Dr. Ilya Blinov is an accomplished pianist and teacher. He began his teaching career in his native Nizhny Novgorod (Russia) in 1993, and since then he has taught at the University of Michigan, Bowling Green State University, Interlochen Arts Camp, and Susquehanna University. Over the years, Dr. Blinov has worked with students aged 5 to 83. He sees teaching as the rewarding process of facilitating change and growth in students and strives to show them a direction, a road, a path to knowledge, and give them a chance to discover their strengths.

Dr. Blinov is a versatile solo recitalist, chamber musician, and accompanist. He has presented recitals in his native Russia as well as in the United States and Western Europe. His performances include an appearance at the Shostakovich Festival in Rome and Venice, Italy, and a recital at the Yamaha Center in Paris, France among others. He has also performed live on WGTE Public Radio in Ohio and WDET studio in Detroit, Michigan.

Throughout his career, Dr. Blinov has developed a format of a recital-demonstration, a performance devoted to the music of a single composer using a PowerPoint presentation and a discussion of the composer’s life and compositional style. The audiences have warmly received his performances of Tchaikovsky and Mozart, Shostakovich and Stravinsky, Mussorgsky and Beethoven.

YouTube channel: youtube.com/PianistIlyaBlinov

San Francisco Conservatory of Music
Conservatory of the Arts at Valley Christian Schools

Rose Chen is a highly accomplished pianist and dedicated educator, currently on the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s Pre-College Division, where she teaches piano and chamber music. She also serves on the piano faculty at the Conservatory of the Arts at Valley Christian Schools in San Jose.

Ms. Chen earned her Master of Music degree (2002) and Graduate Performance Diploma (2004) in piano performance from the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University, studying with the renowned Boris Slutsky. She was awarded a full scholarship and teaching assistantship in recognition of her exceptional artistry and academic excellence.

Equally passionate about performing and teaching, Ms. Chen maintains a vibrant private studio in West San Jose. Her students have achieved top prizes in international competitions, been selected for the MTAC Young Artist Guild and Panel Honors, and gained admission to leading institutions including The Juilliard School, Eastman School of Music, Peabody Conservatory, Northwestern University, UCLA, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

With her unwavering commitment to musical excellence and her ability to inspire, Ms. Chen nurtures not only technical mastery but also a deep and lasting love for music in every student she teaches.

Dr. Wei Coglio holds a Doctor of Musical Arts and a Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music, as well as a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of the Pacific. Her principal teachers include Dr. Arkady Aronov, Mr. Frank Wiens, and Mr. Daniel Cheng. A winner of numerous competitions—including the Music Teachers’ Association of California (MTAC) Concerto Competition—Dr. Coglio has also performed at international festivals such as Meranofest and the Tivoli Piano Festival in Italy. She has been invited to serve on judging panels for major competitions and examinations, including the United States International Music Competition, the Thera Rabinowitch Piano Competition, and the Certificate of Merit (CM) Exams. In addition, she is a frequent guest faculty memberat the C’est Bon Chamber Music Academy and is a piano coach for the Golden State Youth Orchestra. Passionate about nurturing musical interest in the younger generation, Dr. Coglio maintains a thriving private studio in the Bay Area. Her students regularly appear in masterclasses, distinguish themselves in national and international competitions, and are accepted into elite schools. Beyond her teaching, Dr. Coglio is deeply involved with the Music Teachers’ Association of California. She has served on the Certificate of Merit Council and currently serves as President of the MTAC Santa Clara County Branch.

San Francisco Conservatory of Music

Praised by Joshua Kosman of the San Francisco Chronicle for her “elegance and verve,” pianist Elizabeth Dorman enjoys performing music both new and old as a soloist and chamber musician. A prizewinner of the 2018 Leipzig International Bach Competition and the 2017 Pro Musicis Father Merlet Award, Elizabeth has been widely recognized as a leading performer for her inquisitive interpretations of Bach’s music on the modern piano. Elizabeth has appeared as soloist with orchestras including the Louisville Orchestra, the Leipzig Mendelssohn Chamber Orchestra, the Santa Rosa Symphony, the California Symphony, the Vallejo Symphony, the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, the Folsom Lake Symphony, the Stanford Summer Symphony, Symphony Parnassus, as a soloist for interdisciplinary projects at New World Symphony, and she can be heard regularly performing as guest Keyboard at the San Francisco Symphony. She has recorded for Navona and Delos records, including as a soloist with Santa Rosa Symphony. Elizabeth and was awarded a Doctor of Musical Arts from Stony Brook University where she studied with Gilbert Kalish and served as Head Piano Teaching Assistant, and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area where she teaches at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Pre-College.

Ariel Wei, a native of Taichung, Taiwan, began studying the piano and zheng at early age. Ms. Wei has won top music competitions in both instruments and recognized for her outstanding achievements. She maintains an active piano studio in Santa Clara and is the co-founder of C’est Bon Chamber Music Academy. She shares the love and passion for music with young musicians in bay area through various music activities.

Ms. Wei received her B.F.A. from the National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei and M.A. from Eastern Washington University.