PYSO’s Beyond the Notes Series ​ ​ About the Speakers

Dr. J. Mark Stambaugh is professor of composition, theory, ​ and music history at Manhattan School of Music in where he has taught since 1992, having also served as chair of both the theory and composition departments. His range of academic interests include the history of the orchestra, the music of Richard Wagner and Benjamin Britten, and various aspects of tonal music theory. His works in many genres—opera, orchestral, vocal and instrumental chamber music, sacred and popular forms—have been performed across the and in other countries worldwide and are the recipient of many honors and awards.

Dr. Stambaugh is a graduate of the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University. He lives in Manhattan with his wife Soyoun Im, MD and his daughter, Mairwen.

Dr. J. Mark Staumbaugh will be leading a discussion on Orchestra and Teamwork as part of PYSO’s Beyond the Notes series on September 26th, at 6:30PM

Michael Tsang, PT, DPT, BM, MM graduated from the Institute of Music in 2016 with Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in Piano Performance under the tutelage of Paul Schenly, Kathryn Brown, and Daniel Shapiro. Michael also graduated from Case Western Reserve University in 2016 earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in Biological Sciences. He went on to earn his Doctor of Physical Therapy degree at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine in 2019. Currently, he is obtaining his board certification in orthopedics at UPMC Rooney/Freddie Fu Sports Medicine Center. Michael is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh Department of Physical Therapy for their musculoskeletal curriculum.

Michael began his piano and violin studies in Pittsburgh with Marina Schmidt Lupinacci and Jia Yu Wuan, respectively. His passion for music developed with numerous performances and competitions since age 5. He was a pianist for the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra from 2007-2011. In 2011, Michael appeared as a soloist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra for its outreach education programs. He also performed as a soloist with the Butler Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Philharmonic Orchestra, and Ithaca College Symphony. In 2014, Michael was a winner of the Pittsburgh Concert Society Major Artists Competition. In the same year, he was the recipient of the Presser Scholar Award and the William Kurzban Prize for piano from the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Michael became interested in the performing arts and musicians’ injuries after witnessing many colleagues and faculty struggle with performance injuries. Over the course of his PT career, Michael has created music medicine initiatives and injury management/prevention seminars for both healthcare professionals and musicians. Michael’s ultimate goal is spreading awareness of playing-related injuries, managing and preventing these injuries through optimizing performance, and helping performing artists return to their passion of sharing music without physical limitations.

Michael Tsung will discuss Injury Management and “Return to Play” for the Instrumental Musician as part of PYSO’s Beyond the Notes series on October 4th, at 6:30PM

Pius Cheung is currently an Associate Professor ​ and Chair of the Percussion Area at the University of Oregon. Hailed by the New York Times as “deeply expressive” for his groundbreaking recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations on solo marimba, Pius Cheung is widely known as one of the most important percussionists of his generation. He has presented solo recitals at , Kennedy Center, National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, National Concert Hall in Taipei, Kyoto Arts Center (Japan), as well as music festivals around the globe such as the Usedom Music Festival (Germany), Manchester Music Festival, Hong Kong Arts Festival, Taiwan International Percussion Convention, Chiapas International Marimba Festival (Mexico), Drum Fest (Poland), Percussion Plus Festival (Denmark), Italy PAS International Percussion Festival, Osaka Percussion Festival and Shenyang International Percussion Festival (China).

He is one of the most sought-after composers for percussion today. His latest works include Allegro Brutale for solo marimba, commissioned by Dame Evelyn Glennie; Heaven and Earth, a 20 minute tone poem for the Ju Percussion Group; and a marimba concerto for the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra.

Furthermore, Mr. Cheung frequently serves as a judge at national and international competitions, as well as presents masterclasses at renowned institutions such as the Juilliard ​ School, Curtis Institute of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Amsterdam Conservatory, Paris Conservatory, Toho Gakuen (Japan) and Beijing Central Conservatory

Pius Cheung will be discussing creativity through writing music as part of PYSO’s Beyond the Notes Series on October 18th and 25th at 6:30PM

Shirli Nikolsburg introduces musicians to the ​ ​ experience of mindfulness practice into both their instrumental and performance practice. Shirli holds a Master of Science in Developmental Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh, a postgraduate certificate in Gestalt Psychotherapy from the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland and was trained in mindfulness and meditation at the Chopra Center in San Diego CA. with Dr. Deepak Chopra. Having received a Bachelor of Arts from Chatham University in Visual and Performing Arts and a Piano Performance Diploma from the Donya Weissman Conservatory of Haifa Israel. Shirli has extensive experience teaching music education and studio piano to students from K-12. She also studied modern dance with Merce Cunningham in New York City.

Shirli has been teaching masterclasses in Mindfulness for Musicians and the Performing Arts at the Carnegie Mellon University School of Music and the Preparatory School of Music, as well as the School of Drama. She will be presenting new masterclasses at Duquesne University’s Mary Pappert School of Music and at the City Music Center at Duquesne University. Her recent article “Back to the Breath” was published on CelloBello* a website launched in 2010 by cellist Paul Katz in consultation with the Educational Media Foundation of the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) affiliate WGBH Boston, and Rafael deStella of destella.creative.

Shirli Nikolsburg will be discussing relaxation techniques and overcoming performance anxiety as part of PYSO’s beyond the Notes series on November 15th and 29th.