Judged Festival 2021 Judges’ Biographies Margaret Cheng Tuttle Margaret Cheng Tuttle, pianist, a native of Lincoln, Nebraska, has been active as a soloist and chamber musician in Greater Boston and the Midwest, and has 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, Berklee College of Music and most of the major colleges and universities in Greater Boston, she has given numerous concerts in Chicago, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Colorado. A recipient of the Janet Gates Peckham International Award for Excellence in the Arts, she has performed with Boston's Alea III, the Orchestra of Indian Hill, Serenata Chamber Musicians, 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 YoYo 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 has been on the piano faculty of the Rivers Music School, Brookline Music School, Indian Hill Arts, and MIT. With the re-opening after the pandemic, she is looking forward to being an active chamber musician once again. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the New England Piano Teachers Association (NEPTA). She is a frequent adjudicator for events at MMTA, the Bay State Contest, and NEPTA. She is also a psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital and in private practice. Julie Chiang A frequent piano adjudicator in the New England area, Julie Chiang has served on piano faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Oklahoma City University, and the University of Central Oklahoma where she taught secondary piano and class piano. She also adjudicated regional and district piano competitions in Oklahoma and Taiwan. In addition to her teaching assignments, she is a frequent chamber music collaborator and accompanist. She has performed as an appointed accompanist for the International Society of Bassists, the University of Oklahoma Opera program, Canterbury Choral Society in Oklahoma City, and Opera for the Young in Wisconsin. Chiang was a translating editor for the FJH music and Tien-Yin publishing team in their launch of the Taiwanese publication of “Succeeding at the Piano,” and was Helen Marlais’s translator for her public presentations of the method in Taiwan. Chiang earned her D.M.A. in piano performance and pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma-Norman studying pedagogy under Jane Magrath, an M.M. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in piano performance, and B.F.A. from Tunghai University (Taiwan). A resident of New Hampshire, Chiang also served as a VP for Competitions of the New Hampshire Music Teachers Association. Adam Mayon Adam Mayon is currently the Coordinator of Piano and Collaborative Piano at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire and the State President of the New Hampshire Music Teachers Association. In addition, he and his wife Zi Liang, teacher and collaborative pianist, are the co-developers of A to Z Music Studio, a private music studio created for piano to students of all ages and levels. Adam has been nationally recognized with top prizes in the National divisions of the MTNA Young Artist Competition and the National Federation of Music Clubs Young Artist Competition. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance from University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music with a cognate in Piano Pedagogy. His performance career jumpstarted with a performance of Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto in C minor with the Loyola University Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of 18. Since then, his professional path has been highlighted with invitations to perform in Steinway Hall New York City, Dublin, Ireland, Lima, Ohio with the Lima Symphony Orchestra, Aaron Copland School of Music in Queens, NY, Lexington, Kentucky at Christ Church Cathedral, New Orleans, Louisiana as part of its French Quarter Festival, and at piano conferences in several states of the US, including the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy held in Chicago, IL. Other performances include solo/collaborative performances in Long Island, NY as part of Paul Schenly’s PianoFest in the Hamptons and masterclasses with distinguished guest artists such as Robert McDonald, Emanuel Ax, William Bolcom, Enrico Elisi, Logan Skelton, and Nelita True. In addition to his active performance schedule, his musical passions have led him to pursue a dual path as an educator and researcher. Adam has taught private and group piano courses at both Eastman School of Music and CCM as a graduate assistant, which gave him opportunities to work with undergraduate and graduate students ranging from beginner to advanced levels and from multiple fields of music study. In terms of research, his passion for correlating fitness with music (inspired by his former position as a certified personal trainer) led to a publication in the MTNA e-Journal entitled “Warming Up for the Warm-Up: A Case for Cardio Before Scales” in its November 2017 issue. Other article publications from Adam have appeared in both the American Music Teachers Journal and MTNA e-Journal. Dr. Penny Ouellette Dr. Penny Pan Ouellette is a dedicated teacher and adjudicator specializing in teaching piano, theory, and coaching chamber ensembles. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Claremont Graduate University in Historical Performance Practice, focusing on period keyboards and Brazilian/Cuban/Jazz infused piano repertoire. Dr. Ouellette is a National Certified Teacher of Music through Music Teachers National Association and Certified Yamaha Music Education teacher trainer. Before moving to Boston for the family, She was on the piano faculty at California State University Los Angeles from 2001-2016 and at West Los Angeles College from 2008-2016. Besides teaching, she was the State Vice President for California Association of Professional Music Teachers, the President for CAPMT Greater Pasadena Chapter, and the Chair for Music Teacher Association of California - Los Angeles Dozen Charitable Trust Fund Grant Concerto Competition. Currently, Dr. Ouellette is the Manager of Education and Community Engagement for Handel and Haydn Society. Jonathan Roberts Jonathan Roberts is the founder and director of the South Shore Piano School in Quincy, MA, and also serves as an examiner for the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Canada. Jonathan has presented at the MTNA national conference and serves on the board of the Massachusetts Music Teachers Association as the chair of the MTNA state competition. An advocate of the arts and community for all, Jonathan maintains a daily blog on the SSPS website and is the host of “South Shore Piano,” a podcast dedicated to featuring students, parents, teachers, and other leaders to learn exactly how music is changing lives every day. Jonathan holds the Bachelor of Music degree in music education and Bachelor of Arts degree in piano performance from the University of New Hampshire, the Master of Music degree in piano performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance from the University of Alabama. Elaine Rombola Aveni Pianist Elaine Rombola Aveni, a native of Los Angeles transplanted to the Boston area, performs regularly and teaches students around the greater Boston area and on the North Shore. She has both bachelor and master of music degrees in piano performance (Oberlin and New England Conservatories); she has given solo performances in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Tokyo, Kochi, Oberlin, and in cities throughout the northeast, especially Boston. A recent highlight was a series of performances at the Institute for Contemporary Art of John Cage's Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano as part of the Black Mountain College exhibit. She gives frequent chamber music performances, especially as part of RAHA Duo with violist Amelia Hollander Ames, on concert series around the greater Boston and North Shore, as well as New York and New Jersey. She has performed with ensembles around Boston such as the NEC Philharmonia, the Callithumpian Consort, Ludovico Ensemble, Craft Ensemble, and Sound Icon. In addition to teaching piano students of all ages privately, Elaine is the Music Teacher at Harborlight Montessori School in Beverly MA. She lives in Danvers with her husband and two children. Kathryn Southworth Kathryn Southworth holds a B.M. in Piano Performance from Oberlin Conservatory and an M.M. in Vocal Accompanying and Coaching from the University of Illinois. While pursuing her graduate degree she held an assistantship as staff accompanist under the tutelage of acclaimed accompanist John Wustman and served as a musical ambassador to Costa Rica..She has been a collaborative pianist for Opera North, Dartmouth College, Plymouth State University, Boston Ballet, and Belle Voci, and has also served as music director, accompanist, and organist for numerous theater, opera, and choral groups throughout New England. She performs regularly on the Musicians of Wall Street Concert Series. She has been an interim piano faculty member at Plymouth State University, and was a member of the piano faculty at St. Paul’s School for ten years, where she also served as chapel organist for the Advanced Studies Program. She currently serves as Dean of Students and Faculty at the Concord Community Music School (NH) and serves as Music Director for the Canterbury United Community Church and the Canterbury Singers, a vocal ensemble dedicated to Shaker music.