- Elizabeth Yao, Director*
- Joyce Jiyeon Lee, Executive Assistant, Both Group and Private Instructor
- Dr. Marianne Ackerson*
- Cecilia Bass*
- Pei-Tsun Chiang
- Karina Maucha Cohen*
- James Featherstone
- Fred Hammond
- Marina Berretta Hammond
- Jacqueline Hsiao
- Hyeseon Jin
- Akira Kaku
- Ryo Kaneko
- Ubeeng Kueq
- Irene Long
- Chenchun Ma
- Eunjin Oh
- Molly Patrick, Group Class and Private Lesson Instructor
- Connor Reinman, Theory Instructor
- Karen Taylor, Founder and Director Emerita
- Andrew Sohn
- Rachel Sohn
- Min-Shu Tsai
- Tzu-Wei Wang
- Chaojeng Yu
*No openings currently
Elizabeth Yao, Director
Elizabeth Yao earned her Doctor of Music at the Jacobs School of Music, in the studio of André Watts, with double minors in music theory and music history. As a teacher, she strives to create a positive learning environment tailored to each student’s needs and goals. In addition to co-directing the Young Pianists Program, she is the coordinator of collegiate secondary piano at the Jacobs School of Music.
Joyce Jiyeon Lee, Executive Assistant, Both Group Class and Private Lesson Instructor
Joyce Lee holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and recently graduated with her MM from the IU Jacobs School of Music under the tutelage of Jean Louis-Haguenauer. She is passionate about accessibility in music education and community outreach through performance and has enjoyed teaching in her hometown of Reston, Virginia since the age of 15. She has also taught through the MusicLink Foundation which provides discounted piano lessons to low-income families.
Dr. Marianne Ackerson
Dr. Marianne Ackerson, classical/jazz pianist, is a graduate of the Jacobs School of Music, as well as the University for Music and Theatrical Arts in Vienna, Austria. She has had extensive experience as a piano teacher having taught in Vienna, Austria for 14 years, in the Young Pianists Program at IU for 16 years, and privately in Bloomington for 14 years. Her training as a classical as well as a jazz pianist is extensive and she has played with distinction in both venues throughout her professional life.
Cecilia Bass
Cecilia Bass attended Vanderbilt University for her undergraduate studies and earned a Master of Music in Piano Performance degree from the Jacobs School of Music. She has enjoyed teaching for the Young Pianists Program since 2013 and currently works in the Jacobs Deans’ Office.
Pei-Tsun Chiang
Pei-Tsun Chiang, Taiwanese, is currently pursuing a doctorate at IU under the instruction of André Watts where she earned a Performer Diploma. She holds a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from National Taiwan Normal University, and a master’s degree from the Jacobs School of Music. She has been teaching piano in Taiwan and the United States for more than five years.
Karina Maucha Cohen
Recognized as a sophisticated and versatile artist, Brazilian-born pianist Karina Maucha Cohen is a pedagogue, lecturer, arts advocate, recitalist, and chamber musician whose performances have spanned the United States and South America. After graduating from the Hartt School of Music (MM in piano performance), Karina earned a Performance Diploma in fortepiano from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. During her training, she performed in masterclasses for many leading international artists. Her teaching focuses on how to achieve optimal habits in piano practice and technique, as well as providing a solid foundation in aural skills and music theory.
James Featherstone
James Featherstone is a graduate student at IU Jacobs School of Music in the Master of Music degree program where he studies with Edward Auer. James holds a Bachelor of Music from JSoM, during which he studied with Karen Shaw, as well as Associate and Licentiate Diplomas from the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto
Fred Hammond
Fred Hammond (B.M., M.M., Juilliard) has been teaching for the Young Pianists Program for more than 20 years. In 1999, he and his wife, Marina Berretta Hammond, formed a piano duo, performing often in South America, Spain, and the U.S. They gave the South American premiere of Schnittke’s Concerto for Piano Four Hands with the acclaimed Simón Bolivar Orchestra.
Marina Berretta Hammond
Marina Berretta Hammond (M.M. Piano, Indiana University) has taught for Young Pianists for more than 20 years and has taught piano and chamber music at Rocky Ridge Music Center (Colorado) since 2004. With husband Fred Hammond, she has concertized in the U.S., Spain, and Latin America. Their CD of Latin American music for two pianos was produced by the IU Latin American Music Center.
Jacqueline Hsiao
Jacqueline Hsiao, a native of Taiwan, earned her Bachelor of Music in piano performance from the Eastman School of Music, and a Master of Music from IU Bloomington where she currently pursuing her Doctoral degree. She places a strong emphasis on establishing healthy habits early on for a secure foundation in her students’ long-term musical development.
Hyeseon Jin
Hyeseon Jin was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea. She earned her B.M. degree at Seoul National University and M.M, P.D at Indiana University. She is currently a Doctoral Candidate in Piano Performance with minors in Music Theory and Arts Administration while serving as an Associate Instructor at IU, Instructor of the PCAMP at the University of Indianapolis, President of MTNA Collegiate Chapter at IU, Executive Assistant of Young Pianists Program and Piano Academy at IU, and Musical Time project Co-Lead.
Akira Kaku
Ryo Kaneko
Winner of the 2014 Miami Music Festival Piano Competition and the 2015 Jacob Flier International Piano Competition, Japanese pianist Ryo Kaneko is a rising star in the next generation of pianists. He has performed with conductors such as Vladimir Feltsman, Michael Rossi, Victoria Gau, and Bohuslav Rattay and has presented recitals on many prestigious venues including the Kennedy Center, New World Theater, Rosa Hart Theater, McKenna Theater, Manhattan’s Steinway Hall, and the Studley Theatre. His performance has been consistently praised for his unrivaled, visceral energy. Times Herald-Record’s Mr. James F. Cotter vividly describes Mr. Kaneko’s performance of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s first piano concerto: “The final allegro takes the form of a scherzo, which Kaneko brought to a rousing climax that brought theaudience to its feet with shouts of ‘Bravo.’”
Mr. Kaneko received his undergraduate and Master’s degree at Rice University, where he studied with the internationally acclaimed artist Dr. Robert Roux. Currently, he is earning his Doctor of Music in Indiana University under the guidance of Professor Emile Naoumoff.
Ubeeng Kueq
Ubeeng is a doctoral student at IU, where he also completed his master’s degree and performer diploma. Ubeeng began working with a wide range of students of varying ages and levels in Salt Lake City during his undergraduate years at the University of Utah. He is an enthusiastic teacher who particularly enjoys exploring various techniques of piano playing and interpretations of music through theory-based ideas.
Irene Long
Irene Long is an accomplished Pianist/Accompanist currently pursuing a graduate degree in Piano Performance at Jacobs School of Music. With a strong background in teaching and six years of experience working with students of all ages and levels, she excels as an inspiring educator. Additionally, Irene serves as the Music Director at Belvoir Terrace in Lenox, Massachusetts, and as a Ballet Accompanist at Indiana University’s Ballet department, showcasing her versatility and passion for music education.
Chenchun Ma
Chenchun Ma, originally from Shanghai, China, is currently pursuing a doctoral degree at IU Jacobs School of Music, under the tutelage of Émile Naoumoff. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Juilliard School. She has been an Associate Instructor in piano at IU, a piano instructor of the P.A.L.S. program in Aspen, and a teaching artist for Instrument Petting Zoo in The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Besides piano teaching, she was a Gluck community service fellow, performing for and interacting with the residents of hospitals, hospices, and similar institutions in the New York metropolitan area, and an Ear Training teaching fellow at Juilliard.
Eunjin Oh
Molly Patrick, Both Group Class and Private Instructor
Molly Patrick is an organist originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota. She holds a bachelor’s degree in organ performance from Brigham Young University – Idaho, where she was a student of Dr. Daniel Kerr. She was a recipient of a 2015 Oundle for Organists Recital Award. After her undergraduate studies, she held a presence throughout the church music scene in Anchorage, Alaska for six years. She primarily served as Music Director and Organist at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church. An active violist, Molly played in the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra for three seasons. She ran a private studio in the Anchorage/Eagle River area for four years, teaching students from age 4-64. Molly is pursuing a Master of Music degree in Organ Performance at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. She studies with Dr. Janette Fishell. She hopes to find beauty and purpose where the viola and organ collide, and to saturate that into her studies and future career. Molly enjoys yoga, cycling, and long walks with her golden retriever.
Connor Reinman, theory instructor
Connor Reinman is pursuing a PhD in Music Theory at Indiana University, where he has taught classes throughout the undergraduate curriculum since 2019. He is deeply invested in pedagogy and researches form, harmony, and counterpoint in the music of the late Romantic era, focusing on the transition from that era into modernism in the music of Mahler and Strauss.
Karen Taylor, Founder and Director Emerita
Karen Taylor is Founder/Director Emerita of the IU Jacobs Academy Young Pianists Program and Summer Piano Academy (inaugurated 1986), and former Coordinator of Piano Pedagogy Studies at the Jacobs School of Music. She has performed solo recitals across the United States and in Europe and has presented more than 85 master classes and workshops. Dr. Taylor’s many teaching honors and awards include a Teacher of the Year citation by the IMTA (1988), a Harriet Hale Woolley Scholarship, and grants from the Ecole Normale de Musique (Paris) and the French government for study and research in Paris. Her articles have appeared in the Journal of the American Liszt Society and Keyboard Companion, among other publications.
Andrew Sohn
Andrew Sohn was born in Perth, Western Australia, and immigrated to the US in 2004. In 2013, Andrew graduated from the University of South Carolina with a BM in Piano Performance under the tutelage of Marina Lomazov. He then began his Master’s studies in Piano Performance with Natalya Antonova at the Eastman School of Music. After graduating with his MM degree in 2016, he is currently pursuing a Doctor of Music degree in Piano Performance with Emile Naoumoff at the Jacobs School of Music in Indiana University. Andrew is scheduled to graduate with his DM this December.
Rachel Sohn
Rachel is currently a Doctoral student in Piano Performance minoring in Music History and Collaborative Piano at the Jacobs School of Music. She studies under the instruction of Evelyne Brancart, with whom she previously earned her Master of Music degree. She was formerly under the tutelage of Alexander Kobrin at the Eastman School of Music, where she received her Bachelor of Music degree with High Distinction.
Rachel has been teaching students since she was in high school and has held an Associate Instructor position throughout her time at Jacobs. With her sensitivity and receptiveness, she aims to create a nurturing environment for students throughout their musical journey.
Min-Shu Tsai
Min-Shu Tsai was born in Taiwan and started her piano study at age six. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from National Taiwan Normal University and she is currently pursuing her Master’s degree at the IU Jacobs School of Music under the tutelage of Professor Spencer Myer. Min-Shu enjoys teaching and exploring different ways to help students develop their interests in music
Tzu-Wei Wang
Tzu-Wei Wang is currently pursuing a Performance Diploma in piano performance at IU. She earned her bachelor’s degree in piano performance from National Taiwan Normal University, and her master’s degree from Indiana University, while she was an associate instructor for piano during her studies.
Chaojeng Yu
Chaojeng Yu is a doctoral student at the Jacobs School of Music, where he also earned a Master of Music in Piano Performance and a Performer’s Diploma. He is an associate instructor for piano as well as a member of the Young Pianists Program faculty. He earned his bachelor’s degree from National Taiwan Normal University.