Pianist Xak Bjerken studied with Aube Tzerko at the University of California at Los Angeles and received his Master’s and Doctoral degrees from the Peabody Institute as a student of and teaching assistant to Leon Fleisher.

Sponsored By Jim Johnson

Winner of the 2002 Orléans Concours International and Laureate of the 2003 Honens International Piano Competition, Canadian pianist Winston Choi is an inquisitive performer whose fresh approach to standard repertory, and masterful understanding, performance and commitment to works by living composers, make him one of today’s most dynamic young concert artists.

Christina Dahl is a chamber musician, soloist and teacher who has spent twenty-one years on the piano faculty at Stony Brook University. She has spent summers at the Aspen Music Festival, been a collaborating artist at the Steans Institute of the Ravinia Festival, was a two-time fellow at the Tanglewood Center and a fellow at the Banff Center.

Russian-born pianist Oxana Ejokina appears frequently as guest recitalist and chamber musician in concert series across the United States and abroad. She has soloed with the Seattle Symphony, St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic, and Tacoma Symphony, and performed in Washington DC, Seattle, Olympia, San Francisco, and Turkey.

A pianist that “defies human description” for some (Concerto Net) and recalls “a young Peter Serkin” for others (New York Times), Conor Hanick is one of his generation’s most inquisitive interpreters of music old and new.

Hailed as an artist of ‘magnificent pianism’ with an ‘engaging personality’, Guernsey-born pianist Tom Hicks has been praised for his ‘brilliantly evocative’ (International Piano) and ‘gorgeously creative playing’ (Fanfare).

Hicks has an expansive repertoire and has appeared as recitalist in venues such as The Wigmore Hall in London, The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, and in many other venues throughout Europe and the United States.

In all roles, from orchestral soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician to conductor, Benjamin Hochman regards music as vital and essential. Composers, fellow musicians, orchestras, and audiences recognize his deep commitment to insightful programming and performances of quality.

Highlights of 2023-2024 include Bartok’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Boston Philharmonic conducted by Benjamin Zander and solo recitals in Jerusalem, Brattleboro, and on Chicago’s Live from WFMT. His chamber music collaborations take him to Carnegie Hall, People’s Symphony Concerts, Kronberg Festival, and Krzyzowa Music. He conducts the premiere of Gilad Cohen’s Concerto for Harp, Strings, and Horn, tours the US with cellist Zlatomir Fung, and curates the Kurtág Festival at Bard College New York.

Gail Jennings is a native of New York City and attended the Mannes College of Music studying piano with Nadia Riesenberg and the Juilliard School studying composition with Roger Sessions and Hal Overton.

Hailed for his “wonderfully warm, pliant, spontaneous playing” by the Washington Post, award winning pianist David Korevaar is in demand as a soloist, chamber musician and collaborator.

Praised by The Cleveland Classical Review for his “astonishingly confident technique” and The New York Times for “thrilling [and] triumphant” performances, pianist Henry Kramer is developing a reputation as a musician of rare sensitivity who combines stylish programming with insightful and exuberant interpretations.

Jan Roberts has lived in the Walla Walla valley for three years after spending most of her life in the mission field of Africa and Indonesia. She is a graduate of Walla Walla University, BS in nursing, which was very helpful while living overseas.

With “a special ability to present touching interpretations” (El Norte), Brazilian pianist Ronaldo Rolim is a prominent figure among the newest generation of outstanding musicians.

Thomas Rosenkranz was the recipient of the Classical Music Fellowship Award from the American Pianists Association and is active worldwide as a soloist, chamber musician, improviser, festival organizer, and artist teacher.

The music of composer Marilyn Shrude is characterized by its warmth and lyricism, rich timbre, multi-layered constructions, and complex blend of tonality and atonality. The result is a bright, shimmering and delicately wrought sound world that is at once both powerful and fragile. Her concentration on color and the natural resonance of spaces, as well as her strong background in Pre-Vatican II liturgical music, give the music its linear, spiritual, and quasi-improvisational qualities.

Winner of "Ettore Pozzoli" International Piano Competition in Italy, pianist Anna Stoytcheva is described this way: “Stoytcheva’s tonal palette was a whirl of fabulous colors. Her agility was stunning at lighting speed” (Coral Gables Gazette). Currently Ms. Stoytcheva is the Co-Chair of Executive Board of “Bulgarian Concert Evenings in New York” series, held at the Bulgarian Consulate and at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. She is also the pianist of American Chamber Players five-member ensemble, which performs extensively throughout the United States.

Hailed by The Mercury News (San Jose, CA) as "a pianist with insight and passion, practically vanishing into the notes…" Jingwen Tu has forged a chamber and solo career throughout North America and Europe. Recent performances have taken her to such venues as Alice Tully Hall, the Rose Studio at Lincoln Center, The DiMennaCenter, The Morgan Library and Museum, the Banff Center, and Matav Music Hall in Budapest, among many others.

Committed to both contemporary and standard repertoire, Cristina Valdes is known for presenting innovative concerts with repertoire ranging from Bach to Xenakis. She has performed across four continents and in a multitude of venues including Lincoln Center, Carnegie Recital Hall, and the Kennedy Center.

Rooted in the Pacific Northwest, Kristin Vining grew up in Olympia, Washington. After graduating from North Thurston High School in Tacoma, she moved to Walla Walla, attended Walla Walla University and Whitman College, graduating from Whitman in 1998.

Kristin teaches music at all three of Walla Walla's colleges.

A native of Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, pianist Wei-Han Wu received his Bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University and Master’s degrees from both University of Michigan and Northwestern. He is the recipient of the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Juilliard School, the Felicia Montealegre Fellowship from the Tanglewood Music Center, and the Collaborative Piano Fellowship from Bard College.

Chinese pianist Xiaohui Yang, a winner of the 2017 Naumburg International Piano Competition has been hailed by the press as a "tastefully polished musician" (Haaretz, Israel)  and “a magician of sound and virtuosity” (La Libre, Belgium).