2019 Bay State Contest Judges' Biographies

2019 Bay State Contest Judges’ Biographies Seully Hall Donald Berman Donald Berman is Chair of Keyboard Studies at The Longy School of Music of Bard College and a Lecturer at Tufts University. He is a Harvard Radcliffe Institute Fellow and President of The Charles Ives Society. Prizewinner of the Schubert International Competition in Germany, Berman has been called a “thorough, thrillingly clear, and persuasive musician” (NY Times). His CDs include The Unknown Ives Volumes 1 and 2, The Uncovered Ruggles (New World), the 4-CD set Americans in Rome: Music by Fellows of the American Academy in Rome, Piano Music of Martin Boykan, and Scott Wheeler: Tributes and Portraits (Bridge). He has performed throughout the USA as well as abroad in Belgrade, Rome, Beijing, St. Petersburg, and Israel. His principal teachers were Mildred Victor in New York, George Barth at Wesleyan University, John Kirkpatrick, professor emeritus at Yale University, and Leonard Shure at The New England Conservatory. Rieko Aizawa Praised by the NY Times for her “impressive musicality, a crisp touch and expressive phrasing”, Japanese pianist Rieko Aizawa has established her own unique musical voice since her U.S. début at the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall with the New York String Orchestra, conducted by Alexander Schneider. The youngest-ever participant at the Marlboro Music Festival, she is a founding member of the Horszowski Trio and co-artistic director of the Alpenglow Chamber Music Festival. She was the last pupil of Mieczyslaw Horszowski at the Curtis Institute of Music; she also studied with Seymour Lipkin and Peter Serkin at the Juilliard School. She is on she is on the faculty at Longy School of Music of Bard. Houston Hall Christina Wright-Ivanova Dr. Christina Wright-Ivanova, described as “a brilliant pianist” (Wiener Zeitung, Vienna) and “an ideal partner” (Huffington Post), is the Piano Coordinator at Keene State College and Faculty at New England Conservatory’s ‘Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice’. She has premiered over one hundred works by living composers and has performed in such venues as Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Berklee School of Music, MIT, The Harvard Club, Opera America (NY), Jordan Hall, Tanglewood’s Ozawa Hall, Old North Meeting House and in the Clutch New Music Series in Austin TX and the NEXTET series in Las Vegas. Recent international concert performances at the Berlin Art Song Festival, Teatro Sociale in Como, Reaktorhalle (Munich), Humboldt University, École Normale Supérieure Lyon, Joanneumsviertel Museum, Amici della Musica Paisello Concert Hall (Lucera), and Schloss Frohnburg (Salzburg). She has been the official pianist for the Metropolitan Opera Auditions and has been heard in over fifteen countries throughout North & South America, UK, Europe, Asia and Australia, appearing in recital with many established musicians, including members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Las Vegas Philharmonic, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and Boulder Philharmonic. She is on summer faculty at the Jülich Summer Chamber Music Festival in Germany and is currently the Artistic Director for the ‘Bijou de la Vida Concert Series’ in Boston. Recordings on New World Records, ARS Produktion and MSR Classics; Degrees from the University of Texas at Austin (DMA), New England Conservatory (MM), and the University of Victoria, Canada (BM). Paul Dykstra Paul Dykstra was raised and trained in Edmonton, Canada, where he attended the University of Alberta, and summer Master Classes at Banff Centre and Shawnigan Lake Summer School of the Arts. After moving to British Columbia, he taught and performed there for 17 years as a solo pianist, duo pianist, and chamber musician. During this time he adjudicated Music Festivals in Western Canada, and examined for the Western Board of Music. Mr. Dykstra has performed the Bach D minor, Beethoven Fourth and Fifth, and Tchaikovsky 1st Concertos with orchestras in Canada and the US. He is on the College of Examiners of the Royal Conservatory of Music, and on the Faculty of St. Paul’s School in Concord, NH, in addition to maintaining a thriving private piano studio in Portsmouth, NH. He continues to perform solo, with orchestra, and as a chamber musician, and was a finalist for the American Prize Concerto competition in 2017. T401 Margaret Cheng-Tuttle Pianist Margaret Cheng Tuttle, a native of Lincoln, Nebraska, has been active as a soloist and chamber musician in Greater Boston and the Midwest, and has also given concerts in Taiwan and Reykjavik, Iceland. She has performed concertos by Mozart, Ravel, Beethoven, and Chopin with orchestras including the Omaha and New England Conservatory Symphony Orchestras. Her performances have aired on radio and television in Boston (WGBH), Israel, and the Midwest. In addition to appearing at Jordan Hall and most of the major colleges and universities in Greater Boston, she has given numerous concerts in Chicago, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Colorado. She has performed with Boston's Alea III and at summer festivals including Kneisel Hall in Blue Hill, Maine; the Aspen (Colorado) Music Festival; and Rocky Ridge Music Center in Estes Park, Colorado. While earning her Master of Music degree at New England Conservatory, she was a winner in both the Piano Honors and the Commencement Competitions. She has studied with Seymour Lipkin of the Juilliard School, Ronald Copes of the Juilliard Quartet, Eugene Drucker of the Emerson Quartet and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Margaret enjoys collaborating with composers, including Samuel Adler, Stephen Halloran and Lior Navok. She and her students have premiered several works and she has made a CD of piano music by Harry Chalmiers. She also holds a Master of Science degree in mathematics from MIT. She is a former Emerson Instructor of Piano at MIT and former member of the piano faculty at the Rivers Music School in Weston, Massachusetts. She served on the Board of the New England Piano Teachers Association (NEPTA). Most recently, she completed medical school and residency at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and is now an attending psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital with a small private practice in Lexington. She continues to practice and perform chamber music. Aleksandr Poliykov Aleksandr Poliykov is a Ukrainian pianist, conductor, and pedagogue. The winner of more than 20 international competitions, Poliykov has performed in the major venues of the United States, Europe, and South America. An active chamber musician, his numerous collaborations with symphony orchestras include Radio-Philharmonic Orchestra of Holland, Newton Symphony, and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine. In addition to his career as a performer, Poliykov has worked with 17 orchestras as a guest conductor, frequently leading opera productions and collaborating with vocalists. As an active educator, Poliykov provides concert-lectures, appears on television, and gives master classes in the United States, Europe and China. He is frequently invited to music festivals and to judge competitions. He currently serves on the piano faculty at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Opera Studio 406 Kallin Johnson Kallin Johnson has been Director of Music at Notre Dame Academy since 1989. He is also Organist and Director of Music at First Church of Christ Unitarian, Lancaster, MA. Mr. Johnson holds a Master of Music degree from New England Conservatory anda Bachelor of Arts degree from Utah State University. He has been on the faculty of numerous colleges and universities including Clark University and Harvard University. Mr. Johnson was the Founder/Executive Director of the Pakachoag Community Music School in Auburn, MA and Director of Music at the Performing Arts School of Worcester. He is also a past president of ARTSWorcester and the Massachusetts Music Teachers Association. Mr. Johnson is the recipient of many awards including the 1994 Worcester Telegram & Gazette’sVision 2000 Cultural Enrichment Award. He is a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts and served in various positions until 2016. Mr. Johnson is also a former President of First Night Worcester. He is an active performer as pianist and conductor and is currently the Principal Pianist for the Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra. Rieko Tanaka Rieko Tanaka has performed both solo and ensemble works in Japan and US, including appearances as a concerto soloist with Japan Philharmonic Orchestra and, Suruga Philharmonic Orchestra. Her collaborative works include many Chamber music performance with notable players such as Asako Urushihara, Kanako Ito and Anton Belov, to name a few. She is also a founding member of the international cabaret/jazz group, the Follen Angels, in which she performed, arranged, and produced from 2007 to 2010. She has served as a faculty member of University of Massachusetts Dartmouth for 18 years, coaching the voice students as well as teaching fundamental music classes and applied piano lessons. She is currently serving as a faculty member at the Winchester Community Music School. Studio T406 Gregory Slowik In Europe and the United States, Gregory Slowik is familiar to audiences as a piano soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. He has lectured in many European music capitals, including; Vienna, Paris and Prague. A much sought-after soloist and collaborator, he has lectured and performed at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum numerous times, in the Koch Gallery of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and he performed a solo piano recital at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. As part of the Gardner Museum lecture series celebrating the centenary of the creation of the museum, Slowik was invited to present a lecture/performance exploring Mrs. Gardner’s role as a patron of music. Receiving a very enthusiastic response, the lecture was encored at the Museum’s request. His writings about music have been published in the Journal of the Haydn Society of Great Britain and Abafazi: A Journal of Women of African Descent. Gregory Slowik received his Bachelor of Music degree from Mansfield University in Pennsylvania.

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