ASU Community Music School

Carlie Beckert, Mezzo-Soprano, grew up in Utah and graduated from Utah Valley University with a Bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance. She has been performing in musicals since the age of 13 performing roles such as The Queen of Hearts (Alice in Wonderland Jr), Narrator (Little Shop of Horrors), Gertrude (Seussical), and Martha (The Lamb of God). She also performed as a soloist for 3 seasons with Rococo Performing Arts in Santaquin, UT. She also performed with UVU Opera, UVAA Opera, and Utah Festival Opera holding leading and supporting roles: Prince Orlovsky (Die Fledermaus), Gertrude (Romeo et Juliette), Third Lady (Magic Flute), Flora (La Traviata), and ensemble (Carmen, Magic Flute, and The Tenderland). Carlie loves teaching both piano and voice privately and has taught for 10 years, teaching many different ages and genders. She is attending Arizona State University to receive her Masters of Music in Vocal Pedagogy and Performance. 

Shauna Bierly is an enthusiastic piano teacher from North Carolina and is currently accepting new students at ASU's Community Music School. She holds a master’s degree in piano performance from UNC School of the Arts, a B.A. in Music from Duke University, and a Professional Artist Certificate from UNC School of the Arts. She is currently pursuing her doctorate in piano performance and pedagogy at ASU under the tutelage of professors Baruch Meir and Hannah Creviston. Her primary instructors have been Dr. Dmitri Shteinberg (piano) and Dr. Anthony Kelley (composition).

Passionate about many topics in music, Bierly is active as a solo performer, piano teacher, church music director, composer and vocalist. Last year, she developed an AP Music Theory course and became a College Board certified instructor. Other professional activities include studying at the AP Summer Institute at TCU, the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival in Burlington, Vermont, and the online Kodaly Summer Intensive at the Franz Liszt Institute in Hungary. 

Bierly is trained in Russian piano pedagogy, Hungarian Kodalymethod, music theory, harmony and aural skills—all of which she incorporates into her lessons. She has taught for over seven years, and enjoys working with children and adults, beginner and advanced students. In lessons, students learn piano techniques as well as how to sing, listen intentionally, imitate and improvise at the piano.Developing self-expression is an important component of lessons which are geared toward the individual needs and aspirations of each pupil.

Siyi Chen is a pianist from Xiamen, China. She started learning piano at the age of five and gave her debut piano solo recital in Gulangyu Concert Hall in 2012. In the same year, Chen participated the International Piano Academy in Freiburg, Germany, where she studied with Prof. Jura Margulis and performed two concerts. In 2015, Chen made her New York debut at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, performing in “The Unknown Diabelli Variations” concert as the youngest pianist from Rutgers University. During her time at Rutgers, Chen actively performed in the Undergraduate New Music Ensemble, “Women in Art Music” concert series, Sounds of Chamber Music concerts, and Organ Department Concert Series. She also participated in the Brevard Music Festival in North Carolina as a full scholarship recipient in 2016. In 2019, Chen entered the Mannes School of Music at The New School as a scholarship recipient. She actively performed in Mannes Sound Festival, Greenwich House Music School, and Mannes Fortepiano Seminar. She won several competitions, including the "Pearl River - Fort Caesar" National Youth Piano Competition in China, the Virtual International Music Competition in Malaysia, and the 6th Paderewski International Piano Competition in category “Piano Masters” in 2021 in the United States.

Chen received a Bachelor of Music degree with honors from Rutgers University in 2019. She graduated with a Master of Music degree from Mannes in 2021, under the tutelage of Dr. Vladimir Valjarević. Her previous teachers include Ying Gai, Yubo Zhou, Paul Hoffmann, Barbara Gonzalez-Palmer, and Matti Hirvonen. She is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance under Dr. Cathal Breslin’s guidance at Arizona State University, with a teaching assistantship.

Hyeongji Choi is a pianist, Entrepreneur, and teacher who is expressed by the words “Passionate, Happy, friendly.” She is pursuing her doctorate degree in piano performance under Dr. Baruch Meir with teaching assistantships at Arizona State University where she earned her master’s degree as well. She received her Bachelor of Music in piano performance and Musicology from Seoul National University, studying with Aviram Reichert.

Hyeongji Choi has performed numerous solo recitals and performances, including Barness Recital Hall at the University of South Florida, Lewis House at Eckerd College, Tempe Center for the Arts, Mirabella at ASU, Katzin Concert hall, E.Mravinsky Music school Concert hall, Evans Auditorium, U-Square Kumho art hall, Sammo Art Center. Also, Hyeongji is the recipient of numerous piano festival honors including Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival, White Nights International Piano Festival, and Tel-Hai International Piano Master Classes. Moreover, she was honored with an Academic scholarship with high honors, Special talent awards, a James Ruccolo Piano scholarship, and was awarded from MTNA Arizona State “Young Artist Performance” competition, MTNA Southwest region "Young Artist Performance", Conero International Piano competition. In addition to performing, she has also focused on providing enjoyable piano lessons for students. Beyond being a performer and teacher, she has also provided  engaging classical music concerts for non-musician as an Entrepreneur.

“The performers should help the audience to engage and enjoy classical music while also connecting the composer's intent with the audience. My fascination with combining historical context and musical imagination of classical works manifests my belief that performers must inspire with the audience’s hearts." - Hyeongji Choi

Eunbin Ko, an accomplished pianist, has dedicated her life to mastering the art of piano performance. She is originally from South Korea and spent most of her formative years in Japan. She began her musical training at a young age and has since established herself as a talented performer and teacher. 

Eunbin has achieved an impressive educational background, starting with a Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance from Seoul National University in February 2020. Following that, she obtained a Master’s degree in Piano Performance from the University of Michigan in December 2022. She is currently pursuing a DMA (Doctor of Musical Arts) in Piano Performance at Arizona State University, where she also works as a teaching assistant,  working closely with students to enhance their musical skills. Throughout her academic career, she has had the privilege of receiving guidance from an impressive array of distinguished professors in the field of piano performance, including Dr. Baruch Meir at Arizona State University, Christopher Harding at the University of Michigan, Hyeong Jun Chang at Seoul National University, Ian Hobson at the University of Illinois and Florida State University, and Shunji Itani at Kwassui Women's University in Japan.

In addition to her academic achievements, Eunbin has also attended numerous music festivals and competitions, including the Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival in Florida, the International Summer Piano Academy at Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg, and the Summer Piano Institute at the University of Illinois. In 2013, she won the Best Performance of Chopin Etude at the International Piano Festival and Competition held at the University of Utah. Eunbin has performed in various settings such as the Michigan Soloists Chamber Music Concert in Seoul, South Korea in July 2022, held a Master's Recital at the University of Michigan in January 2022, and had a Solo Recital at Seoul National University in December 2019.

Originally from Taiwan, Chun-Ya Pien is currently a D.M.A. student in piano performance at the Arizona State University where she studies with Dr. Baruch Meir. She holds a graduate assistantship where she teaches group piano courses for major and non-major students and private lessons. Chun-Ya has performed in Taiwan, the U.S., and Europe. She has participated in several competitions and received awards, such as Franz Liszt Center International Piano Competition, Schubert Club Competition in St. Paul, MN, Fifth Annual Future Stars International Piano Competition, MTNA Young Artist Competition, State Division, Semper International Piano Competition, and Iowa Center for the Arts Scholarship Competition. Additionally, she was recipients of Ogilvie Stark Scholarship, Semper Music Festival Scholarship, and Iowa State Gold Merit Scholarship. Chun-Ya attended international music festivals such as Semper Music International Festival, Atlantic Music Festival, and Vienna MusikSeminar. Besides performing as a soloist, she is also an active chamber musician where she received coaching and masterclasses with JACK Quartet, Brentano String Quartet, Miró Quartet, Pacifica Quartet, Spektral Quartet, Daedalus Quartet, Emerson Quartet, Orion Weiss and in 2018 with Emanuel Ax.

Chun-Ya earned her bachelor’s degree in piano performance with honors in music and high distinction from the University of Iowa. She continued her master’s degree in piano performance at Iowa and graduated in 2021, both under the tutelage of Dr. Ksenia Nosikova. During her master’s study, she held graduate assistantship where she accompanied instrumentalist, teaching group piano courses and private lessons. She was also the ballet pianist for the University of Iowa Youth Ballet and School of Dance. Chun-Ya is a member of Music Teacher National Society and the Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society.

Siobhan Plouffe, from Rochester, New York, is currently pursuing a Master's in Saxophone Performance from Arizona State University under the guidance of Dr. Christopher Creviston. Siobhan completed her undergraduate degree in Saxophone Performance at the Eastman School of Music where she studied with Chien-Kwan Lin. In addition to Dr. Christopher Creviston and Chien-Kwan Lin, Siobhan has had the opportunity to study with SSG Doug O’Connor, Vincent David, Lars Mlekusch, Dr. Nicki Roman and many others.

Siobhan is currently a member of ensembles such as the Hibiki Quartet, the ASU Saxophone Choir and the ASU Wind Ensemble. Previously, she was a member of the Eastman Wind Ensemble and the Eastman Saxophone Project

In addition to those groups, Siobhan holds the alto chair in the award winning Scio Quartet. Scio has been a prominent Rochester-based chamber ensemble with a focus on performing and teaching a wide range of music for an equally wide range of audiences. Scio has participated and won top prizes in a variety of competitions, including, but not limited to, bronze in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition (2020), first prize in the National MTNA Young Artist Chamber Competition (2019) and first prize in the 198th Army Band Solo and Ensemble Competition (2018, 2019). The quartet has also performed as a featured ensemble at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. and also played Octet for Wind Instruments by Igor Stravinsky at the 2020 NASA Conference with the Aruna Quartet. In Rochester alone, Scio has performed for the RIT Osher Institute, Memorial Art Gallery, George Eastman House, Children's School of Rochester, Strong Medical Center and the Joseph Avenue Arts and Culture Alliance. Scio has also performed in Virginia, Florida, and enjoyed a week-long tour of Northern California.

As a soloist, Siobhan was the recent winner of the 2020 Empire State Collegiate Solo Competition, and was given honorable mention in 2019.

Siobhan has taught numerous students ranging from young beginners to collegiate students and hopes to continue reaching out to new communities through her music so that she can share her passion with aspiring musicians.

YoonJi Seo was born in Seoul, South Korea and has been studying piano since the age of four. She won several competitions both in Korea and in the United States, including American Protege International Competition, Bradshaw and Buono International Piano Competition, Texas Music Teacher Association Young Artist Piano Competition, Kansas Music Teacher Association Piano Competition, Missouri Western State University Young Artist Piano Competition, Seoul Piastra competition to name a few. She has performed at multiple venues including Kosciuszko Foundation Auditorium and Carnegie Hall in New York City, White Concert Hall at Washburn University, Ewon Cultural Center in Seoul, Korea and Jaani Kirik in St. Petersburg, Russia. She also participated in the  White Night International Piano Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia. She performed in masterclasses by renowned pianists, Stijin de Cock, Aviram Reichert and Lucille Chung.

YoonJi was an adjunct faculty at Piano Preparatory Department at Southern Methodist University, where she also worked as a graduate teaching fellow during her master's degree. She has been actively teaching for over eight years and taught at the Institute for Young Pianists at SMU and taught private lessons, group classes, and master classes for young children. She was also a class piano instructor for undergraduate students at SMU. YoonJi earned a master's degree in piano performance and pedagogy at SMU and received an artistic scholarship and a graduate assistantship. She will pursue her doctoral degree under Dr. Baruch Meir in piano performance and pedagogy with teaching assistantships at Arizona State University in fall 2021.