BIOGRAPHY

Tomoko Harada, President

https://www.haradapianostudio.com/about.html

Sherry Lai, Vice President & Concert Director

Florence FangChu Liu,  Vice President & Treasurer, holds a DMA degree in piano performance at the Graduate Center of CUNY where she studied with the legendary pianist Abbey Simon.  She had her New York Recital Debut at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, and also performed in both solo and chamber music concerts in Alice Tully Hall, Yamaha Hall, Steinway Hall and Elebash Recital Hall as well as throughout the New York metropolitan area and Taiwan. Dr. Liu also performed in France at Moulin d’Ande, and in Spain at Barcelona, Vila Seca and Lanzarote where she received the highest acclaim for her performance. Her awards includes the Dora Zaslavsky Piano Competition; the special presentation award from The Artists International; The Young Musician award from the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society; Henry Levine Memorial Award; The Anne-McDermott Memott Memorial Award, The President Award from the Manhattan School of Music, the finalist of Hilton Head International Piano Competition and numerous awards when she was back in Taiwan.

As an educator, she also received “Certificate of Excellence” Awards presented by the International Concert Alliance, the National League of Performing Arts, Forte International Competition, Golden Key Festival and Prima Music Competition as a leading teacher.  Her teaching credit included Hunter College and the Royal Conservatory of Music and Art. She received her both Master and Bachelor degrees in piano performance from the Manhattan School of Music, studying with Marc Silverman, Solomon Mikowsky and Donn-Alexander Feder. She has also participated master classes giving by Jesus Angel Rodriguez, Arkady Aronov and Karl Ulrich Schnabel. Currently, she is a faculty member of Preparatory Center for the Arts at Montclair State University and served as the competition committee of Music Educators Association of New Jersey.

Grace Kuo, Co-Director of Competitions

Shinwen Lin, Publicity Director, has a distinguished career in music as a conductor, educator, and soprano. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Music from Tunghai University, Taiwan, and her Masters in Music from Oklahoma City University. Ms. Lin has participated in many leading roles in numerous operas in Oklahoma City. She conducted the Tunghai University Choir, leading the choir to perform in many prestigious concert halls including National Hall, Taichung Recital Hall and Radio Center, and winning several national awards in Taiwan.

As the artistic director and conductor since 2002, Ms. Lin has led Hwa-Yin Youth Chorale in music festivals nationally and internationally, including in Vienna, Austria, Disney World, Florida, and Busch Gardens, Virginia, and collaborated with Yue Yue Ensemble on several occasions at Lincoln Center and Rutgers University’s Nicholas Music Center. She also founded the Women's Chamber Choir in Northern New Jersey in 2004, where she currently serves as music director, performing at the U.S. Government Veteran Affairs Hospital in Lyons, NJ, for Asian Heritage Month and various nursing homes regularly. She is also the President of the American-Asian Fine Arts Association and member of the Board of Directors for The National League of Performing Arts, Inc. 

Ms. Lin also maintains an active private piano and voice studio in Northern New Jersey, where she serves as music clinician and adjudicator. She is the recipient of the Genia Robinor Pedagogy Award of Teaching Excellence from Piano Teacher Society of America and the Laura Conover Pedagogy Award for Outstanding Teaching from the Cecilian Music Club. Her piano students have won prizes in state competitions and performed at acclaimed venues such as Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and Merkin Hall. Her voice students have auditioned successfully into the ACDA All-National Honor Choir, ACDA All-Eastern Honor Choir, and ACDA New Jersey Junior High and Elementary Honor Choir.

 

Ayumi Hashimoto, Director of National Youth Performing Artists Concerts, studied at Oberlin College Conservatory (B.M. in piano performance) with Sedmara Zakarian Rutstein and Westminster Choir College of Rider University (M.M. in piano performance and pedagogy) with Ingrid Clarfield.  Additional piano studies with Martin Canin and Miyoko Lotto.  Ensemble studies include Angela Cheng, Joseph Schwartz; vocal accompanying studies with Philip Highfill; instrumental accompanying studies with James Howsman, among others. She has performed solo and chamber ensembles in U.S., Japan, Italy, Germany, and Spain.   Teaching experience at Oberlin Conservatory, Seton Hall University, Westminster Conservatory. Her students have won competitions and performed in several venues such as Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Kimmel Performing Arts, Merkin Hall, Lincoln Center.

Chinglin Chen, Member-at-Large, started learning the piano at age five. After graduating first prize from the prestigious National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei, Taiwan in 1994, she started her career as a music educator at Taipei Liu Gong Middle School. In the fall of 1995, she came to New York City to continue her studies with Dr. Arcady Aronov at the Manhattan School of Music, where she received her Master of Music degree in 1997. As a pianist, Chinglin Chen has extensive performing experience, including collaboration with Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Taipei Flute Ensemble Academy and other performing artists, internationally as well as locally. She has performed in recitals and chamber music concerts at venues spanning from the National Recital Hall in Taipei, Watchung Arts Center in Watchung, NJ, to Christ Church in Summit, NJ. Equally passionate in music education, Chinglin Chen is devoted to promoting music learning for young musicians. She has served as the Competition/Audition Chair and later Executive Co-director at National League of Performing Arts for 10 years, responsible for organizing national events such as National Young Musicians Showcase Concert (prize winners regularly perform in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall), Virtuoso Solo Recital, and series of master classes, providing youngsters the opportunities to learn from renown musicians. She has also been actively teaching in her music studio in New York metro area for 20-plus years, guiding students from 5 to 17 years old. After living in north New Jersey for 20 years, she has recently moved to Philadelphia with her husband and 19-year-old son, who is a freshman at University of Pennsylvania.