Adjudicators
Alexander Shtarkman’s debut recitals in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York City prompted strong words of praise from audiences and critics alike. Martin Bernheimer, Los Angeles Times, wrote “Alexander Shtarkman. Remember the name… He plays the piano with all the strength, flash and eagerness that his age would suggest. He also plays with the sensitivity and mellow refinement one associates with certain grand old men of the keyboard, most of them Russian.” James Keller of The New Yorker staff wrote of Shtarkman’s 92nd Street Y appearance: “Shtarkman’s was a debut recital of importance. In fact, debuts just don’t come much better than this. Of the young pianists currently entering the international spotlight, Shtarkman is unquestionably among the most musicianly.”
Recital appearances in the United States include the Ambassador Foundation, Tilles Center for the Performing Arts, Tisch Center for the Performing Arts, Ravinia Festival’s Rising Stars Series, San Francisco Performances, Regional Arts Foundation at the Kravis Center, The Peace Center and Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall. Orchestral appearances include the Dallas Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony, Fort Worth Chamber Orchestra, Chicago Sinfonietta at Orchestra Hall, Northwood Festival Orchestra, Marin Symphony and the Chamber Orchestra of Albuquerque.
In August 1995, Shtarkman was awarded the First Prize of the Busoni International Piano Competition in Bolzano, Italy. As a result of this prize, he has been offered over sixty recitals and orchestral engagements in Europe within the next few seasons.
In addition to the Busoni Prize, Shtarkman is a major prizewinner of the 1989 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and the 1994 Tchaikovsky Piano Competition. He also won the First Prize of the First Taipei International Piano Competition and was engaged for numerous concerts throughout Asia.
Shtarkman performs and gives master classes in Europe, Asia, South and North Americas, and in Russia where he is a frequent guest performer at the prestigious Great and Small Halls of the Moscow Conservatory.
Since 2002 Shtarkman has been serving as a member of the Piano Faculty at the Peabody Conservatory.
The exciting young pianist Shiyu Wang is increasingly recognized for her compelling and creative performances of a wide repertoire, gaining particular acclaim for her deeply musical performances of the music of J.S. Bach. Shiyu has given solo recitals and performances in the United States, China, Japan, and Europe. She has performed the Bach D minor Concerto with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra under Miguel Harth-Bedoya, and the Ravel Left-Hand Concerto with the University of Rochester Symphony Orchestra. In 2020 she performed the “Yellow River Concerto” in China on the televised Gala New Year’s Eve Concert, with the Changsha Symphony Orchestra under Xiao Ming. Shiyu has won First Prizes in the PianoTexas
Young Artist Concerto Competition, Connecticut Bach Festival and Competition, University of
Rochester Concerto Competition, and “IMKA” Internet Music Competition, Second Prize in the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Concerto Competition, as well as the Silver Medal in the Manhattan International Music Competition. She is extremely active as a chamber musician and is a sought-after collaborative artist.
Shiyu received her Doctor of Music degree in 2023 at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music under the tutelage of Professor Arnaldo Cohen. Her previous teachers include Alexander Shtarkman at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University and Enrico Elisi and Vincent Lenti at the Eastman School of Music. A native of China, her early studies were at the Middle School affiliated to the Shanghai Conservatory. She has also performed in master classes taught by Yoheved Kaplinsky, Leon Fleisher, Fou Ts’ong, Dan Zhaoyi, and John Perry.
Shiyu currently serves on the piano faculty at Indiana University East and Earlham College, is the Principal Keyboardist of the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, and Director of Music Ministry at Central United Methodist Church in Richmond, Indiana.
Shiyu’s interests go beyond piano performance. She holds a double-major degree in music and business and certificate of a one-year program in Renaissance art history from University of Rochester. She published her first book Inside the Kaleidoscope on Amazon in 2020 and also published an article on Chopin’s E Minor Prelude in Music Space magazine in 2013
Maki Kubota was appointed as a member of the Houston Symphony Orchestra in 2017 by Andres Orozco-Estrada. He has also appeared with the New York Philharmonic, Charleston Symphony Orchestra, and Dallas Symphony Orchestra, where he has also won a position in the cello section. As a chamber musician he has collaborated with artists such as Lynn Harrell, Jeremy Denk, Glenn Dicterow, Karen Dreyfus, and Randolph Kelly, performing at venues such as the Library of Congress, the Embassy of Singapore, Auditorio Manuell de Falla, and the Morgan Library. He has toured through Europe and Colombia with the Houston Symphony, served a faculty residency in Paipa for the Colombian Youth Philharmonic, recorded in Granada Spain for IBS Classical, appeared as a guest artist at the Music Academy of the West, La Jolla Summerfest, and served as a faculty member at the National Orchestral Insitute and Festival, Texas All-State Strings Camp, and New Mexico Music Festival and Orchestral Academy.
Maki first began cello lessons while in high school as a student of Stanley Sharp. After completing his undergraduate studies with Alan Stepansky at the Peabody Conservatory, he graduated from Rice University on full scholarship under the tutelage of Desmond Hoebig. His training includes fellowships at the Music Academy of the West, Aspen Music Festival, and Takacs String Quartet Seminar, as well as studies abroad at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music in Singapore with Li-Wei Qin.
Maki is devoted to teaching and mentoring the next generation of musicians. He has over a decade of experience teaching at numerous schools and music festivals, and his students have been accepted at colleges such as the New England Conservatory, Peabody Conservatory, Oberlin College, Indiana University, Cleveland Institute of Music, UT Austin, University of Houston, University of Michigan, and University of Maryland. Maki is on cello faculty at Texas Southern University and maintains a private studio based in the Houston Heights.
