Faculty
Dr. Huizi Zhang
Piano
Huizi Zhang is an active performer of solo and chamber music in the United States and abroad. She embraces a wide range of repertoire and styles, particularly interested in 21st century music. She has given piano solo premiering concerts at Esplanade in Singapore, Beijing Concert Hall, National Sawdust, Opera Center America, The DiMenna Center of Classical Music, and Carnegie Hall.
She earned a doctorate in Piano Performance from Florida State University, a Bachelor of Music from Central Conservatory of Music, and a Master of Music from University of Michigan with a double degree in Piano Performance and Chamber Music.
Dr. Imri Talgam
Piano
Pianist Imri Talgam has played as soloist throughout the world, winning recognition for his “extreme virtuosity” (Classica magazine). Since winning first prize in the Concours de piano d’Orléans (France) in 2014, Talgam has performed widely, including in venues such as Amsterdam’s Muziekgebouw, Bouffes du Nord (Paris), KKL Lucerne, Shanghai Conservatory, Alice Tully hall, and the Metropolitan Museum in New York, and with groups including Ensemble Modern and Talea. Most recently, he was awarded the Yvar Mikhashoff commissioning prize (2017). He holds a doctorate from City University of New York’s Graduate Center and has taught in several CUNY Colleges.
Dr. Christina Lai
Piano
From Plantation, Florida, Christina Lai finds passion in all fields of music teaching and collaboration. Her recent focus on female living composers has brought upon performances of works by Chen Yi, Missy Mazzoli, and Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. Christina debuted with the UNC Symphony Orchestra performing the Ravel Left Hand Piano Concerto and won prizes in various competitions including the National Association of Negro Musicians Piano Competition and the MTNA National Competition. She has taught at Florida State University, for UNC’s Musical Empowerment, and for Aspen Music Festival’s Passes and Lessons Scholarship Program. Christina received her Doctorate of Music under the guidance of Professors Read Gainsford and Diana Dumlavwalla.
Dr. Olga Gurevich
Piano, Vocal Coach
Olga Gurevich is a concert pianist, chamber musician, and a piano teacher. She appeared at Carnegie Hall, Weill Recital Hall, 92nd Street Y, the Symphony Space in NYC, concert venues in Europe. Olga has performed with Manhattan Symphonie, Richmond County Orchestra, among others, and with numerous chamber music ensembles. She is the principal accompanist for the Riverside Opera Company, and a pianist in residence for Silver Bay String Quartet.
Olga Gurevich holds DMA in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from Moscow, Russia. She teaches at the piano faculty of Bloomingdale School of Music and The Virtuoso Suzuki Academy in NYC.
Dr. Gu Wei
Composition, Theory
Gu Wei is an award-winning Singaporean composer whose music has been described as having ‘warmth of real splendour…'. Having lived in China, the U.K., the U.S. and Germany, he draws his influences from a wide range of sources and is a composer demonstrating versatility in his style and idiom. He graduated with a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in composition at Peabody Conservatory, studying with Kevin Puts.
Dr. Zach Gulaboff Davis
Composition, Theory, History
Described as “beautiful, lyrical” and brimming with “unexpected harmonic shifts,” the music of Macedonian-American composer Zach Gulaboff Davis centers on the expressive and dramatic possibilities of compositional narrative. The winner of the 2019 American Prize in Composition, Zach maintains an active schedule as a composer, collaborator, and pedagogue across the globe. His works have been performed at venues including Carnegie Hall, Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, Bulgaria’s National Palace of Culture, Norway’s Arctic Cathedral, Hamburg’s Zinnschmelze Cultural Center, New York University Steinhardt and Shanghai, the DiMenna Center, and at schools and conservatories throughout North America. Zach holds a B.A. in piano performance and composition/theory from Linfield College, an M.M. in composition from Mannes College of Music, and a D.M.A. in composition and M.M. in music theory pedagogy from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University.
Dr. Oliver Jia
Piano (Guest faculty)
Described as an artist with “incomparable color and beauty of sound” (Chopin Gazeta, 2005), pianist Oliver Jia made his debut at Carnegie Hall under the baton of James DePreist, performing Prokofiev’s fifth piano concerto.
Concert engagements include the Orchestra of St Luke’s, Fort Worth Symphony, China National Symphony; solo appearances include Alice Tully Hall (Lincoln Center), Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall, Royal Dublin Society, the Manhattan Center, amongst many others.
Oliver holds degrees from the University of Michigan, Yale, and Juilliard. His major instructors include Yoheved Kaplinsky, Jerome Lowenthal, Peter Frankl, and Logan Skelton. Currently, he is serving as Assistant Professor of Piano at Bilkent University (in Ankara, Turkey).
Dr. Maia
Violin
Brazilian violinist, Pedro Maia, has an extensive experience performing as a soloist and chamber musician. He has played in some of the most prestigious venues throughout Asia, South, Central, and North America. As a founding member of Cosmos New Music, Pedro had his Carnegie Hall debut at Weill Hall in 2018. He is also a member of Trio Nobile and Ella Ensemble which will have their debut at Weill Hall in 2021. An active pedagogue as well, Pedro has years of experience teaching students from the most diverse backgrounds. He has a private studio in Tallahassee, and he also teaches in festivals in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, USA, and Mexico.
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