Arie Vardi

Arie Vardi, widely regarded as a world master of the piano, is the recipient of the 2017 Israel Prize and one of the most influential figures in the international piano world. A laureate of the Chopin Competition in Israel and the George Enescu International Competition in Bucharest, he has enjoyed a distinguished international career, performing as a soloist with major orchestras across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. He has collaborated with eminent conductors including Zubin Mehta, Kurt Masur, Gustavo Dudamel, Semyon Bychkov, and David Zinman.

Mr. Vardi studied piano in Basel with Paul Baumgartner and composition with Pierre Boulez and Karlheinz Stockhausen. In addition to his work as a soloist, he is highly respected as a soloist-conductor, having performed the complete concerto cycles of Bach and Mozart, including performances on the fortepiano. In recent years, he has been especially acclaimed for his interpretations of Impressionist repertoire, performing the complete works of Debussy and Ravel.

Equally renowned as an educator, Arie Vardi is Professor of Piano at the Hochschule für Musik in Hanover and at the Rubin Academy of Music and Tel Aviv University, where he previously served as Director and Chair of the Piano Faculty. He has served as a jury member at many of the world’s leading international piano competitions, including Chopin (Warsaw), Tchaikovsky (Moscow), Cliburn, Leeds, Busoni, Cleveland, Hamamatsu, ARD Munich, Sydney, Shanghai, and Shenzhen.

Douglas Humpherys

Since winning the gold medal at the first Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, Douglas Humpherys' concert career has spanned five decades across five continents. He has toured China twenty times, performing in Beijing at the National Center for the Performing Arts, the Beijing Concert Hall, and the Forbidden City Concert Hall. He has presented concerts and master classes throughout the Chinese conservatory and university system, including the Central, Shanghai, China, Wuhan, Shenyang, Guangzhou, Cheng-Du, Xian, Dalian, Tianjin, and Xiamen Conservatories, as well as Beijing, Tsinghua, Renmin Universities, and the Shenzhen School of the Arts. In 2002 he made his Korean debut in Seoul at the Kumho Art Hall, and has also presented solo concerts in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Currently listed on the Artists Roster of Steinway and Sons, Mr. Humpherys often performs in Europe, with solo concerts in Moscow, Novgorod, Berlin, Hamburg, Prague, Venice, Dublin, Barcelona, Montenegro, and Serbia. He has performed throughout the United States and Canada at numerous universities and festivals. Recently, he was a guest artist with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and performed on the DiMenna Center Piano Series in New York City. In 2008 and 2012, he concertized and taught in Argentina with Teachers del Norte-Pianists del Sur, a project sponsored in part by the United States Embassy in Buenos Aires.

Mr. Humpherys completed graduate degrees at the Juilliard School (MM) and the Eastman School of Music (DMA), where he served for twenty years as Chair of the Piano Department, and is currently Professor of Piano.

During his student days he studied with Nelita True, Martin Canin, Robert Smith, and Ankie Foell. In high demand as a teacher, his students have won prizes at the Honens, Cleveland, Virginia Waring, Hilton Head, Washington DC, Olga Kern, Maria Canals, Scottish, Antwerp, Poulenc, UNISA, and Sussex (UK) International Piano Competitions; the Osaka, Pacific, Seattle, San Jose, and Wideman Competitions, as well as five national first-prize winners of MTNA Competitions. In 2016, Professor Humpherys received Eastman's Eisenhart Award for Excellence in Teaching, and in 2021 he was inducted into the Steinway and Sons National Teachers Hall of Fame.

Internationally, he has taught hundreds of master classes at universities and conservatories including the Central Music School of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, the Hong Kong Academy of the Performing Arts, the Korean National University of the Arts, Yonsei University, National Taiwan Normal University, and the Royal Irish Academy of Music.

He frequently teaches and concertizes at International Summer Piano Festivals, most recently including the Gijon (Spain), Amalfi, Beijing, Shanghai, and Wallace (New Zealand) International Piano Festivals. In the U.S. he has been a guest artist/teacher at the Rebecca Penneys (Tampa), Bowdoin, Washington DC, Oberlin, Interlochen, Miami, Atlantic, San Francisco Bay, North Coast, and Northern Lights Music Festivals, as well as the Leon Fleischer and Philadelphia Pianists Academies and the Seattle Piano Institute.

Mr. Humpherys was appointed as Artistic Director of the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition in 2013, and has also adjudicated the Cleveland International Piano Competition, the Rachmaninoff International Piano Competition in Novgorod, Russia, the Ricardo Viñes International Piano Competition in Spain, the 1st Korea International Competition for Young Artists, the PTNA National Piano Competition in Tokyo, and the Hilton Head International Piano Competition.

Steven Spooner

At the very fore of American pianists, critics and audiences have unanimously hailed the distinctive and compelling performances of pianist Steven Spooner describing him as “a pianist in the tradition that many believe died with the likes of Horowitz, Arrau, Bolet, Cziffra, and Wild. His talent, to my ears, is easily the equal of most major pianists of today and far superior to a large number of those “most exciting and dynamic pianists of their generation”
(FANFARE MAGAZINE).

Passionately devoted to the recital as a platform for innovation, he has been engaged and often re-engaged at prestigious venues such as the Salle Cortot in Paris, the Shanghai Concert Hall, Budapest’s Great Hall of the Liszt Academy, New York’s Carnegie Hall, Rome’s Santa Cecilia, and Singapore’s Esplanade. During the past seasons he has daringly reinvented the solo recital by allowing audiences to vote on the spot for one of five programs he has prepared and like golden age pianists, his programs often feature his own glittering arrangements and compositions.

In 2016 he released a monumental project of 16 CDs honoring his heroes of the Russian School called Dedications. This mammoth project was met with enormous critical acclaim from all over the globe. His enthusiasm for new music has produced an ongoing collaboration with renowned Deutsche Grammophon composer, Mohammed Fairouz (commissioned by the ROKI Foundation) to premiere and record several of his works during the next few seasons. Steven is currently the co-star, along with his wife Jung, of their internet-based show about all things piano, A Life of Music.

Steven has served as guest artist-in-residence at Paris Conservatory Summer Sessions and has been appointed to the Artist Faculty of the Colburn Music Academy, Amalfi Coast Music Festival, Musicfest Perugia, the International Institute for Young Musicians, the Adam Gyorgy Castle Academy in Budapest, and even his own Steven Spooner Inspire Festival in Singapore.

Steven is increasingly in demand for his masterclasses at major music institutions all over the world such as the Paris Conservatory, Milan Conservatory, Liszt Academy of Music, and the Shanghai and Beijing Conservatories and in America at Rice, Indiana, Colburn, Oberlin, and many others. Steven serves as Professor of Piano at the Peabody Institute, Johns Hopkins University.

A dedicated and caring teacher of students from around the world, Steven’s pupils have been named winners of multiple prizes at important international and national piano competitions and enjoy performing careers of their own. Steven Spooner is a Steinway Artist.

Paula Kosower

Paula Kosower, cellist, is an active performer and a dedicated teacher. She frequently plays with a wide variety of both chamber and symphonic ensembles. In recent seasons she has performed with Fulcrum Point New Music Project, for the MusicNOW series at Chicago Symphony Center, the Chicago Philharmonic Chamber Music Series, the Dame Myra Hess concert series, the Wheaton College Artist Series, International Chamber Artists concerts, and programs on WFMT 98.7. She frequently serves as a substitute player in the cello sections of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Ms. Kosower teaches applied lessons, cello pedagogy and orchestral repertoire classes and is an adjunct faculty member at several universities in the Chicago area including DePaul University School of Music and the University of Illinois-Chicago. She teaches private cello lessons for pre-college students at the Northwestern University Music Academy. During the summer season she frequently plays with the Chicago Symphony at the Ravinia Festival, and for chamber music festivals such as Midsummer’s Music Festival in Wisconsin. She also has taught at regional chamber music camps organized by Midwest Young Artists, the Chicago Chamber Music Festival, and DePaul University School of Music.

ÁDÁM GYÖRGY

Hungarian Pianist Adam Gyorgy achieved worldwide recognition when he performed at the opening ceremony of EURO 2012, the UEFA European Football Championship in Warsaw, where his unique interpretation of Chopin’s Winterwind was televised to 300 million people across the globe.

Through his extraordinary talent and memorable performances, Adam Gyorgy exemplifies the attributes and objectives of the fine arts. As a pianist, he preserves the tradition of historic classical artists. Most well-known for the authenticity of his Liszt interpretations, Adam Gyorgy is recognized as a Liszt ambassador in his home country, Hungary. His recitals have been described by the world’s press as ‘sensitive’, ‘playful’, ‘elegant’ and ‘warm’. He is also innovative when interpreting classical works with his own distinct and creative style, and creates original music with his improvisations. Adam Gyorgy’s captivating personality has won him a loyal international fan base.

Bringing an unprecedented modern twist to classical piano performance, Adam Gyorgy filmed one of his music videos, A Day in New York, in the monumental New York Grand Central Terminal. His performance attracted observers in the busy terminal and created an unexpected pause in the hectic pace of New York City in 2013. He is a regular performer at New York’s Carnegie Hall and tours extensively around the world to his global fan base. Mr. Gyorgy is a Steinway Artist.

Jay Hershberger 

Pianist Jay Hershberger has played throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. His domestic performances include the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Library of Congress. He has also been frequent guest artist at the Great Romantics Music Festival in Canada. In years past he performed in Europe, including the Amalfi Coast Music Festival in southern Italy and the South Bohemia Music Festival in the Czech Republic. Recent tours have included major cities in China, and at music festivals in Scotland and Italy.

He is a founding member of Excelsior! Trio, a chamber group that performs an eclectic mix of classical, folk, jazz, and fusion. Excelsior! Trio tours extensively in the US and in Europe. Jay is currently Professor of Piano at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN. His undergraduate students regularly win competitions and have been accepted into prestigious graduate schools in piano performance and pedagogy, many with teaching assistantships.

An active adjudicator, Hershberger has judged for the Los Angeles International Liszt Competition, the Phoenix Young Artist Competition, the San Angelo Symphony Sorantin Awards, the Lee Biennial Competition, the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Young Artist Competition, and the Music Teachers National Association. He is the president of the American Liszt Society. His first compact disc recording, featuring works by Franz Liszt was featured on Michael Barone’s New Releases radio program on Minnesota Public Radio.

Chris Thompson

Described as a “supremely nuanced” (Gramophone), “remarkable baritone” (Opera News), Chris Thompson is an international artist noted for compelling performances on stage and in the concert hall. He has performed leading lyric baritone roles ranging from Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia to the title role in Elijah to Carl Magnus in A Little Night Music. A frequent recitalist, Chris’s numerous performances of Schubert’s Winterreise with acclaimed concert pianist Steven Spooner, have generated excitement throughout the country.

A strong advocate of new music, Chris made his Carnegie Hall debut singing Posh, a song cycle by composer Mohammed Fairouz. The premiere performance of MSU colleague Michael F. Murray’s song cycle, Neutral Tones, at the Parma New Music Festival was received enthusiastically. Chris has appeared in several world premieres including Guest from the Future (Lincoln Center), The Scrimshaw Violin (92nd Street Y), Box and Cox (University of Utah) and Hester Prynne at Death (Mercantile Library, NYC). In addition, Chris made his Off-Broadway debut in Fermat’s Last Tango. His performances have been featured on recording labels such as: Naxos, Original Cast Recordings, Albany Records, Koch-Schwann, and Novana Records.

Chris is a graduate of the University of Kansas, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (London), Loyola University (New Orleans), and Kansas State University. Chris is a devoted teacher with successful singers winning competitions, singing at major summer programs, and performing leading roles as young professionals. He presently serves as Coordinator of Vocal Studies at Missouri State University and is past-president of Ozark NATS.