, enlightening—in short, a wonderful read!”

    Learn more and purchase the book here.

  • Feb 1, 2022Piano
    Alumni

    MSM alumna Leah Claiborne (BM ’12) wins 2022 Stecher & Horowitz Power of Innovation Award

    Dr. Leah Claiborne (BM ’12) was among 48 applicants across the US who are considered “amongst the finest and most creative artists and pedagogues within the music teaching profession today,” according to the Music Teachers National Association that presents the award.

    The $10,000 prize is awarded through the generosity of its benefactors and namesakes, Melvin Stecher and Norman Horowitz.

    Dr. Leah Claiborne is an Assistant Professor of Music in the Division of Arts and Humanities in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of the District of Columbia. Pianist, scholar, and educator, Dr. Claiborne promotes diversity in the arts by championing piano music by black composers in her performances, research, and teaching. In 2017, Dr. Claiborne was the first pianist to be awarded the Rackham Predoc Fellowship at the University of Michigan, which allowed her to further her research in compiling, editing, and recording piano music by black composers.

    Learn about the award here.

  • Jan 11, 2022Guitar
    Alumni

    92nd St Y to feature MSM Alumni Kirill Gerstein (BM ’99, MM ’00), Dawn Upshaw (MM ’85, HonDMA ’98), and Pablo Sainz-Villegas (PS ’06, AD ’07)

    Kirill Gerstein, along with fellow pianist Garrick Ohlsson, will play two-piano show pieces by Ravel, Rachmaninoff, and Thomas Adès on Friday, February 25th at 7:30 pm. 

    Pablo Sainz-Villegas will perform “The Soul of the Spanish Guitar” a recital that will feature works by Albéniz, Granados, Rodrigo and others on Saturday, April 2nd at 8 pm.

    Along with the Brentano String Quartet, Dawn Upshaw will present An exploration of the mythological Dido –  music by Purcell, Dowland and others; NY premiere of Melinda Wagner’s Dido Reimagined on Sunday, April 3rd at 3 pm.

  • Oct 15, 2021Piano
    Students

    MSM student Eda Seviniş (BM ’23) a winner at the prestigious Int’l Robert Schumann Competition in Germany

    Pianist Eda Seviniş (BM ’23), who is from Turkey and studies with Marc Silverman at MSM, shared first prize in Category C of this year’s International Robert Schumann Competition, one of the most renowned music competitions in the world.

    The final competition took place on October 2 at the Robert-Schumann-Saal in Düsseldorf.

    Learn more about the competition here.

  • Oct 7, 2021Piano
    Faculty

    MSM piano faculty member Joanne Polk featured in NYTimes article on 19th century composer Louise Farrenc

    Writes The New York Times:

    “Joanne Polk, a professor at the Manhattan School of Music, last year released an excellent recording of the ‘Air Russe’ and half of Farrenc’s set of 30 Études, which — like Chopin’s from the same decade — escape their pedagogical constraints.”

    Read the article here.

  • Jun 24, 2021Piano
    Alumni

    MSM Alumnus Dominic Chelli (BM ’14) is one of five finalists in the American Pianists Awards taking place June 25-27

    The competition process for the American Pianists Award began this spring and will culminate on June 25-27 with solo performances along with chamber music recitals with the Dover Quartet on June 25 at 8 PM ET and concerto finals with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra on June 26 at 8 PM.

    The winner will receive the Christel DeHaan Classical Fellowship, consisting of career assistance for two years, publicity, performance engagements, an Artist-in-Residence post, and a recording contract with Steinway & Sons record label.

    All five finalists receive a cash prize of $50,000.

    Watch the performances on June 26 here.

    Watch an interview with Dominic on the American Pianists Association Facebook page here.

     

  • Jun 21, 2021Piano
    Alumni

    Make Music Day in New York City at the World Trade Center Oculus features world premiere by MSM Alum Hyung-ki Joo (BM ’93, MM ’99), performed by eight pianists from MSM.

    A musical event at the World Trade Center Oculus today celebrating Make Music Day features the world premiere performance of music from Childhood, an album of 10 piano pieces newly published on Universal Edition, composed by the British Korean composer-pianist Hyung-ki Joo (BM ’93, MM ’99). Eight pianists from Manhattan School of Music are taking part in the performance.

    In addition to being a composer-pianist, Hyung-ki Joo is a Steinway artist and one half of the comedy-musical duo Igudesman & Joo.

    Learn more about the Hyung here.
    Learn more about the event at the World Trade Center Oculus here.

  • Jun 20, 2021Jazz
    Alumni

    MSM Jazz Arts alumna pianist Dabin Ryu (MM ’20) releases debut album “Wall”

    Classically-trained Dabin Ryu (MM ’20) is an award-winning pianist from Seoul, South Korea, who has been playing piano since the age of 3. She wrote, produced, and arranged all of the 10 songs on her debut album “Wall” released on June 1, 2021.

    “The entire album is marked by Ryu’s passionate and thoughtful approach to music-making,” writes Dodie Miller-Gould in Lemonwire in a review of the album which can be found here.

    Dabin’s website describes the compositions as “(they) settle within the jazz tradition, yet refuse the conventional instrumentations of a traditional jazz album. In this album, she captures the traces her life-long practice of music have left on her.”

    Listen to and purchase “Wall” here.

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