XITING YANG
Founder and Artistic Director
Xiting Yang is a pianist who fundamentally values expressivity and communication in performance. As an active concert performer, Yang regularly plays a wide variety of music as both soloist and collaborator. She has performed Gala Concerts in Candas, Spain which were praised by La Nueva Espana, singling out her exciting concert of “strength and momentum,” and describing it as a “masterful performance that delighted a big audience.” Other engagements have included performances at Carnegie Hall in New York; Steinway Series in Tampa, Florida; Music at Midday Series in New Orleans, Louisiana; One Voice Music Series in Grosse Pointe, Michigan; Tutunov Series in Ashland, Oregon; Resonance Series in Seattle, Washington; Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series in Chicago, Illinois; Gibson Centre Concert Series in Toronto, Canada. Dr. Yang is a frequent adjudicator of competitions including the Seattle International Piano Competition, Claudette Sorel International Piano Competition and the Oakland University Piano Competition.
Aside from her work as a performer and educator, Yang has created an ongoing online video series of piano interviews with prominent pianists and keyboardists, BACKSTAGE: The Life Behind the Music, which has been recognized for its excellence and contribution to the music field. She holds a BM from Indiana University, MM from Rice University, and DMA from the University of Michigan. Her primary teachers include Edward Auer, Robert Roux and Logan Skelton.
A devoted teacher, Dr. Yang has worked with many successful piano students, helping them over time to find their unique artistic voices. She frequently appears as an invited guest artist at prominent music festivals such as the Palmetto International Piano Festival and Yunnan International Piano Arts Festival as well as serving as Artist Faculty at the Montecito International Music Festival and Atlantic Music Festival. Dr. Yang has served as Visiting Faculty at Loyola University New Orleans and State University of New York Fredonia. She currently holds the position of Teaching Assistant Professor of Piano at the University of Arkansas Fayetteville.
ADVISORY BOARD
TOMOKO KASHIWAGI
Pianist Tomoko Kashiwagi finds immense joy in playing the diverse repertoire she encounters as a performer and as an educator. Kashiwagi completed her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees and the Performer Diploma in Piano Performance at Indiana University. It did not take long for Kashiwagi to realize the importance of chamber music and ensemble playing as a musician and that she genuinely enjoys interacting with other musicians. Kashiwagi is the first recipient of the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Collaborative Piano from the University of Texas at Austin where she studied with Prof. Anne Epperson.
Equally at ease performing with both instrumentalists and vocalists, her repertoire spans from Baroque to modern, including non-traditional styles and newly commissioned works. She has performed extensively across the United States and internationally in Korea, Taiwan, China, Thailand, Japan, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Panama, and Canada. Prestigious venues such as the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Central Conservatory in Beijing, and Guildhall School in London are just a few of the places that have hosted her performances.
As a staff pianist for six summers at the renowned Meadowmount School of Music, she collaborated with talented string students from around the world. In addition, she spent several summers as a pianist at the Interlochen Intensive Institute for double reed players. Her expertise and artistry have led to frequent invitations to serve as the official pianist for conferences, competitions, and festivals across the United States, including the 2014 Menuhin International Violin Competition and the 2019 International Tuba and Euphonium Conference.
Joining the faculty at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville in 2012, she currently holds the position of Associate Professor of Piano and Collaborative Piano, along with the Emily J. McAllister Endowed Chair. Her passion for lifelong learning and community engagement drives her commitment to musical excellence. This dedication also inspired the creation of Chamber Music of the Ozarks, an organization dedicated to bringing people together through the transformative power of chamber music.
MIROSLAVA PANAYOTOVA
Bulgarian pianist Miroslava Panayotova has made numerous appearances as recitalist and concerto soloist in the United States, Canada, Bulgaria, Russia, Slovakia, Romania, and Mexico. As well, Ms. Panayotova has appeared at such music festivals as Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival in Vermont, XXI Festival Dr. Alfonso Ortiz Tirado in Mexico, the Orford Festival in Canada, Apolonia in Bulgaria, and others. Her numerous awards include the first prize at the Green Valley Piano Competition, and the second prize and the Silver Medal at the XVII National Piano Competition Svetoslav Obretenov in Bulgaria. As a winner of the 2006-2007 President’s Concerto Competition, Ms. Panayotova appeared with The Arizona Symphony Orchestra. Recent concerto performances include appearances with The Florida Orchestra and the Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra. She toured the southwest as soloist with University of Arizona Pianists on Tour. Her performances have been broadcast by KUAT-FM, KUAT-TV, and the Bulgarian National Television.
Miroslava Panayotova holds Bachelor and Master of Music Degrees in Piano Performance from the National Academy of Music in Bulgaria, a Master of Music Degree in Piano Performance from the University of South Florida, and a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Piano Performance with a minor concentration in musicology from the University of Arizona. She studied with Daniela Andonova, Svetozar Ivanov, and Tannis Gibson.
Dr. Panayotova’s repertoire encompasses variety of styles, including contemporary music and premiere performances of both solo and ensemble works. Enjoying a wide variety of performance opportunities as a collaborative artist, she appears with Patrick Neher, bassist on recently released CDs by ISG Publications.
Dr. Panayotova serves as Artist Faculty at the Beverly Hills International Music Festival. She was a member of the music faculty at the University of South Florida, where she taught piano, piano pedagogy, and chamber music. In 2014, Dr. Panayotova joined the faculty at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville as Instructor of Class Piano and Collaborative Piano.
LOGAN SKELTON
Logan Skelton is a much sought-after pianist, teacher and composer whose work has received international critical acclaim. As a performer, Skelton has concertized widely in the United States, Europe and Asia and has been featured on many public radio and television stations including NPR’s Audiophile Audition, Performance Today, All Things Considered, and Morning Edition, as well as on radio in China and national television in Romania. He has recorded numerous discs for Centaur, Albany, Crystal, Blue Griffin, Equilibrium, Supertrain, and Naxos Records, the latter two consisting of collaborations with fellow composer-pianist William Bolcom.
Skelton is a frequent juror for international piano competitions and regularly appears in such festival settings as Gina Bachauer, Amalfi Coast, Gijón, Eastman, Tunghai, Chautauqua Institution, American Romanian, Eastern, New Orleans, Poland International, Indiana University, Hilton Head Island, and the Prague International Piano Masterclasses. He is a popular presenter at music teacher organizations including numerous appearances at MTNA national conventions and EPTA World Piano Conferences, as well as serving as Convention Artist for state conventions in New York, Illinois, Michigan, Louisiana, North Carolina, Wyoming, Indiana, Oklahoma, Ohio, and Iowa. Moreover, he has given countless performances and masterclasses at colleges and conservatories throughout the world. His Centaur Records compact disc, of all 20th century American solo piano music, is titled American Grab Bag: Piano Music of Our Time. American Record Guide described this as a “fascinating recording,” commenting on Skelton’s “superb, wonderfully subtle and elegant playing … Bravo!”
As a composer, Skelton has a special affinity for art song, having written nearly two hundred songs, including numerous song cycles, many of which have been recorded commercially and performed internationally. Critics have noted the close fusion of text and music in Skelton’s songs, how words are “… illuminated with brilliance and deep emotional power” (American Record Guide). In Fanfare magazine reviews, Skelton as a composer of song has been singled out for his ability to “… plumb the depths of emotion … these are exquisitely crafted art songs in the American tradition … we are in the hands of someone who lives and breathes song.” His works are published by Muse Press. He has creatively reimagined various piano works of Liszt, Mozart, Bartók, and contributed substantially to the Gershwin complete editions of various piano works, as well as two piano arrangements of An American in Paris and numerous Gershwin songs.
A devoted teacher himself, Skelton has been repeatedly honored by the University of Michigan, including the Harold Haugh Award for excellence in studio teaching, and the Arthur F. Thurnau named professorship, among the highest honors given to faculty members at the university. Skelton’s own piano students and former students have competed and won awards in many national and international competitions including Hilton Head, American Pianist Awards, San Antonio, Leeds, Montreal, Honens, Cincinnati World, Hastings, Washington, Astral Artists, Bartók-Kabalevsky-Prokofieff, Fischoff, Jacob Flier, Iowa, Frinna Awerbuch, Naumburg, Kappell, National and International Chopin, Eastman, Crescendo, Dallas, Missouri Southern, Los Angeles Liszt, Wideman, Concorso Internazionale di Esecuzione Musicale, Schimmel, Liszt-Garrison, Grieg Festival, Del Rosario, Beethoven Sonata, Ithaca, Piano Arts, Heida Hermanns, Dubois, Schmidbauer, Peabody Mason, Janáček, Seattle, Kingsville, New York, Oberlin, Idyllwild, as well as numerous Music Teachers National Association national competitions. His former students hold positions of prominence in music schools and conservatories throughout the world. He has served on the faculties of Manhattan School of Music, Missouri State University, and is currently Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Piano and Director of Doctoral Studies in Piano Performance at the University of Michigan.
KAREN WALWYN
Ms. Karen Walwyn, “warmly expressive Karen Walwyn”, stated by critic Joshua Barone of the New York Times, remarked on a performance with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, and Maestro Giancarlo Guerrero, of the Concerto in One Movement by Florence Price, as “an infectious pleasure”.
As a Champion of Florence Price, Walwyn began her journey with Florence Price when she was invited to perform and record the world premiere of the Concerto in One Movement by Florence Price with the New Black Music Repertory Ensemble by the Center of Black Music Research, 2011.
Walwyn’s April 9, 2022 release of her solo piano works by Florence Price received five stars from Colin Clark, (Fanfare), who wrote: “Walwyn seems perfectly attuned to Price’s mode of utterance ..” Florence Price solo piano music includes a number of world premieres. Another Five Star review: “This is a marvelous release and one that I’ll keep on my active listening stack for some time to come.” said James Harrington of Fanfare Magazine.
Equally exciting, the world premiere of Price’s authentic, (1934), version of the Concerto in One Movement performed with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra was just released. In constant demand, Walwyn was a guest artist on PBS: Now Hear This with Scott Yoo: “Florence Price and the American Migration”, earlier this year. Walwyn, who also appeared in the Emmy nominated The Caged Bird by James Greeson was featured on NPR with John Banther in addition to numerous interviews and lectures on the life and music by Florence Price.
Of a recent recital at Florida International University, critic Laurence Budman wrote “Walwyn provides superb advocacy for Florence Price’s music”.
Walwyn, a Concert Pianist, Composer, Recording Artist and a Florence Price scholar, is the first female African American pianist/ composer to receive the International Steinway Artist Award.
Currently, Ms. Walwyn was recently invited to join the faculty of the Berklee College of Music in Boston Massachusetts as Professor of Piano.
A native of New York, Concert Pianist Karen Walwyn made her New York solo piano debut at Merkin Hall as a follow-up to her two-album series for Albany Records entitled Dark Fires, offering premiere recordings of works by American composers of African descent. Bill Faucett from The American Record Guide said “ Walwyn’s pianism is superb”, and Peter Burwasser from Fanfare Magazine said “Walwyn gets through this technically demanding program with aplomb. Her rhythmic nimbleness is especially notable.”
ER-GENE KAHNG
Er-Gene Kahng is a violinist, researcher and educator whose work came to the fore through her advocacy of the American classical composer, Florence Price. She has been featured on PBS’ Great Performances series “Now Hear This: Florence Price and the American Migration”, and her recording of Florence Price’s Violin Concertos (Albany Records, 2018) has been cited and praised by sources such as The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, and The New York Times as an important contribution to American classical music, and has aired on programs like NPR’s Songs we Love, and APM’s Performance Today. Alex Ross, in The New Yorker states:
“Kahng’s new recording of the Violin Concertos with the Janáček Philharmonic, is Price’s best outing on disk to date. Kahng plays the solo parts with lustrous tone and glistening facility….The second concerto, which Price wrote in 1952, shortly before her death, begins with jarring chords of D major and F minor, establishing unstable harmonic terrain. The hyper-Romantic solo part now seems like a visitor from another world. This terse, beguiling piece has an autumnal quality reminiscent of the final works of Richard Strauss. It deserves to be widely heard.”
Er-Gene serves as concertmaster with the Fort Smith Symphony, who completed a world premiere Florence Price recording of her Symphonies no. 1 and no. 4 in 2019, and the Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra’s concertmaster, where she premiered Florence Price’s Violin Concerto no. 2. Er-Gene is a member of Chineke!, the first majority BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) orchestra in Europe, whose motto is “championing change and celebrating diversity in classical music.” Previously, Er-Gene has held title positions with the North Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, SoNA (Symphony of Northwest Arkansas), Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, as well as section positions with the Lancaster Symphony, New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Eastern Connecticut Symphony and the Artosphere Festival Orchestra. She has collaborated on co-curating the music series “Fuse” at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, received a project grant as a recipient of NWA’s Artists 360, served as a faculty-artist in the Memphis-based PRIZM ensemble and has worked with the Texas Ballet Theatre, Flyover Dance Collective, and Hong Kong Arts Academy in dance collaborations. In addition, she has been a featured soloist with the Norfolk Symphony Orchestra in the UK, the Portland-Columbia Symphony, Newport Symphony, Tuscaloosa Symphony and the La Camellia Symphony at venues such as the Esplanade Theatre in Singapore and the Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall.
Er-Gene serves as Professor of Violin, and the Director of Graduate Studies at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. She is a Board member of the Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra, President of the APA (Asian Pacific Americans) Employee Impact Group, and co-Artistic Director of the pierrot+ new music group, Khemia Ensemble, which has received grants from the Copland Fund, Ditson Fund and New Music USA, and has just released their second album, Intersections, through PARMA’s Ravello Records (2022). Er-Gene is a former Visiting Wolfson Fellow at the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, UK. Er-Gene aims to continue the work of equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging by exploring the ways contemporary American classical music can intersect with, and highlight, forgotten narratives of the past and thus shape the musical values of the present and future.
STPHEN E. CALDWELL
Dr. Stephen Caldwell is a nationally recognized conducting pedagogue and scholar, in constant demand as a lecturer, conductor, and composer. At Arkansas, he conducts the nationally renowned Schola Cantorum, teaches the undergraduate sequence in conducting technique, graduate conducting lessons, and the graduate sequence in Choral History and Literature. Since his arrival in 2012, he has twice been awarded the Associated Student Government’s “Top 10 Most Outstanding Faculty Award,” he has received “The Golden Tusk” from the Division of Student affairs for “making life better for students on campus,” he is a 5-time Outstanding Mentor, he was the inaugural recipient of the Paul Cronan Award for Excellence in Teaching and was named one of the “Top 10 Artistic People to Watch” in Northwest Arkansas. In 2019 and again in 2021 he was elected Chair of the Campus Faculty.
Under his direction and leadership, the Schola Cantorum has become one of the leading collegiate choirs in America, demonstrating consistent excellence across more than a decade of performances, appearing twice at conferences of NCCO (2017, 2021), twice at SWACDA (2016, 2020), and twice at ArkCDA (2015, 2024). They were recognized with multiple awards from The American Prize (2020 and 2023) and have toured internationally to sold out concerts in the Republic of Serbia, Belgium, Germany, and Puerto Rico, all while collecting more than a million views across social media platforms.
Dr. Caldwell has become the nation’s leading scholar on the choral music of Florence Price, having lectured on her music across the country, published articles and scholarly performing editions of her works, and led world premiere recordings of her music. Wander-Thirst: The Choral Music of Florence Price was released in 2023 by Dr. Caldwell and Schola Cantorum to great acclaim, and represents seminal recordings of this great American composer. Highlights of the album were broadcast on Jazz at Lincoln Center, NPR and affiliates, and received thousands of streams across Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music.
A leading conducting pedagogue, Dr. Caldwell has conducted more than 40 works with orchestra and has prepared choirs for performance with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Delaware Symphony, Arkansas Philharmonic, the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas and Artosphere Festival Orchestra. He has presented interest sessions on conducting technique at numerous regional and national conferences of the American Choral Directors Association and the National Collegiate Choral Organization and was an ACDA International Conducting Exchange Fellow in Kenya. He began his career as a public-school teacher in Colorado and continues his work with junior high and high school students by leading workshops with area choral programs and adjudicating choral festivals at all levels. He has conducted District, Region and All-State choirs across the country.
His original, multi award-winning compositions and arrangements are performed throughout the world. His published works are available from NoteNova, Santa Barbara Music Press, and EC Shirmer. His multiple award-winning extended work, Pre-Existing Condition, premiered in 2018 and went on to numerous performances by collegiate and professional ensembles, including a performance at Carnegie Hall in April of 2023.
Dr. Caldwell holds a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Northern Colorado, two Master of Music Degrees from Temple University, a French language certificate from the University of Paris Sorbonne, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Rutgers University.