Gila Goldstein

Pianist Gila Goldstein is known as a versatile musician and has captivated audiences around the world with her unique artistry and soulful interpretations. Ms. Goldstein has performed as a solo artist and collaborative pianist throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Korea, the Philippines, Europe and Israel.

Her most notable performances included the Berliner Symphoniker, Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra and Orquesta Da Camera in Mexico City as well as recitals and concerts at Lincoln Center and Merkin Hall in New York City, Progetto Martha Argerich in Lugano, Beijing Concert Hall in China, Seoul National University in Korea, the Purcell Room at the South Bank Center in London, Konzerthaus in Berlin, Musée de Louvre and Cité des Arts in Paris, Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, Kennedy Center in Washington DC, Old First Church in San Francisco, Gardner Museum and Tsai Performing Center in Boston, Dame Myra Hess concert series, Ravinia’s “Rising Stars” Series and Symphony Hall in Chicago, ”Great Performances“ series in St. Louis, Israel’s Henry Crown Hall in Jerusalem and the Tel Aviv Museum, among others. A Board member of the American Liszt Society (ALS) and the Founder-President of its New York Chapter since 1992, she has been a frequent guest performer at the ALS annual festivals around the United States and Canada. She also performed at festivals such as La Jolla, Yellow Barn, Sonus, Summit, Colburn, OpusFest, Jewish Music Festivals in Atlanta, Pittsburgh and London and the Israel Festival.

Gila Goldstein has been a sought-after pedagogue for nearly two decades and has given numerous master classes in the USA, China and Korea. She is currently a member of the piano faculty at Longy School of Music in Boston as well as at Brown University, where she serves as the director of piano studies. Previous teaching positions included Boston University, BU Tanglewood Institute and New York University. A champion of the music of Israel’s leading composer Paul Ben-Haim for over two decades as a performer and recording artist, Ms. Goldstein has recorded two volumes of his entire piano and chamber works on the Centaur label. She obtained her music degrees in piano performance from the Manhattan School of Music where she studied with Prof. Nina Svetlanova and the Tel-Aviv University’s School of Music, where her teacher was Prof. Victor Derevianko. Both her teachers were disciples of the legendary pianist and pedagogue Heinrich Neuhaus.

Please visit her web site, www.gilagoldstein.com & http://www.facebook.com/gilagoldsteinpianist

Hye-Jung Hong

Since giving her debut at the Palace of Arts in Seoul, Korea, Hye-Jung Hong has performed in recitals in Germany, Holland, Italy, China, Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan and Canada. In the U.S., she has appeared as concerto soloist with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Springfield Symphony Orchestra, and has given numerous solo and collaborative concerts. She has performed at the Missouri Music Teachers Association State Conference, and has appeared on concert series in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Recent performances include a guest concert at the 19th Kota Kinabalu Music Festival in Malaysia; recitals at Tainan National University of the Arts and National Sun Yat-Sen University in Taiwan; a guest recital at Sangmyung University in Korea; recitals at Liaoning Normal University and Qingdao University in China; a duo performance on the Dame Myra Hess Memorial concert series in Chicago; guest recitals at Pittsburg State University, Spelman College, University of Arkansas and Louisiana State University.

Dr. Hong has received critical praise for the artistry of her performances. Her playing has been described as “full of energy and electricity that stimulates the Korean musical world.” (Piano Eum-Ak) The German newspaper Die Rheinpfalz praised the “musicality, crystal clearness and elegance” of her performances. She has recorded on the Navona Records label.

Dr. Hong’s principal teachers include Julian Martin, Dominique Weber, Daewook Lee and Yonghee Moon. A dedicated teacher, her students have won top prizes in many competitions including the Kuleshov International Piano Competition, Charles R. Hall Young Artist Competition, Music Teachers National Association Young Artist Competition, Lee Piano Competition, Starr Young Artist Competition, and Federation of Music Clubs State Competition. She received her Bachelor of Music, Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University. Currently she is Associate Professor of Piano at Missouri State University.

“An astonishing blend of muscular power, poetry and utter control he will prove to be one of the more formidable talents to have appeared in this country in years”(American Record Guide).

This statement resonates with truth for the Ukrainian-American pianist, Mykola Suk, who gained international recognition as the winner of the First Prize and Gold Medal at the 1971 International Liszt-Bartok Competition in Budapest, Hungary. His international career has spanned four continents, performing in the most prestigious venues from the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory to Carnegie Hall in New York. “…enormous digital control… such an impressive technique was so completely subsumed in the task of musical characterization. Suk never used the piano to show off; he made it the servant of Liszt’s expressive ideas”(Toronto Star).

Mr. Suk has appeared as soloist with numerous leading orchestras, from the Russian National Symphony under Mikhail Pletnev to the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn under Roman Kofman. He has collaborated artistically with the world’s outstanding conductors, among them Charles Bruck, Janos Ferencik, Arvid Jansons, Stefan Turchak, James De Preist and Carl St. Clair. Mr. Suk’s interviews, live performances, and CD recording have been broadcast throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia on prominent radio stations and broadcast systems.

Since his first public appearance at age eight, Mykola Suk has given recitals world-wide in the countries of the former Soviet Union, France, Germany, England, Finland, Hungary, Spain, Czech Republic, Macedonia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Egypt, Slovakia, Mexico, United States, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Canada, Turkey, Korea, China, Portugal, Mongolia and Australia. The European Piano Teacher’s Journal wrote that Mykola Suk is “..surely the most towering and volcanic talent to have come out of Russia since Anton Rubinstein.” Suk’s passion for chamber music has brought him to many distinguished chamber music festivals and collaborations throughout the world, among them, the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival (Finland), Australian Festival of Chamber Music, Kiev International Music Festival (Ukraine) and International Keyboard Institute and Festival in New York.

Mr. Suk is an avid believer in 20th and 21st century piano literature. He was honored to premiere numerous works, especially by Ukrainian composers such as Valentin Silverstrov, Ivan Karabyts and Myroslav Skoryk. Most of the compositions were composed for, dedicated to, or commissioned by Suk.

Mykola Suk completed his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Piano Performance at the Moscow State Conservatory, studying with Lev Vlassenko. He also holds a combined Bachelor/Master of Music Degree in Piano Performance, Pedagogy and Chamber Music from the Moscow State Conservatory. Before coming to the United States he served as professor of Piano at the Kiev State Conservatory and Moscow State Conservatory.

Mykola Suk has given master classes at many festivals and music schools around the world. He has taught as an adjunct faculty member at various music schools such as the New England Conservatory, Manhattan School of Music (NY), Columbia University (NY), and the University of Southern Alabama. In 2001, Mr. Suk settled in Las Vegas, Nevada, taking responsibility for keyboard studies at the School of Music of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Mr. Suk has recorded to high acclaim for the Melodia (Russia), Russian Disc, Hungaraton, Meldac/Triton (Japan), Troppe Note/Cambria and Music & Arts (USA) labels.

Mr. Suk is managed by Shupp Artists Management. To learn more, please visit http://www.shuppartists.com/Shupp/Artists/Suk.htm.