Keyboard Accompanists

In addition to his performances as a collaborative pianist at the Cali School and Mason Gross School of the Arts, Dmitri Korneev is an active educator and a composer. His most recent chamber work won a First Prize in IX International Competition of Performers and Composers “Romanticism: its Origins and Beyond” in memory of Elena Gnessina in Moscow, Russia. “…Combining gentle humor, expansive beauty, fire, flare and virtuosity, music remained true to the transcendentally tragic Russian romantic roots of the composer.” (from McDowell Concert Series). As a solo pianist Dmitri spent several years giving recitals throughout Russia, Greece, Italy and the United States. His performances in the States included such prestigious concert halls as Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall and United Nations Concert Hall in New York. Dmitri has worked at the University of Texas at San Antonio as a staff accompanist, at the San Antonio Lyric Opera as a rehearsal pianist and served as an Executive Director of the “You Need Music” Educational & Performing Enterprise, which holds an annual regional competition with the winner’s recital in Carnegie Hall. Dmitri holds his master’s degree from the Gnessins Russian Academy of Music and Mannes College of Music and studied at the Central Music School at Moscow State Conservatory. Among Dmitri’s teachers, Prof. Alexandrov and Prof. Slesarev were the most influential. He has participated in masterclasses held by Claude Frank and Arkady Aronov, and in the La Belle Epoque Festival in New York. In 1998 he became a laureate of the International Piano Competition IBLA Grand Prize in Italy.

Michael S. Caldwell has degrees in Piano and Vocal Performance from Westminster College (New Wilmington, PA) and Hartt School of Music (Hartford, CT), where he performed in leading roles in The Rape of Lucretia, La Traviata, Cosí fan tutte, and The Rake’s Progress. He appeared with Central City Opera as Angelotti (Tosca), Mercutio (Roméo et Juliette), and Tom/John (Face on the Barroom Floor). At Virginia Opera, he performed as Antonio (Le Nozze di Figaro), Mr. Gobineau (The Medium), and Michael in the world premiere of Michael Ching’s opera Cue 67. A featured baritone at the Steans Institute at Chicago’s Ravinia Festival, Michael also has extensive background in art song and lieder, both as pianist and singer. As a pianist, he enjoyed collaborating with the artists at the International Institute of Vocal Arts in Chiari, Italy. Michael has appeared with the Metropolitan Opera extra chorus in Fidelio, Die Meistersinger, Moses und Aron, Lohengrin, Orfeo, and Samson et Dalila.

Hsuan-Wen Chen, pianist and harpsichordist, is a native of Taiwan. She received her Bachelor of Music degree and Master of Music degree in Piano from the Cleveland Institute of Music. She also holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in harpsichord performance from Stony Brook University where she studied with Arthur Haas. Ms. Chen has been Assistant Director for the International Baroque Institute at Longy, Baroque Academy at Amherst Early Music Festival, and Baroque Opera Workshop at Queens College. She is the artistic director of The Soul’s Delight, a period instrument chamber ensemble that seeks to explore the broad spectrum of music of the 17th and 18th century. As an active soloist and chamber music player, Ms. Chen has performed in the United States, Canada and Taiwan.

Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Pei-Wen Chen graduated from the National Academy of Art with the highest honor and performed Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 in 1990. In 1992, Ms. Chen entered the Mannes College The New School for Music in New York and studied with Nina Svetlanova. In 1994, she performed Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on the Theme of Paganini with the Mannes Orchestra conducted by Maestro Michael Charry. Shortly after graduating from Mannes with a special piano award, Ms. Chen made her debut at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in 1995.

Since then, Ms. Chen has been regularly performing solo and chamber music works throughout the U.S.A., France, Germany, and Italy, to name but a few. In 1998, she joined the production of Fedora alongside Plácido Domingo and Mirella Freni at the Washington Opera.From 1998 to 2002, Ms. Chen was the pianist for the Metropolitan Opera Guild productions such as “Growing Up with Opera.”As a collaborative artist, Ms. Chen has worked with artists including Licia Abanese, Elly Ameling, Regina Resnik, Jon Vickers, Evelyn Lear, Diane Soviero, Deborah Voigt, Ruth Falcon, Mignon Dunn, Sherril Milnes, and Olga Peretyako, among others.  In 1998, she joined the production of Fedora for Washington Opera.  In addition, Ms. Chen served as a pianist for the Metropolitan Opera Guild as well as Amato Opera,New York Lyric Opera Theatre, Regina Opera in NYC for many seasons.  She has been a member of the music faculty for IVAI in both Virginia and NYC, CVAI in Canada, as well as a faculty member for VOICExperience in Florida, CoOperative at Rider University and Savannah Voice Festival.

Highlights of Ms. Chen’s past engagements include concerts in Washington, D.C. as well as in Virginia and Maine, piano duo concerts in France, and Bach Concerti in Lithuania.  Additionally, she has served as coach and conductor for operas including Der Schauspieldirektor by Mozart, The Telephone by Menotti, Incoronazione di Poppea by Monteverdi, and Alcina and Ariodante by Handel in concert version with New York Lyric Opera; Czerny piano Concerto for one piano, four hands in Modolva and  complete Rachmaninoff music for two pianos in France. In the spring of 2017, Ms. Chen was the official pianist of the Classical Singers Magazine Competition in Shanghai.In 2020, Ms Chen served as a jury member for many international online voice competitions in Russia,China and US.

Since 2021, Ms.Chen has joined New Camerata Opera in New York City for their  productions both in operas and concerts. In spring, 2022, Ms Chen played a series of concerts in the project of complete Brahms chamber music for piano duets, including Brahms liebeslieder waltzs and Neue liebeslieder walzes with the soloists from the Lithuanian State Opera in Vilnius. In April 2022, Ms Chen  premiered “Hommage a Rachmaninoff für 2 Klaviere” with husband Alexander Paley by reknowned German composer Thomas Böttger in France.In August 2022,Ms Chen joined the Savannah Voice Festival in the production of Menotti’s Medium.

Ms Chen has recorded complete Saint-Saens symphonies in the version for piano duo in season 2022-23 which will be soon released.In addition, she has  served as a rehearsal pianist for productions like Ravel’s “L’Heure Espangnole”, Lili Boulanger’s”Faust et Helene”, Mozart’s “Don Giovanni “ during the season.

Ms Chen is a member of faculty at Mannes college of Music and Cali School at Montclair University.

Young Woong Cho, D.M.A., is an internationally acclaimed pianist and dedicated educator who enjoys a diverse musical career.

In 2013, Dr Cho founded The Cali Trio, named after the founder of John J. Cali School of Music at Montclair State University. The trio actively performed throughout the East Coast and was invited to perform at distinguished venues, including the Alexander Kasser Theater, Jed Leshowitz Recital Hall, and the Van Vleck House & Gardens in New Jersey.

In 2016, Dr. Cho started the chamber music series ‘Young Woong Cho & Friends’. As the founder and artistic director, he meets audience members from all over Korea through various chamber music performances. He also founded the ensemble ‘The Music’ in 2017, which performs a wide variety of chamber music repertoire for multiple pianos.

At the start of 2020, Dr. Cho established his international performing organization, The SMI (Stage of Musical Inspiration), which introduces young, talented musicians from all over the world to audiences in the United States, Korea and elsewhere. As of Spring 2023, he continues his active performing career as a soloist, collaborative pianist, and chamber musician between South Korea and the United States.

He is currently based in Boston and serves as a piano faculty member at Brookline Music School, and as a collaborative pianist at the John J. Cali School of Music at Montclair State University. In addition, he has been teaching music theory virtually at the Korean Institute of Piano Pedagogy in Seoul.

As a recipient of a Cultural Sector Recovery Grant from the Mass Cultural Council in 2023, Dr. Cho looks forward to continuously performing throughout the greater Boston area.

Sarah Brett England has music directed hundreds of shows throughout the country with credits at the Public Shakespeare Initiative, Barrington Stage Company, Pan Asian Rep, Creede Repertory Theatre, Surflight Theatre, Half Moon Theatre, River Valley Rep, Texas Family Musicals, New Harmony Theatre, Ocean City Theatre Company, Nebraska Theatre Caravan, Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse, Allenberry Playhouse, Dancebreak 2010, and on board P&O Australia’s Pacific Dawn cruise ship. She has music directed multiple productions at MSU, including Guys and Dolls, The Full Monty, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Sing for Your Supper, Hair, Mad Forest, and the annual BFA Musical Theatre Senior Showcase. She has written arrangements for multiple musicals, including Halloween Hullabaloo. England received her BA in Conducting and Music Theory from the College of William & Mary.

YiKyung Diana Hughes holds a doctorate in piano performance from Rutgers University. She received both a master’s and bachelor’s degree in piano from the Mannes School of Music in New York City. As a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral pianist Diana has performed in South Korea, Spain, the United States and Canada. Currently she is on the faculty at the Bergen Community College and Montclair State University. Diana freelances as a soloist, chamber musician and accompanist in the greater New York area.

Ron Levy, international acclaimed pianist, has been called “first-class” by the New York Times. He regularly appears in major venues, both as a soloist and collaborative artist, and has been pianist and harpsichordist of many symphony orchestras. A resident of Vermont for over 20 years, Ron was a faculty and Board member of the Manchester Music Festival, Music Director and Conductor of the Opera Theatre in Weston, and Program and Music Director at the historic Equinox Hotel. A graduate of Oberlin College, he has taught at numerous colleges, and is currently on the faculty of Montclair University’s Cali School of Music, as well as The Ridgewood Conservatory. In addition, he is Music Director of the Unitarian Society of Ridgewood, Pianist & Assistant Conductor of the Orpheus Club Mens’ Chorus, a member of the Arundo Trio, and pianist of the award-winning Palisades Virtuosi, of which he is a founding member. A prolific recording artist, CDs by Mr. Levy are available on the Albany, Centaur, Eroica, 4-Tay, Great Kate, High Point, Koch International, Phoenix, South Mountain and Summit labels.

A two-term President of the Professional Music Teachers’ Guild of NJ, Mr. Levy is a member if the Board of Trustees of the Rockland and Monmouth Symphony Orchestras; he is also a consultant to BIM Music Pulbications, Switzerland.

Dr. Mory Ortman works as a Music Director and freelance musician in New York City, where his work includes accompanying and performing in the most prestigious venues with the highest-level music professionals. He frequently accompanies and coaches main stage auditioners and professional and graduate voice lessons. Dr. Ortman is a principal accompanist for Manhattan Concert Productions, a company dedicated to excellence in music for the most qualified arts organizations in the US. Dr. Ortman also sings in and accompanies the Manhattan Chorale, a professional choral ensemble affiliated with the organization. Mory has a strong knowledge of musical styles and is equally comfortable in the classical, cabaret, and musical theatre realms. His versatility keeps him in high demand as a recitalist and accompanist throughout the greater New York City area and beyond. Summer finds Dr, Ortman working at Quisisana Resort in Maine where he serves as the Music Director of the classical program and accompanist to the musical theatre programs. The resort produces a combination of opera, musical theatre, cabaret and chamber music and is renowned for the high caliber performances presented.

Mary Pinto, an acclaimed accompanist and vocal coach, has worked with international opera singers and major American opera companies for the past 25 years. She serves as musical and artistic director at Opera at Florham. In 2012, Ms. Pinto coached and served as rehearsal pianist for Metropolitan Opera star and international soprano Deborah Voigt as she prepared for the three Brünhilde roles for the Met’s production of Wagner’s ​Ring Cycle. In 2014, she performed with Opera Noire’s Ensemble in the American Embassy in Moscow and St. Petersburg and spent the past 3 summers coaching at Masterclass and Ischia in Italy. In March 2018 she was the official accompanist for the Deborah Voigt International Competition in Vero Beach. ​Ms. Pinto has been a private coach and accompanist on the faculty of Montclair State University since 2007. In Fall 2018, she joined the adjunct faculty at SUNY Purchase College teaching Italian and French lyric diction, operatic styles, and coaching.

Beth Robin received her undergraduate training at Oberlin Conservatory and graduate degree from the Indiana University School of Music. While at Oberlin, she accompanied in the vocal studios of Helen Hodam and Richard Miller. At Indiana University she worked with violinist Josef Gingold. She has collaborated with members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. As a choral accompanist, she has performed at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall (now David Geffen Hall) and Alice Tully Hall. She toured Germany with the Strelow Piano Trio, performed violin/piano recitals in New Delhi, India and for many years was the founding member of the Hudson piano trio, performing concerts in the New York/New Jersey area. She was also the pianist for Tryptich, a flute, cello and piano trio. Her professional recordings include several premieres of Israeli choral music with the Zamir Chorale of New York, an album of 21st century saxophone/piano works, and an album of Puerto Rican Danzas. She sings in the professional Chorus of the Riverside Church in New York City.

Steven W. Ryan joined the Cali School faculty in 2006. He has performed as an orchestral keyboardist with most of the major orchestras in New York City, including members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. He has played celesta with the legendary Berlin Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall; piano, harpsichord, and portative organ with the Dessoff Choirs; and synthesizer with the Moody Blues rock band. He has collaborated with conductors such as Lorin Maazel, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Neeme Järvi, Bernhard Haitink, Gerard Schwarz and Maxim Shostakovich, among others. Mr. Ryan took first place in the 2001 Concours des Grands Amateurs de Piano. At the close of this international competition he was engaged to perform Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-Flat Minor at the Sorbonne in Paris. In addition to winning the French competition, Steven took second prize in the 2000 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs.

Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, Victoria Schwartzman performs regularly as a soloist and chamber musician. Victoria has appeared with the Bavarian Radio Orchestra chamber players, at the Bard Music Festival, the Music Mountain Festival, in the New York Philharmonic Ensembles series at Merkin Hall, at Summit Music Festival, at Bargemusic, in the Gessner- Schocken concert series in Cambridge, WMP Concert Hall, and the Nicolas Roerich Museum concert series in New York City.

After graduating from Jerusalem Conservatory, Victoria continued her education at the Longy School of Music and New England Conservatory. While pursuing various degrees in solo and chamber music performance, she was selected to perform in masterclasses given by Dmitri Bashkirov, Menahem Pressler, and Richard Goode, among others. Her principal teachers include Irina Kivaiko, Issak Kossov, Victor Rosenbaum, Sally Pinkas, Eda Shlyam, and Eteri Andjaparidze.

As a soloist with orchestra, Victoria has performed with the Jerusalem Chamber Orchestra, the Longy School of Music Chamber Orchestra, the Riverside Orchestra, and the Greater Newburgh Symphony Orchestra. She has performed at the Quartet Program in Pennsylvania and participated in the Tel-Hai International Piano Festival in Israel and the Lyrica Chamber Music Festival in New Jersey.

She is on the coaching faculty in the Vocal Department at Montclair State University as well as on piano faculty at the Bard College Conservatory Preparatory devision and Hoff-Barthelson Music School. Victoria is also the co-founder of the Newburgh Music Festival, a week long immersive classical music program devoted to both solo performance and chamber music, located on the shore of the Hudson river, in Newburgh, NY.