Piano and Organ

About

Dr. Mario Ajero

Dr. Mario Ajero

Dr. Mario Ajero earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in music from Temple University in Philadelphia, and his PhD in Music Education with a concentration in piano pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma. Prior to joining SFA, he served as coordinator of class piano for Temple University's Music Prep Division and a lecturer in piano for Temple University's Boyer College of Music and Dance.

Ajero has authored articles for Piano Magazine and American Music Teacher and has presented at the Music Teachers National Association National Conference and National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy. He has been featured in a series of webinars from The Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy entitled Teaching in the Time of COVID-19: Resources for Online Instruction.

Internationally recognized as an authority in incorporating technology in piano pedagogy and music education, he has presented at every major piano pedagogy conference in the United States and has been invited to perform and present in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China and Germany.

Ajero's engagements include being:

  • keynote presenter at the Australasian Piano Pedagogy Conference
  • featured presenter at the Summer Summit at The Royal Conservatory
  • and being invited to present on technology to teach keyboard remotely for The Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University.

His piano pedagogy students also have given presentations at the Texas Music Teachers Association Convention and judged for a number of competitions and festivals across the nation.

James Faucett

James Faucett earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in music at SFA. Also certified in piano pedagogy, Faucett teaches private lessons through the SFA Music Preparatory division.

Faucett served as an instructor during 2003-07 at Panola College in Carthage teaching applied piano, class piano and serving as accompanist for the show choir. Faucett has performed regionally as a soloist, accompanist and chamber pianist.

Margaret Hinchliffe

Maggie Hinchliffe Margaret (Maggie) Hinchliffe received a Master of Music in collaborative piano from the Eastman School of Music and Bachelor of Music in piano performance and pedagogy from Vanderbilt University's Blair School of Music.

She is a pianist with a focus in the collaborative arts. Before joining SFA, she was the pianist for Boulder Opera Company in Boulder, Colorado, playing for productions of "Il Trovatore", "Le Nozze di Figaro", "La Bohème" and "L'enfant et les sortilèges."

Hinchliffe has performed with vocal partners in the United States, Austria and Germany, including master classes for Julius Drake, Graham Johnson, Martin Katz, Libby Larsen and Alan Smith. An advocate for new music and interdisciplinary art, Hinchliffe has:

  • premiered operas, art songs and other works with piano
  • commissioned composers and poets through her podcast "How It's Musically Made"
  • and written poems for musical commissions.

In 2021, she was awarded the Career Performance Grant from Sigma Alpha Iota and the Virginia Allison Collaborative Piano Award from the National Federation of Music Clubs. She has spent summers as a pianist and fellow for:

  • Classic Lyric Arts
  • Hawaii Performing Arts Festival
  • Aspen Music Festival and School
  • Songfest
  • and others.

Hinchliffe has a private piano studio and enjoys running, hiking, reading and traveling.

Weston Jennings

American organist, conductor and harpsichordist Weston Jennings joined SFA's School of Music faculty in the fall of 2020. Before moving to Texas in 2017, he was instructor of undergraduate and secondary organ at Yale College. Jennings also has served on the faculty of the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp in Michigan, the Department of Music at The King’s School, in Canterbury, England, and taught and performed at several Pipe Organ Encounters across America.

Having first encountered the pipe organ at the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp at the age of 16, Jennings later graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree and the prestigious Performer's Certificate at the Eastman School of Music. He graduated from the Yale School of Music and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music with his Master of Music degree.

Prior to his studies at Yale, he completed two years in England as the Organ Scholar of Canterbury Cathedral and Chelmsford Cathedral. During this time, he also was appointed the first Organ Scholar to the Royal Festival Hall, London.

Following his recital debut at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. in 2009, Mr. Jennings has performed across the United States and Europe, including:

  • Westminster Abbey in London
  • St. Paul’s Cathedral in London
  • Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue in New York
  • The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles
  • The Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Denver
  • the Chapel of the Queen’s College in Oxford, England
  • The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Moscow, Russia
  • Royaumont Abbey in France
  • and the Berliner Dom in Germany.

As a soloist, Jennings has performed with:

  • The Philharmonia Orchestra of Yale
  • The Yale Concert Band
  • the New Haven Chorale
  • The Yale Symphony Orchestra
  • and members of the Rapides Symphony Orchestra.

As a part of the London Handel Festival, he collaborated with the Apollo Baroque Consort in a concert of Handel Organ Concertos from Mayfair's Grosvenor Chapel. His performances and interviews have been broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and American Public Media's Pipedreams.

Jennings currently resides in Tyler where he serves as director of music and organist of First Presbyterian Church, as well as artistic and executive director of the Tyler Civic Chorale. He also is the music director of New Texas Sinfonia, Texas' newest chamber orchestra.

Dr. Ping-Ting Lan

Dr. Ping-Ting Lan earned her bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in piano performance from the University of North Texas, where she was awarded a teaching fellowship to teach applied piano lessons and class piano. She studied with Professor Adam Wodnicki.

Lan joined SFA's School of Music faculty in 2000, frequently performing both solo and chamber recitals. She also performs duo piano recitals with her husband, Dr. James Pitts. Lan has performed with the SFA choirs and with the SFA Symphony Orchestra.

In addition to teaching within the School of Music, Lan teaches an intermediate-adult piano class through the SFA Music Preparatory Division and maintains a large private piano studio. She also teaches in the annual SFA summer piano camp, Piano in the Pines.

Lan has served as an adjudicator for several festivals and competitions, including the Music Teachers' Association for Dallas, Plano, Waco, Kilgore and Midland. She is the president of the Nacogdoches Music Teachers Association.

Lan is the organist of Christ Episcopal Church in Nacogdoches.

Dr. Minhae Lee

Minhae Lee Dr. Minhae Lee earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in piano performance at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea. She also attended the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University and the Manhattan School of Music, where she was awarded a full scholarship to study with Dr. Solomon Mikowsky. At Michigan State University, Lee earned the following degrees:

  • Master of Music in piano pedagogy
  • Doctor of Musical Arts in piano performance
  • and Doctor of Musical Arts in collaborative piano.

While completing her degrees, Lee worked as an adjunct faculty member of piano at Alma College, Michigan State University's College of Music and its Community Music School in East Lansing and Detroit, and as an instructor at the Aspen Music Festival and School.

Equally at home as both a solo and collaborative pianist, she has held a staff position as collaborative pianist at:

  • the Jeju International Brass Competition
  • the Manhattan School of Music
  • the Manhattan in the Mountains Summer Festival
  • Michigan State University
  • Central Michigan State University
  • and the Aspen Music Festival and School as a full scholarship pianist.

Prior to joining SFA's School of Music in 2021, Lee played for numerous master classes and recitals at Yale School of Music in 2020, during which time she was named as the only Collaborative Piano Fellow and worked closely with renowned musicians and pedagogues such as:

  • Ani Kavafian
  • Shoko Aki
  • Ettore Causa
  • Paul Watkins
  • Ransom Wilson
  • Stephen Taylor
  • and David Shifrin.

As an active chamber musician and strong supporter of new music, Lee has premiered numerous works for piano and varied chamber music ensembles. She was a prize winner in the Barbara Wagner Chamber Music Competition at Michigan State University as a member of the Lumi Trio (clarinet, violin and piano).

Lee has been a winner at the:

  • North Shore Musicians Club Competition in Chicago
  • Honors Concerto Competition at Michigan State University
  • NTD International Piano Competition
  • Golden Classical Music Awards International Competition
  • TBC Daegu Broadcasting Competition
  • and the Daejin University Piano Competition.
Showcased works
Sergei Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2
Sergei Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2 - Click to watch on YouTube

 

 

Dr. Thomas Nixon

Dr. Thomas Nixon received his bachelor's degree in piano performance at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where he was a student of Eugene and Elisabeth Pridonoff. His master's degree in piano performance and Doctor of Musical Arts in collaborative piano were earned at Arizona State University, where he was a student of Russell Ryan and Robert Hamilton.

Nixon is a prizewinner of numerous competitions including the:

  • Jacob Flier International Piano Competition
  • ASU Concert of Soloists Concerto Competition
  • and the Nashville Symphony Curb Records Competition.

He has performed with:

  • Carmel Bach Festival
  • Phoenix Symphony
  • Arizona Opera
  • Ballet Arizona
  • Phoenix Boys Choir
  • Lyric Opera Theatre
  • Arizona State University Orchestra
  • Knoxville Symphony
  • and Knoxville Choral Society.

Nixon also has participated in master classes with Phillip Kawin, Vladimir Feltsman, Warren Jones, Martin Katz and Denyce Graves.

In high demand as a collaborative pianist, Nixon has worked with many important artists, including:

  • Maestro Charles Bruffy
  • conductor of the Grammy Award winning Phoenix Chorale
  • and several stars from Broadway and television, including Megan Hilty and Alfie Boe.

Dr. Nixon joined SFA's School of Music faculty in 2018.

Dr. Fangzhou Feng

Fangzhou Feng, staff collaborative pianist, is a classically trained pianist and collaborative artist whose career spans solo performance, chamber music, vocal collaboration and large-scale choral and orchestral projects. Combining the precision of a soloist with the sensitivity of a collaborative partner, Feng brings versatility, depth and artistic insight to every performance.

Feng began piano studies at the age of seven with Professor Zhang Dongdun and was later admitted to the middle school affiliation of the Shenyang Conservatory of Music. In 2008, he was awarded a full scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Music in London with Professor Christopher Elton. During his time in the United Kingdom, Feng performed in London and other cultural centers, appearing in solo and chamber recitals at King’s College London, the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. In 2010, he was invited to perform in Chinese Artists in the UK, a cultural event hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China; his violin-piano duo performance was later released on CD for charity.

Feng continued his studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music, earning both a Master of Music and an artist diploma under Professor Kathryn Brown. At CIM, he served as a staff pianist in the vocal studios and as a church pianist, while receiving the William Kurzban Prize and the Sadie Zellen Piano Prize for excellence in performance. He later pursued the Doctor of Musical Arts in piano performance at Michigan State University under Professor Deborah Moriarty, supported by a graduate assistantship and the Walter Verdehr and Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr Trio Scholarship. At MSU, he collaborated extensively with woodwind studios and was a frequent performer in contemporary music concerts hosted by the composition department.

An active festival artist, Feng has performed at Pianofest in the Hamptons, New York, the Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival in Florida, and the Castleman Quartet Program, where he appeared with violinist Charles Castleman in 2022. He has also adjudicated regional festivals and competitions. His awards include first prizes in the Asia TOYAMA Piano Competition and the Schumann International Youth Piano Competition, third prize in the Oberlin International Piano Competition, and first prize in the Tuesday Musical Scholarship Competition. More recently, he has been honored with the Grand Prix at the Glory International Piano Competition and multiple first prizes at the Vivaldi International Music Competition.