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Young Pianists Indiana University Bloomington

Faculty

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Elizabeth Yao, Director

Elizabeth YaoElizabeth 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.

 

 

 

Hyeseon Jin, Executive Assistant and Instructor

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.

 

 

Dr. Marianne Ackerson

Marianne AckersonDr. 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

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.

 

 

 

Molly ButtarsBoth Group Class and Private Lesson Instructor

Molly Buttars is an organist originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota. She holds a bachelor’s degree in organ performance from Brigham Young University in Idaho. 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.

 

 

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.

 

 

Woo Joo Choi

Woo Joo Choi, who is a Korean Pianist, is now doing her Artist Diploma at the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University. She has a lot of teaching experience with students of various ages ranging from age 4 to adult. Woo Joo is especially fond of children and with her bright and extroverted personality, she easily is able to get close with most children in a short period of time.

 

 

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.

 

Trinity Fan

Trinity Fan is currently pursuing a B.M. degree under Edward Auer as a Founders Scholar and is currently Vice President of IU MTNA. She has taught students from ages 5-17 for over 5 years, and she strives to develop her students into creative, independent thinkers, and accommodates her students to each of their individualistic needs in their lessons. For more information, please visit trinityfanmusic.com.

 

 

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

 

 

Mítia d’Acol, Theory Instructor

Mítia D’Acol is a third-year Ph.D. student in Music Theory from Ribeirão Preto, Brazil. Mítia got a BA in Music Education and MM in Musicology at the University of São Paulo before coming to IU, where he completed a MM in Music Theory before starting his doctoral studies. He has been teaching music theory and aural skills at IU for five years.

 

 

Fred Hammond

Fred and Marina 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

Fred and Marina 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.

 

 

Daeun Han

Daeun Han, a pianist from South Korea, is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma in Piano Performance at IU. She earned her Bachelor’s degree at Seoul National University and Performer Diploma and Master’s degree at IU. As a pianist of String Academy at IU, she plays for group classes and solo recitals. She also has been participating in Distance Teaching and Learning Lab-Cheerful Heart Project and teaching students in the Dominican Republic.

 

 

Valentina Huang
After earning a Master’s in Piano Performance from Peabody Institute of Music, Valentina is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in organ performance with Janette at Jacobs School of Music. Valentina Qishan Huang is an active performer on and off-campus as a pianist and organist. Besides being an award-winning performer, she also enjoys teaching. She likes to witness how a student grows on this music journey. She wants to lift up her students’ interest in learning the piano through an encouraging and enjoyable teaching style.

 

 

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.

 

 

 

Joyce Jiyeon Lee, Both Group Class and Private Lesson Instructor

Joyce Lee holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and is currently pursuing a 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, helping to provide discounted piano lessons to low-income families.

 

 

Chenchun Ma

Chenchun Ma sits on wooden stair steps and smiles at the camera.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.

 

 

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.

 

Rui Xi

Rui Xi, born in China, is currently pursuing her Performer Diploma in Piano at Jacobs School of Music, in the studio of Gregory Sioles. After she received her bachelor’s degree from Xi’an conservatory of music, she came to the U.S. to continue her master’s degree under the tutelage of Professor Edward Auer at IU and graduated in 2021 May. She has been teaching piano since she was in college.

 

 

Ruoyang Xiang

A native of Anqing City in Anhui, China, Ruoyang Xiang is a prizewinner of the 2019 Indiana University Concerto Competition, the 2014 Alfred Lee Scholarship Competition, the Boston Conservatory Honors Solo Competition, and the Singapore Asian Youth Competition. She received her Bachelor of Music from the Boston Conservatory, where she studied with Jonathan Bass. She received her master’s degree at IU Jacobs School of Music under the tutelage of Menahem Pressler. She is a current DM candidate under Pressler.

 

 

Chaojeng Yu
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.