Saine Hsu holds a B.M. from Eastern Michigan University, and a M.M. from The University of The Arts; both in Piano Performance. Her teachers included Joseph Gurt and Yoheved Kaplinsky and Sheila Paige. Ms. Hsu was the recipient of EMU’s Uniqueness Award from 1983 through 1986, and Uof A’s Strine Graduate Scholarship 1987-1988. She represented EMU and Uof A by performing in symposiums, recitals, high school workshops and master classes including those of Andre Watts, Dorothy Taubman, Michael Gurt, Robert Roux and Susan Starr.
Ms. Hsu has played for The Pennsylvania Ballet Company, The Shirley Rock School of Dance, and the dance schools of Temple University and The University of The Arts through out the 1990s, and performs mostly in the Philadelphia area in private venues and different concert series. Notably were the Naudain Park summer music concert series in Farmington Hills, Michigan, The Latin American Guild for the Arts of Philadelphia, and John Kozar’s Grand Piano Orchestra.

Currently, Ms. Hsu still coaches with Sheila Paige, accompanies choruses and gives piano lessons at The Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, and her studio in Philadelphia, PA.

Saxophonist Dr. Eric Lau joined the faculty of The University of New Mexico in the Fall 2003. He received the Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees from the School of Music at Michigan State University as a recipient of both the Catherine Herrick Cobb Fellowship and the Dean’s Recruitment Fellowship. In 1997, he graduated summa cum laude with his undergraduate degree from Louisiana State University. His major teachers include Joseph Lulloff, James Forger, Andrew Speight, Branford Marsalis, and Griffin Campbell.

Dr. Lau won the prestigious Michigan State University Honors Concerto Competition in 1998 and has been a prize winner in the North American Saxophone Alliance Classical Performers Competition, the Lansing Matinee Musical, the Music Teachers National Association Collegiate Chamber Music Competition, and the Music Teachers National Association Collegiate Young Artists Competition. An active recitalist, Dr. Lau performed at the 2000 and 2003 World Saxophone Congresses, as well as the 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2004 National Saxophone Conferences. Since his appointment at UNM he has performed or presented masterclasses at the University of Southern Mississippi, Michigan State University, the Hartt School of Music, Central Connecticut State University, the United States Coast Guard Academy, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Brazil, and Brevard Music Center. Dr. Lau also serves on the artist faculty of the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and is a regular performer with the Albuquerque Jazz Orchestra, the New Mexico Symphony, and the Santa Fe Symphony.

As a member of the acclaimed Great Lakes Saxophone Quartet, Dr. Lau has recorded Urban Requiem by Michael Colgrass and Three Blues for Saxophone Quartet by Charles Ruggiero on the Arizona University Recordings label. Dr. Lau has taught on the faculties of the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, Olivet College and Hope College. His interest in new music has led to his involvement in the commissioning of new works for saxophone by composers Gunther Schuller, Michael Colgrass, Howard Frazin, John McDonald, Shih-Hui Chen, Sam Merciers, James Matheson, Javier Arau, Michael Conti, John Richards, and Phanos Dymiotis.

 

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Jonathan Pinto is 17 years old and has been taking piano lessons for 8 years. He has been studying with Maureda Travis for the past two years and has enjoyed learning more advanced musical pieces during that time. Jonathan won the Fort Worth Music Teacher's Association solo competition in both 2006 and 2007. He received honorable mention in the Dallas Music Teacher's competition in 2007. He also participated in two Master's Classes last month. Jonathan plays for his church's choir and shares piano duties for all worship services.

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Christian Sanders (1988) began playing piano at the age of seven. After several years in the local music school and with various private teachers he was accepted, at age 13, into a program for talented children at the Prince Claus Conservatory in Groningen (Holland) where he was taught by the Hungarian pianist Klara Wuertz. Since that time he has participated in several competitions and music festivals. He was twice a finalist in the Princess Christina Competition in the Netherlands (northern region) and, in 2005, won second prize at the International Schubert Competition in Rousse, Bulgaria, where he also received a special prize for the best interpretation of a piece by Schubert. He is now a full time student at the Prince Claus Conservatory where his present teachers are Tamara Poddubnaya and Nata Tsvereli. He has just participated in the International Orlando Festival for chamber music.

Bradley Welch is the 2003 First Place winner of the Dallas International Organ Competition and was also awarded the Audience Prize for the second time, having previously won it in 2000. He is Artist-in-Residence at Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas, TX. Sheila Paige, founder of the Piano Wellness Seminar, and Bradley Welch will introduce techniques for wellness at the organ. Part I of the workshop will be an informative talk and demonstration, introducing wellness through awareness of the human anatomy, the laws of motion, posture, and other areas. Part II will be a "hands on" session where participants will have the opportunity to bring technical challenges to the organ for Sheila and Bradley to address. Questions relating to fatigue and discomfort are welcome. If you wish to participate in the "hands on" session, APPLYING PIANO WELLNESS TO THE ORGAN WITH SHEILA PAIGE AND BRADLEY WELCH, please contact Michael Shake at michael.shake@hppc.org or 214-526-1766 x1229 by February 1st. Having worked with Sheila Paige fairly regularly over the past 10 years, I have learned skills which have benefited me greatly.