Audrey Axinn teaches at The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, Mannes School of Music and (remotely) at The Tianjin Juilliard School. Dr. Axinn is a member of the solo and collaborative piano faculties at Mannes and teaches graduate courses in the other schools in many areas including ornamentation, baroque dance, studio pedagogy and collaborative playing of all kinds. She has created opportunities for hundreds of modern pianists to explore playing on fortepianos and to integrate performance practice principles into their performances on modern or historical Instruments.

Her playing has received accolades by reviewers including the Washington Post: “Axinn is an artist. Her touch is magical and the fluidity of her playing is exceptional.” Dr. Axinn is a vibrant and sensitive performer known particularly as a Mozart and Beethoven specialist who creates spectacular extempore ornamentation. She has performed as a soloist and partner to artists including Jaime Laredo, Sharon Robinson, Eugene Fodor, Daniel Heifetz, Monica Huggett, Fred Sherry, and Bonnie Hampton among others throughout the United States in venues including Carnegie Hall, Caramoor, Bargemusic, Weill Recital Hall and the Phillips Collection. She toured China extensively for three years as a member of the Tianjin Juilliard Ensemble and has taught master classes at Beijing Central, Shanghai and China Conservatories, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, many universities in Taiwan and Kyung-Won University and Seoul National Conservatories in Korea. In the U.S. she has given master classes at The Curtis Institute of Music, The Juilliard School, New England Conservatory, SUNY Stony Brook and Oberlin Conservatory and in Europe at Koninklijk Conservatorium Den Haag.

Dr. Axinn is a co-director and faculty member of the Academy of Fortepiano Performance, an intensive summer workshop from May 30 to June 8 exploring classical and romantic repertoire on historical keyboards. This summer she will also teach and present lectures at the Mannes Summer Piano Institute from July 12 to July 26 and at the Reykjavik Pianofest in Iceland from August 3 to August 13.

An administrator as well as an artist, Dr. Axinn served as Associate Dean of The Tianjin Juilliard School in Tianjin China following seven years as the Assistant Dean of Mannes School of Music. Most recently, she served as Interim Director of Chamber Music at The Juilliard School. She is an alumna of The Juilliard School, Curtis Institute of Music and Manhattan School of Music.

Moscow native, Anna Khanina started her musical education at the age of five, and in 1996 she graduated with honors from the famous Gnessin School of Music in Moscow. Further studies include Master’s Degrees from both the Gnessin Academy of Music in Moscow and the University of Music, Drama, and Media in Hannover, Germany, as well as Performance Diploma from Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. In 2014 Ms. Khanina became a Doctor of Musical Arts after completing the Doctoral Program at the State University of New York at Stony Brook where she was a full-scholarship student of Gilbert Kalish.

Ms. Khanina’s performing career spans the continents of Asia, Europe, North and South America, where she regularly appears as a soloist and with chamber music Ensembles.

Her concerts were live broadcast on WFMT Chicago (2007, 2011, 2014), The Voice of Music radio from Jerusalem Music Centre (2008), McGrow Young Artists Showcase WQXR New York (2011), and wiox.org (2011). Anna Khanina’s long list of awards include the prizes at Val Tidone International Piano Competition, the Second International Piano Competition in Panama, the Seventh International Competition Ciutat de Carlet in Valencia, the Grieg Competition in Oslo, and the Classica Nova Competition in Hannover, just to name a few. Along with her performing career, Ms. Khanina remains a dedicated teacher. She is currently on the faculty at the 92nd Street Y and Bloomingdale School of Music. Her students have appeared at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and successfully participated at numerous national competitions.

Critically acclaimed pianist TAKA KIGAWA has earned outstanding international recognition as a recitalist, soloist, and chamber music artist since winning First Prize in the prestigious 1990 Japan Music Foundation Piano Competition in Tokyo, and the Diploma Prize at the 1998 Concurs Internacional Maria Canals De Barcelona in Spain, with such accolades from The New York Times as “Phenomenon. There’s no denying that he is something special,” “The extraordinary pianist.” And from The New Yorker “Unbelievably challenging program. Kigawa is an artist of stature.” and from La Nación (Buenos Aires) “Taka Kigawa is a stupendous virtuoso.” His New York City recital in 2010 was chosen as one of the best concerts of the year by The New York Times. His New York City recital in August 2011 was picked as one of the most notable concerts in the 2011-2012 season by Musical America. Also his Buenos Aires recital in April 2014 was chosen as one of the best concerts of the year by Argentina’s leading paper, La Nación.

He has performed extensively as a recitalist and soloist in New York, Washington DC, Boston, Cleveland, Paris, Milan and Barcelona, with appearances in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Kosciuszko Foundation, Severance Hall in Cleveland, Cité de la Musique, and Salle Gaveau in Paris, Plau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, and Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. He frequently tours in his native Japan, appearing in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagano and Kyoto, both as a recitalist and a soloist with orchestra and in chamber music groups. He has performed with such distinguished institution as The Cleveland Orchestra. He has been a featured artist on many television and radio networks throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia.

His repertoire is extremely large and varied, ranging from the baroque to avant-garde compositions of today. He has collaborated closely with such renowned musicians as Pierre Boulez, Myung-Whun Chung and Jonathan Nott. Also he premiered the last solo piano piece of Yusef Lateef, the jazz legend, in New York City in 2013.

Mr. Kigawa grew up in Nagano, Japan, where he began piano studies at the age of three, winning his first competition at the age of seven. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Shinsyu University, and his Master of Arts degree from Tokyo Gakugei (Liberal Arts) University, graduating with honors in Piano Performance. During both his undergraduate and graduate years, he also studied composition and conducting, receiving high honors in both disciplines. He furthered his studies in the United States at The Juilliard School in New York, where he earned his Master of Music degree. Taka Kigawa is a Steinway Artist and resides in New York City.