Vocal Coaches and Accompanists

Steven Bailey
Mark Bruce
Hsueh-Ching Chien
Amy Chiu
Nadya Dabuzhskaya
Elizabeth Ingber
Alex Katsman
Kevin Korth
Jieun Lee
Shu Li
Keisuke Nakagoshi
Bryan Nies
Kristin Pankonin
Carl Pantle
Mai-Linh Pham
Ian Scarfe
Szu-pei (Theresa) Yu

Steven Bailey is a pianist of wide versatility, performing in and around the San Francisco Bay Area as soloist, chamber, and collaborative keyboardist. Mr. Bailey has performed as concerto soloist with the Diablo Symphony, University of California-Davis Symphony, San Francisco Concerto Orchestra, and Magnificat Baroque Orchestra. In 2004 he accompanied mezzo-soprano Elza van den Heever in a performance at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC as part of the Center's "Conservatory Project". He is a regular guest as fortepianist on original period instruments at the American Bach Soloists' (ABS) Summerfest chamber music performances, and performed with ABS as co-harpsichordist. He has collaborated with members of the Alexander, Arlekin and Sausalito quartets. Mr. Bailey provided live musical accompaniment for Smuin Ballet's production of "Stravinsky Piano Pieces" and was featured on the San Francisco variety program Mornings on Two on the FOX Network. He is a regulat continuo player for the San Franacisco Bach Choir. Mr. Bailey has recorded a solo CD entitled The Art of the Opera Transcription, and produced the San Francisco Bach Choir's latest CD, Ceremonies and Celebrations. Mr. Bailey holds a M.M. from Boston University.

Mark Bruce is a native of Michigan, where he studied piano with Katherine Heafield and organ with Paul Humiston, both at Olivet College, and organ with Corliss Arnold at Michigan State University. Since settling in the Bay Area in the seventies, Bruce has performed and directed in churches, synagogues and theaters, as well as playing with soloists, choruses, chamber groups and orchestras, including the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and the Oakland East Bay Orchestra. He has been music director for productions at San Francisco State University and the San Jose Lyric theater, as well as many cabaret performances. He is Organist and Choirmaster of St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Los Gatos and the Assistant Director of the San Jose Symphonic Choir

Hsueh-Ching Chien received a M.M. in piano accompanying from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Dr. Timothy Bach. Prior to studying at the Conservatory, she received an Artist Diploma from Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg, Germany and a bachelor's degree with a Teacher's Certificate from the National Taiwan Normal University. She has served as a vocal coach and a staff accompanist at the Bay Area Summer Opera Theater Institute (BASOTI) and the Pocket Opera at Notre Dame de Namur University. Before she came to the United States, she was a member of the piano faculty at the National Taichung University of Education and the Tainan University of Technology in Taiwan. Currently, she is also a staff accompanist and vocal coach at Notre Dame de Namur University.

Amy Chiu received a M.M degree in piano performance from Manhattan School of Music, studying under Mr. Zenon Fishbein. She later studied piano accompaniment at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (Conservatory) under Mr. Tim Bach and received her second M.M degree in piano accompaniment. In 1993, she was invited by the Music Academic of West as a piano accompanist. The same year she was also recruited as a staff member of the Conservatory. In the past 15 years, Ms. Chiu has accompanied Conservatory students and faculty members in recitals and master classes. While maintaining her staff position at the Conservatory, Ms. Chiu has been active with local and national teaching organizations. She served as the president of the California Professional Music Teacher Association (CAPMT), San Francisco Branch, from 2002 through 2004. During her term as president, she organized and hosted many recitals for hundreds of young musicians to present their musical talent.

Nadya Dabuzhskaya received her M.M. degree in pedagogy, piano performance and collaborative piano/accompanying from the Russian Gnesins' Academy of Music in Moscow. She studied with Rimma Dieva, Oleg Boshniakovich, and Margarita Volkova. In Moscow she worked at the Pedagogical College and at the State Society of the Blind People as piano teacher and an accompanist. After emmigrating from the Soviet Union in 1988 she worked and performed with such organization as Walnut Hill for the Arts, Boston Ballet Company, Sacramento State University, was a rehearsal pianist for the Sacramento Opera, played in the orchestra of the Lake Tahoe Music Festival and Sacramento Symphony Orchestra. Mrs. Dabuzhskaya serves as an accompanist at Santa Clara University in San Jose.

Elizabeth Ingber received a Master of Music degree in piano accompanying from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music as a student of Timothy Bach. Prior to studying at the conservatory she attended St. Mary's College of Maryland from which she graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in music and mathematics. At St. Mary's she studied piano with Brian Ganz and viola with Jennifer Rende. Since completing her undergraduate studies, Ms. Ingber has taught piano and performed as a pianist and accompanist. She is currently on the accompanying staff for the collegiate and preparatory divisions of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She is also an accompanist and adjunct faculty member at Skyline College in San Bruno, California, and has been the resident accompanist for the River Concert Series School held at St. Mary's College. As both a violist and pianist she has been a member of the Chesapeake Chamber Orchestra, Columbia Orchestra, and Howard County Ballet Orchestra.

Alexander Katsman, pianist, coach and conductor, has been on staff at the San Francisco Conservatory since 1999. Prior to that he coached at San Jose State, Holy Names University and CSU East Bay. An alumni of the San Francisco Opera's Merola Program, Mr. Katsman earned his M.M. from the St. Petersburg State Conservatory and his B.M. from Mussorgsky College of Music in St.Petersburg, Russia. Alexander is sought after as a conductor and collaborative pianist. He has conducted over fifty opera and musical theatre productions. As a pianist he collaborated with such artists as Brian Asawa, John Bellemer, Lise Lindstrom, Christina Lamberti and Svetlana Nikitenko. Mr. Katsman is presently the music director and conductor for Martinez Opera and Livermore Valley Opera. He is also on the conducting faculty at Bay Area Summer Opera Theater Institute. Mr. Katsman is the artistic director for the Alexander Vocal Series at Zion Lutheran Church in Piedmont, California. Alexander Katsman can be contacted at 510.733.3393 or akatsman@sbcglobal.net

Kevin Korth

Jieun Lee, a native of Korea, has collaborated with a variety of singers and instrumentalists. While in Korea, she performed as orchestra pianist for the Korean Philharmonic, organist for the Chung-dam Catholic Church, and was a collaborative pianist for vocalists and instrumentalists at the Seoul National University. Ms. Lee has performed in master classes with Anne Epperson, Rita Sloan, Cameron Stowe, Karl Leister, Stephen King, John Graham, Paula Robinson and others. She earned a B.M. from Kook-min University, a M.M. from Kyung-won University, and a M.M. from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Her past teachers include Timothy Bach, Rita Sloan, Min-sook Kim, Chul_hee Yun, and Young-Hae Han. In 2008 Ms. Lee participated at the Aspen Music Festival on full scholarship, currently maintains a private teaching studio and pursues concert engagements with violinist Thomas Yee as the Yin Yang duo.

Shu Li

A native of Japan, Keisuke Nakagoshi earned a B.M. in composition and an M.M. in chamber music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, studying composition with David Conte and piano with Paul Hersh. Graduating as the recipient of multiple awards, Nakagoshi was selected to represent the Conservatory for the Kennedy Center's Conservatory Project, a program featuring the most promising young musicians from major conservatories across the United States. He won the Conservatory's Piano Concerto Competition and performed Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26 with the Conservatory Orchestra in the inaugural orchestra concert in the Conservatory's new Caroline H. Hume Concert Hall. Nakagoshi has performed to acclaim on prestigious concert stages across the United States, including the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, Benaroya Hall and Davies Symphony Hall. He has received training from some of the most celebrated musicians of our time—Emanuel Ax, Gilbert Kalish, Menahem Pressler, David Zinman, The Peabody Trio—and enjoys collaborating with other accomplished musicians such as Karl Leister, Lucy Shelton, Joseph Alessi, Ian Swensen, Jodi Levitz, the Afiara String Quartet and Ensemble Parallèle. Recently he performed Rhapsody in Blue with the Marin Symphony conducted by Alasdair Neale. He also tours as principal pianist and slide guitarist with conductor George Daugherty's award-winning "Bugs Bunny on Broadway," performing with American orchestras from coast to coast. Nakagoshi and Swiss pianist Eva-Maria Zimmermann formed ZOFO duet in 2009, commissioning and performing music for piano four hands (www.zofoduet.com).

Brian Nies

Pianist Kristin Pankonin performs regularly throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, the US and Europe. In summer 2007, she performed on the Festival del Sole concert series in Napa, California and Cortona, Italy. In recent seasons, she collaborated with such artists as vocalists Frederica von Stade, Zheng Cao and Lisa Delan, cellist Matt Haimowitz and composer/pianist Jake Heggie. Bay Area audiences have heard her in numerous music series including Trinity Chamber Concerts, Gold Coast Chamber Players, OldFirst Church Concerts, Composers Inc., the Latin American Chamber Music Society, Live Oak Concerts, Pacific Arts and Heritage Council and the San Francisco Opera Center. Ms. Pankonin holds a Master of Music degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, as well as a degree from Pomona College. She has also received fellowships to study at Music Academy of the West and the Tanglewood Music Center. Ms. Pankonin currently serves as vocal coach and accompanist at Mills College and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She has accompanied master classes of Thomas Hampson, Anna Moffo, Regine Crespin, Sanford Sylvan and Warren Jones. Ms. Pankonin recently completed a two-disc recording on the PentaTone Classics label with numerous illustrious artists.

Carl Pantle

Mai-Linh Pham has been a vocal coach and pianist at San Francisco Conservatory of Music since 2000. As a collaborative pianist, she is equally at home working with both instrumentalists and vocalists and has performed throughout the United States and abroad. She has been a faculty member at the Bay Area Summer Opera Theater Institute, music director of the opera workshop program at Notre Dame de Namur University and a part of the accompanying staff at Oberlin Conservatory and the Aspen Music Festival. She has worked in master classes and coachings with such diverse artists as Elly Ameling, Carol Vaness, John Wustman, Leon Fleisher, Menahem Pressler, and composers John Harbison and Libby Larsen. Ms. Pham holds a B.M. in piano performance from Oberlin Conservatory where she studied both piano and fortepiano. She went on to earn a M.M. in piano accompanying from the Conservatory and a D.M.A. from the University of Minnesota in the accompanying and coaching program where she studied with Margo Garrett and Karl Paulnack.

Ian Scarfe

Teresa Yu began her piano studies in Taiwan at the age of six before moving to the United States in 1996. She has finished her graduate study and is pursuing an Artist Certificate in Chamber Music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where she studies with Paul Hersh. She has won several competitions including first prize at the New England Piano Teachers Association in 1999 and 2000, the San Francisco Young Pianists Competition, and the Berkeley Piano Club Competition. Ms. Yu has performed the Bach Double Piano Concerto in Jordan Hall at the New England Conservatory of Music and the Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1 at the Colorado College Summer Music Festival. As the winner of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music's Concerto Competition, she performed Saint-Säens Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Conservatory Orchestra in March 2005. She was invited to perform the Racmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 with Symphony of the Redwoods and the Liszt Piano Concerto No. 1with the Redwood Symphony in 2006. She recently won the first price in Mu Phi Epsilon Competition in 2007. Ms. Yu has collaborated in many master classes, and at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. as a part of the May 2005 Conservatory Project.