PIANO/KEYBOARD INSTRUCTORS

Brian Friedland
Jazz piano
A Chicago native, Brian Friedland's  is a dedicated performer and bandleader  in addition to his myriad compositional activities and teaching responsibilities.  He has performed his original music with trios, quartets, and big bands at the Lima Jazz Festival in Peru, the American Pianists Association's Cole Porter competition, and in prestigious clubs in Los Angeles (Catalina's, Jazz Bakery) and Boston (Ryles, Lily Pad).  Friedland also currently leads Rhombus, a six piece, Boston based band that is gaining recognition and an audience for their dynamic and highly inventive performances.  Their music draws on a vast array of influences, fusing the sonorities of modern jazz, the rhythmic complexities of Balkan music, and the energy of rock, with the experimentation of avant-garde improvisation, and the thematic development of classical music and can be heard on Friedland's second CD release, "Rhombus".  Friedland has studied with jazz composers Vince Mendoza and Kim Richmond and pianists Shelly Berg, Allan Pasqua, and Danilo Perez.   He has a master's degree in jazz composition from New England Conservatory and a bachelor's degree in jazz performance from the University of Southern California.

Keith Kirchoff
Piano
Pianist and composer Keith Kirchoff has played in many of the United States' largest cities, as well as major cities throughout Italy, Canada, Great Britian, and The Netherlands. As a strong supporter of modern music, Kirchoff has premiered over 100 new works and commissioned over a dozen compositions. He has appeared with orchestras throughout the U. S. performing a wide range of concerti, including the Boston premier of Charles Ives' EmersonConcerto and the world premier of Matthew McConnell's Concerto for Toy Piano. With his highly unique lecture style integrated into his programs, Kirchoff strives to enhance the status of classical music in American culture, stressing the importance of modern music to keep the art alive and current. Holding degrees from both New England Conservatory and the University of Oregon, Kirchoff has been actively teaching for fifteen years, most recently teaching at the Los Angeles Music and Art School in California. The co-founder of the composer's ensemble "Agenda," he has also appeared with the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble and performs regularly with the Callithumpian Consort, Boston's premier modern music ensemble. With the latter, he has released the world premier recording of John Luther Adams' For Lou Harrisonon New World Reocrds, and will appear on two other upcoming releases featuring the music of Earle Browne and Christian Wolff. He has recorded on the New World, Zerx, Bridge, and SEAMUS labels, and the first volume of his four-album set featuring the music of Leo Ornstein is due for release early next year on Thinking outLOUD Records.

Lorna Henderson
Piano
Lorna Henderson performed the Khachaturian Piano Concerto as the youngest winner in the history of the University of Tulsa Symphony Concerto-Aria Competition. She went on to study with Portuguese pianist and jurist of the Tchaikovsky Competition, Sequeira Costa, at the University of Kansas where she received an M. M. She also studied composition with Charles Hoag, and was a performing member of the K. U. New Music Ensemble, promoting works by modern and living composers. She has made recordings for films, and concertizes actively in the States and Europe, performing both as a pianist and coloratura soprano. In her teaching, she strives to balance technical versatility with artistic expression.

Chieko Loy
Piano
Chieko Tamura Loy, a native of Yokohama, Japan, received her Bachelor in Music degree from the Senzoku Academy of Music, in Japan and her Master in Music from the University of Tulsa. In addition to being qualified to teach piano, voice, and music theory to all ages, Ms. Loy is certified to teach with several children’s musical teaching methods. She has taught music in Japan, India, Hong Kong, Oklahoma, and Massachusetts for almost 4 0 years. She has performed as a soprano in opera companies, international festivals and community events. She has been selected to judge piano guild auditions in eight states since 1999. She is a member of the Music Teachers National Association and the National Guild of Piano Teachers.

Rasa Vitkauskaite
Piano
Rasa Vitkauskaite has won top prizes at numerous prestigious international piano competitions including First Prizes at the Rubinstein Piano Competition (Paris), Les Rencontres Internationales des Jeunes Pianistes (Belgium), the competition in Taurisano (Italy), and the Mendelssohn Cup (Italy). In 2007, Rasa won a Kathryn Wasserman Davis grant that supported her tour promoting peace in Israel. In her native country of Lithuania, Ms. Vitkauskaite has garnered the top prizes at six national competitions. Ms.Vitkauskaite has played in many festivals around the world and has given concerts in Europe, Israel, China, Japan, Mexico, Venezuela and the United States.
Ms. Vitkauskaite is also very active as a chamber musician. Last season marked the release of her debut CD with clarinetist Jonathan Cohler on Rhapsodie Française. The duo has recently recorded a new CD titled Romanza, which will be released in the fall. Ms. Vitkauskaite is also the pianist of the Xonor Trio with violinist Yumi Okada and cellist Ignacy Grzelazka. Ms. Vitkauskaite studied at the National M. K. Ciurlionis School of Arts in Vilnius, Lithuania, from which she graduated with honors. She then won a scholarship to study at the United World College of the Adriatic in Italy. Subsequently, she studied at the Boston
Conservatory, where she won the H. Wilfred Churchill piano scholarship competition both in 2007 and 2008, and completed her Bachelor and Masters Degrees.

Yilin You
Piano
Winner of the 2004 Honor's Concert Competition, Yilin You (D.M.A. and M.M. Michigan State University; B.M., University of Texas at Austin) appeared with the Michigan State University Symphony Orchestra. She also has appeared with the Mid-Texas Symphony Orchestra as the winner of the 1998 Young Artist Competition in Seguin Texas. Yilin has performed in solo recitals as well as numerous chamber recitals in the People's Republic of China and the United States. Her major professors include Panayis Lyras, Young Hi Moon, and the late William Race. Yilin took part in master classes of Richard Goode, John Perry, Earl Wild, Joan Tower, Alexander Slobodyanik, Willard Schultz, Igor Suhomlinov, and Alexander Bugaevski. She is currently an active performer and teacher in the New England area.

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