
It has been the inspiration of piano legends like Horowitz, Cortot, Rachmaninoff and Rubinstein which has guided me in my piano teaching. It is that poetry, spontaneous creativity, risk-taking, constant quest for the worlds within and beyond us, and combination of pianistic flair and discipline which have always sparked my imagination as a pianist, composer and piano teacher.
These great pianists arose from the tradition of the great composers, who captured the entire essence of their time and place and coupled it with their own individualistic musical language. Those have been our teachers. They established the principles, and we are here to revitalize them.
Yet our own era carries a very different flavor and energy than any other before us. Therefore it is in our hands to crystallize this time with new interpretations of the great sources and revive the poetry of classical music.
-Ronn Yedidia

Roster of Students: 2002/03 Talia Cotton
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Roster of Students: 2003/04 Talia Cotton
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| Roster of Students: 2005/06 Phyllis Bieri Ariel Cotton Talia Cotton Rev. Alistair Drummond Naomi Feiner Mark Garrett Mei Hua Hoffman Aaron Huang Barbara Kerstetter Hyung-Do Kim Jinhee Kim Lilly Kim Chen-Yuan Lu Victor Malinowski Ji In Park Chihiro Sato Mellina Sohn Jennifer Smith Kyu Sunwoo Louise Thompson Katelyn Tran Mia Veissid Katie Watson Dr. Ron Wharton Samantha Whitmore Orion Yedidia Matthew Yuan Heather Zhang |
Roster of Students: 2006/07 Phyllis Bieri |
Roster of Students:
2007/08 |
Students' Awards and Major Events:
Hyung-Do Kim:
1st Prize Winner at the 2005 New York City Piano Teachers
Congress Competition
Top
Award Winner at the 2005 Steinway Society Scholarship Competition of New Jersey
Debut Recital at Merkin Concert Hall, NY, on December, 17,
2006 - at age 10 - included J.S. Bach's complete Goldberg Variations and 6
Chopin Etudes, as well as music by Haydn, Schubert, Gluck-Sgambati and
Rachmaninoff. The Korean Daily newspaper reviewed the recital citing that "
'Dream Tree' ten-year-old Hyung-Do Kim demonstrated the infinite possibilities
of a great performer at his New York debut at Merkin Concert Hall. He played the
forty-minute Goldberg Variations by J.S. Bach with impressive confidence - like
a massive, great pianist. He entertained and delighted the audience with lovely
selections in the second half and received a standing ovation which brought him
back for several more encores."
Special Award Winner at the 2007 Friday
Woodmere Club Young Artist Competition in Long Island, New York
1st Prize Winner at the 2007
Connecticut International Young Artist Competition
WQXR Radio Broadcast
Debut on Bob Sherman's young talent show,
June 27, 2007; Rachmaninoff, Haydn & Chopin
(from Merkin Hall's debut)
Kyu Sunwoo:
1st Prize Winner at the 2006 New York City Piano Teachers
Congress Competition
Recipient of the Pauline Styler Memorial Scholarship Award for best performance
at the advanced categories of the 2006 PTC Competition
Top Award Winner at the 2006 International Concert Alliance (ICA) Competition
in New York
1st Prize Winner at the 2006 International Musica Classica
Festival Competition, Puigcerda, Spain
Admitted to the undergraduate program
at Mannes College of Music as a student of Vladimir Feltsman
(fall, 2007)
Katelyn Tran:
1st Prize Winner at the 2006 International Musica Classica
Festival Competition, Puigcerda, Spain
Winner
of the Marsha Kanarek Award at the
2007 Friday Woodmere Club Young Artist Competition in Long Island, New
York
2nd Prize Winner at the 2007
Connecticut International Young Artist Competition
Silver Medalist at the
2008 Bravura Concerto Competition of New Jersey (Tchaikovsky, No. 1)
2nd Prize Winner at
the 2008 New York City Piano Teachers Congress Competition
1st Prize Winner
in the Chinese Composition category at the 23rd International Young Artist Piano Competition, Washington DC
(2008)
Heather Zhang:
3rd Prize
Winner at the 2008 Connecticut International Young Artist
Competition
Aaron Huang:
1st Prize Winner at the
2007 New York City Piano Teachers Congress Competition
1st Prize Winner at the 2007 Connecticut International
Young Artist Competition
Recipient of the 2008 George V. Rose Musical
Scholarship at the Waldorf School of Garden City,
NY
Matthew Yuan:
Honorable Mention
Recipient at the 2007 Connecticut International Young Artist
Competition
Lilly Kim:
Admitted to the undergraduate program at the New
England Conservatory as a full scholarship student (fall, 2006)
Winner of the
2006 New England Conservatory Concerto Competition (Cesar Franck's
Symphonic Variations) - leading to a debut performance with the NEC
Orchestra in her Freshman year at the school
Claire Lee:
1st Prize Winner at the 1999 Queens College Cultural
Heritage Competition
1st Prize Winner at the
2000 Cecilian Music Club Piano Competition
2nd Prize Winner at the 2000 New
Jersey Music Teachers' Association Competition
3rd Prize Winner at the 2000 New York Music Competition (Queens)
1st Prize Winner at the 2001 New York City Piano Teachers Congress Competition
Top Awards at the
International Concert Alliance (ICA) Competition in New York for 3 consecutive
years (2000-2002)
Honorable Mention
Recipient at the 2004 ICA Competition
in New York
2001 debut performance at Merkin Hall
Debut Recital at
Klavierhaus, NY, June 28, 2002
Talia Cotton:
Honorable
Mention Recipient at the ICA Competition in New York, 2003 & 2004
Top Award Winner at both the 2003 & 2004 New York City Piano Teachers
Congress Competition
Samantha Whitmore:
Top Award Winner at the ICA Competition in New York, 2002
Honorable
Mention Recipient at the ICA Competition in New York, 2003 & 2004
Joon Lee:
1st Prize Winner of the Bloomingdale House of Music
Performance Competition for 4 consecutive years (1994-1997)
1st Prize
Winner of the 1996 Bloomingdale House of Music Concerto
Competition (Bach's G minor
Concerto, BWV 1054)
1st Prize Winner at the 1997 Queens College Cultural
Heritage Competition
Debut Recital at the Bloomingdale House of Music, NY, David Greer Recital
Hall, June 25, 1999
Honorable Mention Recipient at the 1998
Great Neck Young Musicians Competition
1st Prize Winner of the 1998
Bloomingdale House of Music Concerto Competition (Mozart's D minor Concerto, K.
466)
2nd Prize Winner at the 1999 Young Pianist's Competition of New
Jersey
2nd Prize Winner at the 1999 New York City Piano Teachers Congress
Competition
Honorable Mention Recipient at the 1999 MTNA Competition (New Jersey)
1st Prize Winner at the 1999 New Jersey Music Teachers' Association Competition
1st Prize
Winner at the 2000 ICA Competition in New York
2nd Prize Winner at the 2000
New York Music Competition (Queens)
3rd Prize Winner at the 2000 New Jersey
Music Teachers' Association Competition
Top Award Winner at the 2001 New
York City Piano Teachers Congress Competition
Top Award Winner at the 2001 ICA Competition in New York
Ezra Surowicz:
Winner of the 1996
Bloomingdale House of Music Concerto Competition (Bach's D Major Concerto, BWV
1058)
1st Prize Winner at the 1998 Turtle Bay School of Music's
Totally Mozart Concerto Competition
Winner of the 1998 Bloomingdale House of
Music Concerto Competition (Mozart's A Major Cocnerto, K. 414)
Honorable
Mention Recipient at the 1998 Queens College Cultural Heritage
Competition
Honorable Mention Recipient at the 1998 Great Neck Young
Musicians Competition
3rd Prize Winner at the 1999 New Jersey Music Teachers'
Association Competition
Debut Recital at The National Arts Club, NY, June
8,
1999
1st Prize Winner at the 1999 Queens College Cultural Heritage Competition
1st Prize Winner at the
2000 New York City Piano Teachers Congress Competition
4th Prize Winner at the 2000 New York Music Competition
(Queens)
3rd Prize Winner at the 2000 Carnegie Hall International
Masterclass and Recital Festival
3rd Prize Winner at the 2000 New Jersey Music Teachers' Association
Competition
Honorable Mention Recipient at the 2000 MTNA Competition (New Jersey)
1st Prize Winner of the ICA Competition in New
York for 3 consecutive years
(2000-2002)
Alice Tully Hall debut representing the U.S. at the U.S.-China Foundation
Concert, 2001
Ji In Park:
2nd Prize Winner at the 1997 World Piano Competitions in Cincinnati, USA
Grand Prize Winner at the 2000 Carnegie
Hall International Masterclass and Recital
Festival
1st
Prize Winner at the 2000 Cecilian Music Club Piano Competition
Honorable Mention Recipient at the 2000 MTNA Competition
(New Jersey)
3rd Prize Winner at the 2000 New
Jersey Music Teachers' Association Competition
Top Award Winner
at the 2001 New York City Piano Teachers Congress Competition
Special Award Winner at the 2001 New York Philharmonic
Young Performers
Competition
1st Prize Winner at the 2002 New York City Piano Teachers Congress Competition
Top Awards at the ICA Competition in New York, 2001 & 2002
1st Prize at the ICA Competition in New York, 2003
2nd Prize at the 2003 International Musica Classica
Festival Competition, Puigcerda, Spain
Debut Recital at Klavierhaus, NY, May
31, 2003
Chen-Yuan Lu:
Special Commendation at the 2003 Andrew De Grado Piano
Competition
1st Prize Winner at the 2004 New York City Piano Teachers Congress Competition
Top Award Winner at the ICA Competition in New York, 2004
2nd
Prize Winner at the 2004 International Musica Classica Festival Competition,
Puigcerda, Spain
Selected to perform at the opening concert of the
2004 Trail Mix Music Festival, West Shokan, NY
Debut Recital at Klavierhaus, NY,
June 19, 2005
Pedro Tsividis:
Winner of the 1998 Bloomingdale House of Music Concerto
Competition (Mozart's Eb Major Concerto, K. 449)
Honorable Mention Recipient
at the 1998 & 1999 Queens College Cultural Heritage Competition
1st Prize Winner at the 1998 Turtle Bay School of Music's
Totally Mozart Concerto
Competition
1st Prize Winner at the 1999 Young Pianist's Competition of New Jersey
1st Prize Winner at the 2000 ICA Competition in New York
1999 debut recording for WGBH Radio and
Public Radio International
Debut
Recital at the Juilliard School, Morse Hall, June 23,
2000
Sohyon Lee:
1st Prize Winner of the
1997 Bloomingdale House of Music Performance Competition
Honorable Mention
Recipient at the 1999 Queens College Cultural Heritage Competition
2nd Prize
Winner at the 1999 Young Pianist's Competition of New Jersey
1st Prize Winner
at the 1999 New York City Piano Teachers Congress Competition
Chihiro Sato:
Honorable Mention Recipient at the 1998 &
1999 Queens College Cultural Heritage Competition
1st Prize Winner at the
1999 Young Pianist's Competition of New Jersey
1st Prize Winner at the 1999
New York City Piano Teachers Congress Competition
Debut Recital at the Turtle
Bay Music School, NY, June 25,
1999