Dr. Minji Noh Lee has been on Irvine Valley College’s Keyboard department faculty since 2015. She brings decades of extensive teaching experiences in working with piano students of all ages. Praised as a “superb pianist” by the Boston Globe, Dr. Minji Noh Lee is active as a soloist and a chamber musician.
Dr. Kookhee Hong is a distinguished performer, educator, and award-winning pianist. After relocating to Los Angeles, she was invited to serve as an adjudicator for numerous festivals, including the Southwestern Youth Music Festival (SYMF) and the Junior Bach Festival in California. Dr. Hong is currently the Director of Junior Chamber Music in the Inland Empire Branch, a board member of the Music Teachers' Association of California, and an adjunct professor at Irvine Valley College.
Dr. Suzanne Wong holds the B.M. and M.M. degrees in Piano Performance from the University of Southern California and the D.M.A from Boston University. She has studied piano with Nancy Bricard and James Bonn, violin with Alice Schoenfeld, and composition and theory with Dr. Robert Linn. Abroad, Ms. Wong has studied with pianist, Carlo Zecchi at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. She has also been on the faculty of the Colburn School of the Performing Arts.
German pianist Dr. Eva Schaumkell is established on three continents as a brilliant soloist and collaborator praised for her “astonishing combination of depth of expression and thrilling virtuosity” (Nassauische Neue Presse). Dr. Schaumkell has established a major international presence as Gold medalist in the 2018 International James Ramos Piano Competition, and the 2014 International Siegfried Weishaupt Piano Competition.
Dr. ChunYi Wang currently maintains full piano studios in Rowland Heights, California, as a winner of the Rubinstein Scholarship, he attended the Juilliard School, where he earned his
Svetlana Smolina performed with orchestras and in recitals worldwide. A recipient of “New Names” scholarship program, her notable appearances with orchestras include Mariinsky Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Orchestra National de France, Dublin Philharmonic, South Florida Symphony, Odessa and Nizhny Novgorod Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, New Florida Philharmonic, Shreveport Symphony, New York Chamber. A frequent guest at festivals worldwide, Ms.
Dr. Susan Boettger is the Director of the Piano and Chamber Music Department at Irvine Valley College, where she also serves as the Artistic Director of the IVC Keyboard & Chamber Music Series. In addition to her leadership roles, she created the Piano Pedagogy program, empowering piano teachers to build thriving studios. Her students have successfully transferred to prestigious institutions such as UCLA, USC, CSUF, CSULB, Azusa, and Rice University. Through her visionary leadership, Dr. Boettger has established herself as a key figure in the Southern California music community.
Dr. Matthew Tresler is the current Academic Chair of Music at Irvine Valley College and Director of Choral and Vocal Music. In Addition to conducting the IVC Chorale, Dr. Tresler teaches class voice, applied voice, applied music workshop and honors music appreciation courses.
“Gorgeously radiant”(classicalvoice.org) soprano, Christina Bristow is a graduate of The University of Southern California earning her Graduate Certificate and Masters of Music in Voice performance at the USC Thornton School of Music. She has her Bachelor of Arts in Music from California Baptist University, magna cum laude. She is an award winner for the Metropolitan Opera Council auditions Western Finals, NATS-LA Young Artist of the Year, NATS-AA competition semi-finalist, and scholarship recipient from the Colburn Foundation in Early Music Performance at USC.
Tyler Walton is a professional drummer and percussionist with many years of experience teaching, performing live, and recording in the studio. Mr. Walton earned his Master of Music degree in Jazz Studies Performance at California State University – Fullerton, and his Bachelor of Music degree in Percussion Performance from California State University – Fullerton. Mr. Walton has performed with several of southern California’s most prominent jazz musicians, including Joey Sellers, Dan St. Marseille, and the Bill Cunliffe Big Band featuring Ron Stout and Francisco Torres. Mr.