NYU Steinhardt undergraduate piano students have come to Music and Performing Arts Professions from around the world, as well as from across the United States. They represent diverse cultures and traditions. However, they are united in their love of music, their dedication to the discipline and rigorous training that a musical career requires, and their enthusiasm for the academic opportunities offered by the University. They are devoted to their personal practice yet understand that, to be successful in today's highly competitive musical environment, they must uphold a strong commitment to their academic courses, in music and related disciplines. They see their undergraduate years at NYU Steinhardt as a vital time for personal discovery and professional development.
Through frequent interaction with their peers in Chamber Music, Master Classes, and Program Meetings, NYU Steinhardt piano students live and work in a competitive but highly supportive environment. As one student described her reasons for choosing NYU: "The community feeling distinguishes us from most other schools. Also, most of our faculty continue to be active in the performance world. They use their professional contacts to help us launch our own careers." Undergraduates at NYU Steinhardt are steadily nurtured by the Artist Faculty, who offer not only teaching in private lessons, but also advisement and professional guidance as their students move through the program.
NYU Steinhardt graduate students also represent the international community. Many come to Music and Performing Arts Professions from conservatory backgrounds, in the United States and abroad. Others, having built careers in music, now return to the University for the intense study required to secure significant positions in academia. All are attracted by the substantive course offerings at NYU Steinhardt, which allow them to grow as performers while acquiring experience in related fields, such as Music Business, Music Technology, and Music Education.
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Annie Jeng
Growing up in Potomac, Maryland, outside of Washington D.C.,
Annie Jeng began piano
lessons with her mother at the age of 4 and later became a student of Faye Bonner. To play chamber music, she also learned viola at age eight, later becoming the co-principal violist of the American Youth Philharmonic as well as the Maryland Classic Youth Orchestra. Annie has played both piano and viola on Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center, and as a piano soloist has performed at The Warner Theatre, as a finalist of the Washington Post 7th Annual Music and Dance Educational Awards. She also participated in the 2008 Oberlin International Competition and the 2009 Washington International Piano Festival. In addition to instrumental activities, Annie also sings, dances, and competitively swims. She is currently a student at NYU Steinhardt of Artist Faculty member Anne-Marie McDermott.
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Marcus Ostermiller
Marcus Ostermiller, currently a Master's student at NYU Steinhardt working privately with Dr.
Deirdre O'Donohue, is the recipient of numerous musical awards, including First Place in the Colorado State Federation Piano Competition, Second Place in the Colorado All-State Piano Competition, Second Place in the Pramberger Piano Festival, and Honorable Mention in the Lamont Solo Honors Competition.
He began his study of piano at age eight and studied in his native Colorado with Melinda Baird, Larry Graham, and Alice Rybak; later studies include Florida State University under Norma Mastrogiacomo; Brigham Young University under Irene Peery-Fox and Barbara Allen; The Adamant Music School under Deirdre O'Donohue and Seta Tanyel; and The University of Oxford under Daniel Gallagher. Having received his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Denver where he graduated Summa Cum Laude, Marcus was recently awarded a Jack Kent Cooke Graduate Scholarship, which will fully fund his graduate study for the next six years.
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Mario Antonio Marra
Mario Antonio Marra, who started his undergraduate studies in piano at NYU Steinhardt in
Fall 2009, began piano study at the age of four. In 2000, he began private lessons with Norma Verrilli in Fairfield, CT, and since then he has performed in master classes with Anthony di Bonaventura and Antonio Pappano, among others. He was also accepted as a student at the Tanglewood Institute, where he worked with Max Levinson. As an active collaborative pianist, Mario works very closely with singers in the operatic and song repertoires and has also had experience teaching both privately and as an intern in private schools in Connecticut. Currently, Mario is a student of Artist Faculty member Marilyn Nonken.
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Angela Park
Angela Park is a student currently in the Undergraduate program in Piano Performance at NYU Steinhardt studying with Martin Canin. She was a part of the Preparatory Division at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music from 1997 to 2007, studying with John McCarthy.
In addition to studying piano at the Conservatory, she studied musicianship, chamber music, percussion, and voice.
Her several awards include first prize in the 2003 Korea Times Piano Competitions, honorable mention in the American Beethoven Society Competition, second prize in the 2005 Burlingame Women's Club Piano Competition, Special Prize for Best 19th century piece in 2004, Chiu-Luao Prize in 2005, and the Chiu-Luao Prize in 2007 at the San Francisco Young Musicians Piano Competition, Semi-Finalist in the 2005 International Institute of Young Musicians Piano Competition, Semi-Finalist in the 2006 Oberlin International Piano Competition, Grand prize in the 2006 Korean Television Network's Annual Piano Competition, Honorable Mention in the 2006 Music Teachers National Association Senior Division of California, and first prize in the 2007 University of Pacific's Henry and Carol Zeiter Piano Competition.
Angela has also been awarded scholarships from the Steinway Society of Northern California in 2006, Monta Vista High School Music Booster in 2007, and from New York University in 2007.
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Midori Larsen
Pianist Midori Larsen received her Master of Arts in Piano Performance from NYU Steinhardt and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Piano Performance. Specializing in Spanish piano music, she studies with Eduardus Halim, and her training also includes the study of Flamenco music and dance with Metropolitan Opera dancer Sara Erde. Midori majored in Music and Art at Pitzer College (the Claremont Colleges), where she graduated with Honors in Music. Her former teachers include Hao Huang and Reitei Yoh.
Midori Larsen gave her first orchestral appearance in 2000, performing Beethoven's Choral Fantasy at the Bridges Hall of Music (CA) with the Claremont Concert Orchestra and Concert Choir. She concertizes regularly in New York, recently in recitals at the Donnell Library and Polish Consulate, as well as Japan, her native country. Additionally, she collaborates with composers and dancers, creating innovative performances combining music and dance.
In addition to performing, Midori Larsen is a coordinator of the Steinhardt at Saklad series. This highly successful recital series presents pianists from NYU Steinhardt, in solo and chamber performances, at the Saklad Auditorium at NYU's College of Dentistry. In Spring 2008, she was awarded the President's Service Award for curating this, as well as for her creative and scholarly achievements.
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Jeff Lankov
Jeff Lankov, a current student in the graduate program at NYU Steinhardt, is a pianist, musical director, and composer active in classical and popular styles. Recent appearances have included solo recitals, chamber music concerts, and a recording of the piano music of George Gershwin. His diverse repertoire includes concertos of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Grieg, Gershwin, and Bernstein, and his solo programs often feature works by living composers and unusual juxtapositions. Past concerts have included music for toy piano and prepared piano, his own solo-piano transcription of Stravinsky's "Le Sacre du Printemps," and compositions by the American composer Robert Xavier Rodríguez.
Jeff Lankov has served as musical director for theatrical venues nationwide, including Radio City Music Hall and Dallas Theater Center, as well as several national tours. He recently premiered his new stage production, Love Is Here To Stay: A George Gershwin Revue. He received his early training at the St. Louis Conservatory of Music and Interlochen Arts Academy; after 14 years as faculty and Artist-In-Residence at the University of Texas at Dallas and as Principal Pianist of the Richardson Symphony, he relocated to New York City to pursue graduate studies with Dr. Marilyn Nonken at NYU Steinhardt. In 2007, he was named the inaugural Walter Reinhold Scholar.
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Yuval Cohen
Israeli pianist Yuval Cohen, a current student in the Ph.D. program in Piano Performance at NYU Steinhardt, joined the Rubin Conservatory of Music while attending the Hebrew University Secondary High School, where he majored in Music, Mathematics and Physics. After completing three years compulsory military service, he began his studies at New York’s Mannes College of Music, where he obtained his Bachelors and Master’s degrees. During the years 2001-2004, he lived in Vienna, serving on the piano faculty at the Vienna International School, working as a vocal coach, and guest teaching at the Bruckner Conservatory Jazz. During 2005-2006, he completed two Artist Diploma degrees at SUNY-Purchase in classical piano and jazz studies, while serving as an assistant professor in the piano department.
Yuval Cohen has toured widely throughout Europe, North America, and Israel, performing at venues including Kennedy Center (Washington DC), the Cathedral of St. John the Divine (New York), and the De Young Museum (San Francisco). He has been invited to participate in festivals, including the Isaac Stern Young Artist Program and the Tel-Hai International Master Classes (both, Israel), Banff Music Festival (Canada), and the Cervantino Festival (Mexico). Yuval Cohen's doctoral studies in Piano Performance at NYU Steinhardt are highlighted with his piano study
with Dr. Marilyn Nonken.
