FAnTEE JONES

Piano

Taiwanese-American pianist and violinist, Fantee Jones of Roseville, California gave her first solo recital at the age of seven and made her concerto debut performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto in A Major, K. 488 at age ten. She has continued her noteworthy accomplishments winning many awards in various international competitions. Most recently, she was a semi-finalist at the 1st Ljubljana Festival International Piano Competition (2023) in Slovenia, 1st prize winner, and awarded the “Best Execution of a Classical Piece” in the 2022 Città di San Donà di Piave International Piano Competition and 5th prize winner of the 2022 XII Darmstadt International Chopin Piano Competition in Germany. She was a semi-finalist at the 2020 National Chopin Piano Competition, winner of the 2019 Eastman School Concerto Competition, finalist at the 2018 Serge and Olga Koussevitzky Young Artist Awards, prizewinner at the 2018 Los Angeles International Piano Competition, and a winner of the Piano Texas International Young Artists Concerto Competition, among others. As a result, she performed the Prokofiev 3rd Piano Concerto with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Lio Kuokman.

Miss Jones made her first Carnegie Weill Hall appearance in May 2005 and has also performed at Benaroya Hall and Lied Center of Kansas in the United States, National Recital Hall in Taiwan, Sendai City Cultural Center in Japan, Seoul Arts Center in South Korea, Temppeliaukion Kirkko “Rock Church” in Finland and Verbrugghen Hall in Australia, as well as on Cunard and Princess Cruise Lines.

In addition to the piano, she also plays violin and flute. Miss Jones was a member of the Sacramento Youth Symphony (SYS) Premier Orchestra first violin section for five seasons. She went on the European tour with the SYS in 2007, performing on both piano and violin. Miss Jones has also served as one of the Evening Division piano accompanists at the Juilliard School, playing piano concerti and violin sonatas with various pianists.

Miss Jones began piano training with her mother, Tiffany Jones, at the age of three. Her past teachers include Tien Hsieh, John McCarthy, and Dr. Marc Silverman.

She received her Bachelor of Music as the recipient of the distinguished Roy M. Rubinstein prize at the Manhattan School of Music and a Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School in 2016. She was a recipient of the Elizabeth Parisot Prize and graduated with a Master of Musical Arts degree from the Yale School of Music in 2018, studying under the tutelage of Hung-Kuan Chen. She was the recipient of the Excellence in Accompanying Awards at the Eastman School of Music, where she continued her studies with Alexander Kobrin, and received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance and Literature and a minor in Piano Pedagogy in May 2022.

yuiko ohoka

Piano, Music Theory (Classical)

Yuiko Ohoka was born in Japan and moved to the U.S. in 2001. She studied piano under the direction of Daggett Jensen, Yumi Tayama, and Dr. Gwendolyn Mok. She participated in many competitions and won prizes including second prize and honorable mention at CAPMT Concerto Competition. Ohoka was a finalist at Coeur d’Alene Symphony’s National Young Artist Competition and the Eastern Music Festival Concerto Competition. Yuiko was also selected to perform on the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center, and she was chosen to perform in the Young Artist Concert Series during the Amalfi Coast Music and Arts Festival. In the summer of 2013, Ohoka was invited to Japan where she performed Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major with an orchestra. She holds a MM Degree in piano performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she studied under Yoshikazu Nagai.

wesley Li-Hwa Cheng

Piano, Music Theory (Classical)

Ms. Wesley Cheng completed her Master of Music degree in piano performance at Notre Dame de Namur University and was a postbaccalaureate of piano performance at San Jose State University. She studied piano performance under Dr. Gwendolyn Mok and Dr. Michael Schmitz. Prior to come to United State, Ms. Wesley Cheng received many rewards from piano solo competitions in Taiwan and invited to the National City Hall in Taiwan for three consecutive years. Ms. Wesley Cheng has been a piano teacher in the Bay Area for twenty-five years. She teaches students to how to master fundamental piano skills by encouraging students to develop their own creative skills as they learn the material. Parents and students are benefit profoundly from her teaching techniques, knowledge, and experience. Many of her students received first place prizes and championships in various competitions. More important, all her students who took CM test (Preparatory level to Panel) passed the test with very high score. Some of them even received the invitation to perform at convention every year. Ms. Wesley Cheng stimulates her students desire to learn. She wants to make learning music fun and enjoyable, because she believes that is how human beings will learn to play music from their hearts. Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-47yDuReXj4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUn1RzqQ0Sg

Mimi nehse

Piano, Music Theory (Classical)

Mimi Nehse graduated from the prestigious Japanese Music University, Musashino Music Academy, with an MM in piano performance and teacher credentials. She was a teacher for more than 30 years in the both the U.S. and Japan. She taught private lessons in Japan and at the Yamaha Music School. She moved to San Jose in 1982, because of her husband’s job transfer, where she taught both native and foreign Japanese students. She took a break from teaching a few years ago in order to pursue another career, but she plans to resume teaching this year. She is a very experienced teacher who nurtures her students and fully stimulates their musical potential.

Michiyo Nakatani

Piano (Online Only)

Ms. Michiyo graduated from Musashino Music Acadmy, in Tokyo, Japan. After teaching in Tokyo for several years, she moved to the U.S. to expose more diversity of music. Her vision of "every person must have artistic and creative sense, that I like to pull out through music" is what led to her long-time teaching. She is also a collaborative pianist at Iowa State University. Engaging with playing at colleges, with guest artists, and for competitions. She has been teaching piano in the US and Japan over 30 years and is a Member of MTNA (Music Teachers National Association). Her students have been placed top prizes at Iowa and Mid-West Regional chapters.