Faculty

Piano

Eunjoo Yun, founder and Executive Director of CAM, a member of the Faculty in the Music Department at the College of Charleston and the Director of the Applied Lessons Program at Ashley Hall. Ms. Yun has received awards for her performance from South Carolina Arts Commission, College of Charleston, Jewish Community Competition, Southeastern Piano Competition, Brevard Concerto Competition, IBLA International Piano Competition, MTNA State Competition (SC), Beethoven competition, Corpus Christi and the Kingsville International Competition, and Stravinsky International Competition. She has played recitals in Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, as well as in Italy, Spain, and South America. In Charleston, she performed in the Piccolo Spoleto Festival, the International Piano Series, the First Night Series, in Drayton Hall and the Sottile Theatre. Her students have received awards from the Amati Music Festival, Charleston Symphony Orchestra, MTNA State Competition (SC), South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities and The Guild of the Greenville Symphony Piano Competition.

Irina Pevzner
Director of Piano Pedagogy

Susan McAdoo

Irina Pevzner, a native of Ukraine, received bachelor’s degrees from Jazep Medin Music College in Riga, Latvia, and Mansfield University of Pennsylvania. Her specialties include piano performance, music history and theory, as well as music education. She continued her studies at Carnegie Mellon University with internationally acclaimed pianist Enrique Graf. There she obtained master's degree in piano performance and the Certificate in Piano Pedagogy. In 2005 she received the Artist Certificate from College of Charleston. Irina Pevzner is currently engaged in her doctoral studies in piano performance at the University of South Carolina, where she is studying with Dr. Marina Lomazov.  Irina has performed throughout Latvia, Ukraine, Spain and throughout the east coast of the United States. She has performed during Piccolo Spoleto, Monday Night Concert Series, Chamber Music Charleston, and the International Piano Series in Charleston, SC. In addition to her performing career, Irina is a faculty member at the College of Charleston and Charleston Academy of Music.

Susan McAdoo earned a master’s degree in piano performance from Westminster Choir College and a bachelor’s degree from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Before moving to Charleston, Susan served as Piano Instructor at Campbell University for four years.  She was also on the piano faculty at UNC-Chapel Hill and music schools in New Jersey.  Recent appearances include chamber and solo performances in Piccolo Spoleto, concerto performances at North Carolina’s annual Mozart Festival, chamber recitals as a member of the Morges Duo, as well as solo faculty recitals.  Additionally, Susan has participated twice in an international chamber music festival in Switzerland and has toured South Korea as the accompanist to the Campbell Choir.

Matthew Parker

Ralph Blanco

Matthew Parker, a native of South Carolina, received his Master of Music degree at Carnegie Mellon University in May of 2005 while studying piano with Enrique Graf and Earl Wild. He earned the certificate in Piano Pedagogy under Hana Li and taught secondary piano at Carnegie Mellon. Matthew performed throughout Pittsburgh as a soloist and vocal accompanist and was Choir Director at the Community House Church of Pittsburgh. In 2001, he received his Bachelor of Arts degree at the College of Charleston and performed in the Piccolo Spoleto Festival, Monday Night Concert Series, and the Sunday Concert series at Charleston Southern University. In 2002, he co-founded the Family Fridays with the Classics, a recital series in Moncks Corner, South Carolina.

Ralph Blanco was born in Miami, Florida and has performed several recitals all over South Florida.  Ralph continued his musical studies at the Blair School of Music of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, on a full scholarship, studying under the internationally acclaimed pianist Craig Nies. Ralph has performed several recitals in Nashville including a variety of chamber music concerts.  He has participated in Master Classes with Emanuel Ax, Menahem Pressler, and Gilbert Kalish. In 2005, he was part of the national finalist chamber group in the MTNA Chamber Music Competition in Seattle, WA.  Shortly after graduating, Ralph remained at Vanderbilt University to work as a piano teacher for pre-college students and a professor’s assistant for music literature courses. 

Giuliana Contreras

Inga Agrest

Valeria Diaz

Hartmut Sauer

Giuliana Contreras was born in Lima, Peru in 1982 and began studying the piano at the age of six, being accepted one year later to the National Conservatory of Music. Since August of 2003 she pursues a Bachelor of Arts at the College of Charleston, under Maestro Enrique Graf. Awards include first prizes at the Arthur Fraser competition in Columbia, South Carolina (by the audience’s vote in the final round with orchestra), the Southeastern Piano Competition in North Carolina and at the South Carolina competition of the Music Teachers National Association. She won second prizes at the National Competition of Musical Interpretation (Peru) and at the Claudio Arrau International Piano Competition (Chile). The Department of Music at the College of Charleston honored her with the Edwin Davis Peacock Award to the Excellence in Piano in 2005. Giuliana has performed as a soloist with several orchestras, including the National Symphony Orchestra of Peru, the Bela Bartok Music Festival Symphony Orchestra, the National Conservatory of Music Symphony Orchestra, the Trujillo Symphony Orchestra and the South Carolina Philarmonic. Recently, she performed El Salvador, Peru, Argentina and Uruguay with her Terranova Piano Trio in a tour that included two solo performances with the El Salvador Youth Orchestra and fourteen recitals.

Inga Agrest, born in St. Petersburg, Russia started playing piano when she was five years old under the supervision of her mother, Marina Agrest. In 1985, Inga entered the St. Petersburg’s School of Music.  Inga was 11 when she received a Certificate of Recognition at the First Tchaikovsky’s Anniversary Competition for Young Pianists of Leningrad in 1990.  In September of 1992, Ms. Agrest and her family immigrated to the United States.  Inga became a student of Enrique Graf at the School of the Arts at the College of Charleston in 1996. Among her performances are appearances on Public Radio and in the Piccolo Spoleto Festival.  Inga was also featured on a “LIVE at the COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON Piano Music, Vol.1” CD recorded at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in 1998.  In spring 2000, Inga pursued her career in music by completing a Masters of Music in Opera/Theater Directing from the University of South Carolina under the supervision of Talmage Fauntleroy in 2002.  As a student at USC, Inga has also taken a number of piano pedagogy classes and taught students in the community program at the school.

Valeria Diaz, born in Lima, Peru began her music studies at the age of 5. She was accepted to study her piano at the National Conservatory of Music when she was 7 years old.  From that time, she was featured several times as soloist with The Lima National Symphonic Orchestra and the Philharmonic Bela Bartok’s Orchestra. She participated in Bela Bartok Festival from 1998 to 2003. Twice she won the first prizes in the Competition of Interpretation for young musicians, organized by the Conservatory in Lima. She also has performed extensively in numerous recital halls in Lima. In Lima she studied with Professor Carmen Escobedo and Elena Ichikawa. At age 19 she began teaching, forming part of Markham College Faculty in Lima Peru. In 2005 Ms. Diaz transferred to the College of Charleston, where she studies with Professor Enrique Graf. Recently she was awarded as an Artistic Achievement in Margaret Guttmann Piano Competition in Atlanta, Georgia.

Hartmut Sauer started playing the piano at the age of seven. From 1998 to 2006 he studied pedagogy, improvisation and piano with Professor Arkadi Zenziper “Carl Maria von Weber” university in Dresden, Germany. He is currently enrolled in the Artist Certificate Program at the College of Charleston, and is, at the same time, earning the “Meisterklasse,” the highest obtainable degree in Germany. Hartmut has performed throughout Europe, Russia and the U.S., and has participated successfully in many competitions and festivals. He has also played with the Elbland-Philharmonic and the Slovak-Philharmonic orchestras. But his heart lies in teaching, and he has been giving lessons to people of all ages, from private lessons to university classes (including giving lectures in piano and improvisation at the “Carl Maria von Weber” university, from 2004 to 2006). Since 2001 his students have won improvisation competitions in Germany.

Violin

Yuriy Bekker

Nonoko Okada

Yuriy Bekker is Concertmaster of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra.

He received a Graduate Performance Diploma from the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore and Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Indiana University's School of Music.  He has studied with Herbert Greenberg, Nelli Shkolnikova, Ilya Kaler, Atar Arad, Emile Naoumoff, and Janos Starker.  He has collaborated with Herbert Greenberg, Claudio Bohorquez, Alexander Kerr, Sara Chang, and Gil Shaham in both chamber concerts and symphonic settings. He served as concertmaster of the Peabody Symphony, and has been a frequent guest concertmaster with various orchestras in the New York City and Baltimore areas. Mr. Bekker has also played with the Houston Symphony, the Houston Grand Opera and Ballet Orchestras, the Louisville Orchestra, and the New World Symphony. He was a recipient of a Hadar Foundation Grant, and a fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival. He has performed in festivals worldwide including the Festival Orchestra of the European Music Festival, the Pacific Music Festival (Japan), Spoleto USA, and other festivals in Holland and Switzerland.  He has performed at the Kennedy Center with the Indiana String Quartet and, recently, with the Degas String Quartet in Chicago.

Nonoko Okada began her violin training at the age of six in Tokyo, Japan. She graduated Julliard School and Mannes College of Music. Ms. Okada has toured Japan as a soloist in addition to participating in the Spoleto Festival USA, Cape May Festival, the Bowdoin Summer Music Festival, Banff Centre for the Arts and Festival Due Mondi in Italy. As an Orchestra and a Chamber Musician, she has appeared at Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall and Julliard Theater at the Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and Merkin Concert Hall. She joined Charleston Symphony Orchestra in December 2003.

Kay Wheeler

Kay Wheeler, who teaches both violin and viola, is an Early Childhood Suzuki Specialist.  She began playing violin at six and has studied with James Caesar, Alan Grishman, and Roger Shermont. She has participated in a Master Class with Isaac Stern. Mrs. Wheeler graduated cum laude in Music Education with a major in violin from University of New Hampshire. In 1978 she received The American String Teachers Workshop Scholarship Award with Paul Rolland.  From there she began her Suzuki teaching studies with Helen Brunner of London, the Reunings at Cornell University, Louise Wear in New Hampshire, Shinichi Suzuki in a Philadelphia workshop, and has been a registered Suzuki teacher since 1980.  In addition to teaching and performing, Mrs. Wheeler has served as an administrator for the Strawbery Banke Chamber Music Festival and director of the Portsmouth, NH, Suzuki Program and Student Orchestra.  Mrs. Wheeler has been teaching at Ashley Hall since 1996.

Lauren Lee

Lauren Lee, born in Ridgewood New Jersey, began her music studies at age nine and has been playing violin for eleven years. She has studied under Professor Lee Chin Siow at the College of Charleston and Professor Oscar Ravina, of the New York Philharmonic. Ms. Lee has performed solo recitals and in numerous chamber ensembles in New York City, Philadelphia, and Charleston, as well as throughout New Jersey. She has participated in summer festivals such as the Rockland Summer Institute for Orchestral and Chamber Studies, Amati Music Festival, and Piccolo Spoleto's Young Artist Series. Ms. Lee earned her BA in Music History from the College of Charleston and has been teaching violin since 2002. In 2003, she attended the Suzuki Institute at Furman University where she received her Suzuki teaching certification.

Alan Molina

Alan Molina began his violin studies at the age of three with Betty Haag-Kuhnke and later with Cyrus Forough.  He received his Bachelor's degree in violin performance at Indiana University where he was a student and teaching assistant to Mauricio Fuks.  Alan went on to earn his Masters degree in chamber music at the San Francisco Conservatory where he had the opportunity to perform with acclaimed artists such as Menahem Pressler, Jorja Fleezanis, Gilbert Kalish, and Ian Swensen.  Mr. Molina spent two seasons with the New World Symphony under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas and other conductors such as Robert Spano, Franz Welser-Möst, Roberto Abbado, and Sir Roger Norrington.

During his time in San Francisco, Alan began working in recording studios, playing the violin for rock bands and films. Some of these recordings are “Ghosts of the Great Highway” by Sun Kil Moon which reached number one on the college radio charts, and the film “Ballets Russes” which was recorded at Skywalker Sound.

Viola and Violin

Peter Kiral

Peter Kiral, a native of Slovakia, received his Absolut Degree from State Conservatory of Bratislava and studied at the University of the Arts in Bratislava. He is currently in the Artist Certificate Program at the College of Charleston studying with Jane Marie Joyce, where he is principal viola for College of Charleston Symphony Orchestra. He has performed as a chamber musician, soloist, and with orchestras on four continents including with Donau Philharmonic Ulm with Conductor Tamas Varsary; Viener Waltz Orchestra as 2nd Viola Principal; and Tarapani Conservator Symphony Orchestra.

Cello

Natalia Khoma has performed as a soloist with such leading ensembles as the Berlin Radio Orchestra, Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, Ukrainian State Symphony Orchestra, Moscow Radio Orchestra, Chamber Ensemble of New York City Symphony Orchestra, Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Charleston Symphony Orchestra and has had solo recitals and performed in Tchaikovsky Hall, Merkin Hall and Weill Recital Hall Jordan Hall and Tsai Performance Center, Krannert Center, Wharton Center, Schauspielhaus, Palais des Beaux Arts, Amphitheatre Richelieu de la Sorbonne, Salons de Boffrand de la Presidence du Senat,  Linder Auditorium, Baxter Theatre Centre Concert Hall, Grand Halls of the Franz Liszt Music Academy and Oslo Music Academy among many others. In addition to her performing activities, Natalia Khoma is a Professor of cello at College of Charleston and co-director of Charleston Music Fest. She is an organizer of the Children and Music Foundation, which provides music training, instruments and financial aid to young and gifted Ukrainian music students in need.

Yun Hao Jiang, born in Shanghai, China, began his cello studies at the Shanghai Conservatory and continued his studies at the Municipal School of Music in Montevideo, Uruguay, with Professor Pedro Laniella. Mr. Jiang was principal cellist of the National Youth Orchestra for several seasons as well as a member of the Montevideo Philharmonic Orchestra. He has been coached in cello by William Molinas, Claudio Baraviera, Owen Carmen, Steven Doane, and Hans Jensen.Yun Hao was awarded the Juvenalis Award in 1999 and won First Prizes in the Jeunesses Musicales Competition in 2002 for cello soloist and chamber music ensemble.

Classical Guitar

Ignacio Barcia

Carolina Folmer

Gregory Guay

Ignacio Barcia, born in Montevideo, Uruguay, began studying guitar at the age of 12 under the direction of Robert Ravera. In 1997, he was admitted to the University of the Republic of Uruguay where he obtained a BA degree in Classical Guitar Performance in 2002. Mr. Barcia has studied in Argentina with Eduardo Isaac and in Uruguay with Eduardo Fernández. In line with his musical and artistic interests, Mr. Barcia has attended several seminars and master classes including internationally renowned guitarists Shin Ichi Fukuda, Magnus Andersson, Carlos Barbosa-Lima, Paul O’Dette, and Leo Brouwer. He has taught music appreciation and guitar in Uruguayan public high schools in addition to teaching privately. He recently completed the Artist Certificate at the College of Charleston under the instruction of Marc Regnier.

Carolina Folmer began her studies at age seven with Cristina Balparda in Argentina. In 1999, she was admitted to the National Conservatory of Buenos Aires where she continued her training with Professors Graciela Pomponio de Martinez Zárate and Walter Ujaldón. Carolina has also received lessons from famed guitarists Eduardo Isaac, Eduardo Fernández, Juan Falú, Eduardo Falú, Victor Villadangos and Pablo Márquez, among others. Ms. Folmer recently received a BA in Guitar under the direction of Professor Marc Regnier. Carolina has performed extensively in several cities of Argentina as well as in the Piccolo Spoleto Festival and the Monday Night Concert Series at the College of Charleston.

Gregory Guay is currently pursuing a bachelor of arts in Classical Guitar Performance at the College of Charleston with Marc Regnier. Before coming to Charleston, he studied under San Francisco Conservatory of Music alumni Joe Galambos in San Francisco, CA.  A member of the San Francisco Classical Guitar Society, Gregory performed monthly at the Freight & Salvage Community Arts center in Berkeley, CA.  In 2004, he performed in the Savannah Jazz Festival with a company of experimental performance artists, combining guitar with body movement.  Gregory credits his experiences as a volunteer with the Big Brother program in his home area of Portland, Maine, as a foundation for inspiring the love of music in youth. 

Mary Hubbell

Maria Antunez

Mary Hubbell grew up in Spartanburg, SC and received her B.A. in Music from Boston College in 1997.  After working and performing in the Boston area, she earned her Master Degree in Singing from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 2002 and her First Phase Degree in Classical Singing from the Royal Conservatory of The Hague in 2006.  While living in the Netherlands, she participated in master classes with Michael Chance, Jill Feldman, Evelyn Tubb, David Wilson-Johnson, Eric Mentzel, Roberta Alexander and Meinard Kraak.  She has performed as a soloist in chamber ensembles and chamber opera, is involved in contemporary music and has worked as a soloist with the Netherlands Vocal Laboratory and de Ereprijs Orchestra. Ms. Hubbell has performed in the Piccolo Spoleto Spotlight Series and with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in a concert of Tao by Louis Andriessen.

Maria Antunez, moved to the United States from her native country of Uruguay in August of 2006. Since then she has performed many recitals and appeared as Miss Silverpeal in Mozart’s The Impresario both with the College of Charleston Opera and during Piccolo Spoleto Festival. She represented South Carolina in the National Association of Teachers of Singing in Washington DC.  She is currently studying with Deanna McBroom in the Artist Certificate Program at the School of the Arts, College of Charleston.Maria began studying singing at the age of eight under the direction of Jose Martino Rodas in her native city of Mercedes. In 2003 she moved to Montevideo and continued her studies with Eduardo Gilardoni and Beatriz Pazos. There she performed regularly in chamber music, solo recitals and was Adina in Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore and Sofia in Rossini’s Il Signor Bruschino.

Guest Artists

Enrique Graf

 Enrique Graf, Born in Montevideo Uruguay, studied under Leon Fleisher at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University on full scholarship. Since Joining the College of Charleston as Artist- in- Residence fifteen years ago, Mr. Graf has played a pivotal role in the cultural life of the city. He has created a nationally know piano program, established and directed recital series such as the International Piano Series, and has often performed as a soloist with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Graf has appeared in major hall throughout the United States, such as Carnegie Recital Hall, Lincoln Center and Kennedy Center, and as a soloist with orchestras all over the world. His recording with the CSO was a pick of the month by Sunday London Times, and was awarded five stars in the Classic CDs publication.

Lee Chin Siow

Lee Chin Siow, Gold Medal winner of the 1994 Henryk Szeryng International Violin Competition, Lee-Chin is a frequent guest of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. Recent engagements include appearances with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Charleston Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the Dallas Symphony, and a debut tour of Japan with the Singapore Symphony. Committed to teaching, she has served on the faculty of the Oberlin Conservatory, given masterclasses all over the world including the University of Singapore, the Lisbon Academy of Music, the Chicago Institute of Music and the University of Montana, among many others. Currently, Lee-Chin is the director of Strings and Professor of violin at the College of Charleston, South Carolina. Her private students have won the South Carolina Music Teachers State competitions (SCMTNA) and soloed with the Charleston Symphony.

Ilana Vered

Volodymyr Vynnytsky

Volodymyr Vynnytsky studied at the Lviv Music School for Gifted Children and later at the Moscow Conservatory. After earning his doctorate in 1983 from the Moscow Conservatory, he taught at the Kyiv Conservatory and concertized extensively throughout Ukraine, the other republics of the former Soviet Union, Europe, USA, Canada, Central America and South Africa. Volodymyr Vynnytsky, a laureate of the Margueritte Long-Jacques Thibaud International Piano Competition in Paris (1983), has performed with the leading orchestras of the world.  He has appeared in important halls including Carnegie Hall, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Phillips Gallery in Washington D.C., the Great Hall at the Moscow Conservatory, and the Theatre Champs d’Elysees. He has a performed at numerous musical festivals, including the Mohonk Festival of the Arts, the Windham Chamber Music Festival, “Music at the Institute” in New York, Masters de Pontlevoy in France, the Shostakovich Festival, Piccolo Spoleto in Charleston and the Music and Art Center of Greene County, where he has served as artistic advisor and resident pianist since 1996. He has been a special host in the Rachmaninoff International Festival Concert. Mr. Vynnytsky was a visiting member of the piano faculty in SUNY at Purchase and at the University of Connecticut.

The Charleston Academy of Music thanks the following for their belief and support.

Charles Fox and Fox Music House

Enrique Graf

Lenahan and Sylvia de Rouin

Cindy Johnson

John Ziegler