MEET THE JURY MEMBERS
Cathal Breslin
Dr. Cathal Breslin has been praised worldwide as one of the most exciting pianists of his generation, with critical acclaim including “superb intensity and passion” (Cleveland Plain Dealer, Ohio), “energized and energizing” (Belfast Telegraph, Northern Ireland), and “noble poetry and perfumed pianissimo” (The Independent, London). Born in Derry, Northern Ireland, he has performed solo piano recitals in major concert halls across Europe, North and South America, and Asia, including Carnegie Hall in New York, Wigmore Hall in London, Kumho Art Hall in Seoul, and the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing.
Recent concerto performances have included Grieg, Rachmaninov No.2 and Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini, Tchaikovsky No.1, Prokofiev No.1, 2 and 3, Beethoven No.2, 3 and 4, several Mozart concertos, Takemitsu's Riverrun, Poulenc Double Concerto, and Liszt Tottentanz, with orchestras such as the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, BBC Ulster Orchestra, Greensboro Symphony NC, Jackson Symphony TN, Turin Philharmonic Italy, Memphis Symphony TN, RTÉ Concert Orchestra of Ireland, Arizona MusicFest Orchestra, West Valley Symphony AZ, among others.
Dr. Breslin has performed and toured extensively in duo recitals with flutist Sir James Galway, violinists Augustin Dumay, Anne Akiko Meyers, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Kirill Troussov, Kristine Balanas; cellists Jan Vogler, Jeffrey Zeigler, Raphael Wallfisch; pianists Awadagin Pratt and Barry Douglas, sopranos Measha Brueggergosman and Ailish Tynan, and in chamber music settings with the Houston Symphony Winds and the Brodsky Quartet. He is also a founding member of Trio Festivale, a flute-cello-piano ensemble that tours internationally and commissions new works.
Cathal was awarded the Bronze Medal at the Viotti International Piano Competition in Vercelli (Milan), Italy, one of the founding members of the World Federation of International Music Competitions. Other international competition successes have included top prizes in “Carlet” in Valencia, “Grand Konzerteum” in Athens, and “Iowa” in the U.S. 
He has broadcast regularly for BBC and RTE Radio, RTVE Spain, and has performed on Japanese, Chinese, Spanish and Irish Television many times.
In 2008, Dr. Breslin and his wife, American flutist Dr. Sabrina Hu, co-founded the Walled City Music Festival in Ireland, which has revitalized the country's cultural landscape through innovative concerts and impactful community engagement. Walled City Music has grown into one of the most successful arts organizations and festivals in Europe, hosting artists such as the Kronos Quartet, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Ulster Orchestra, and pianists including the Labèque Sisters and Jeremy Denk. In 2019, they launched the annual WCM International Academy, which has since attracted prestigious faculty and hundreds of students from over 20 countries.
Dr. Breslin initially moved to the U.S. as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Michigan, where he earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree studying with Arthur Greene. His earlier studies were at the Real Conservatorio Superior in Madrid with Joaquín Soriano; the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester with Kathryn Stott, Benjamin Frith, and Alexander Melnikov; and the Royal College of Music in London with John Barstow. He is currently Associate Professor of Piano at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, where his students have won numerous prizes in both national and international piano competitions. He continues to perform and teach masterclasses regularly throughout Europe, North and South America, and Asia.
Fanya Lin
Described as a “striking interpreter” who gives a “committed and heartfelt performance” by Musical America and The New York Times, Steinway Artist Fanya Lin has entranced audiences worldwide with her charismatic and fiery performances. Lin’s “mesmerizing performance” of Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini in UK was depicted as “a tornado had touched down through her body and lifted her, feathers fluttering, from the piano stool as she weighed into the keys” (Hastings Post). Her orchestral appearances include the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (UK), ToruÅ„ Symphony (Poland), Orquestra Sinfônica do Rio Grande do Norte (Brazil), New Art Symphony (Taiwan), Hiroshima Tafel Orchestra (Japan), Utah Symphony, Savannah Philharmonic, Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra, among others. Her concerto album Rhapsodic featuring Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with Maestro Theodore Kuchar and the Lublin Philharmonic was selected as Textura’s “Top 20 Classical Picks (Instrumental: Quartet/Ensemble/Orchestra)” and won the Second Prize of Petrichor Records’ Best Album Award in 2024.
An avid soloist, Fanya promotes classical music to the public by creating thematic concert programs and engages her audience by presenting interactive performances. Her solo recitals have been featured in numerous prestigious concert series, including the Schubert Club Musicians on the Rise, the Stecher and Horowitz Young Artist Series, and The Steinway Society of Western Pennsylvania. As a philanthropist, Fanya has collaborated with various non-profit organizations as well as psychological and social service associations through fundraising galas and salon concerts to create access for education and promote mental health awareness.
As a chamber musician, Fanya has collaborated with world-class musicians including Noah Bendix-Balgley (Berlin Philharmonic Concertmaster) and Kristin Lee (Avery Fisher Career Grant Recipient). In 2020, Fanya and her colleague Dr. Daniel Linder formed the Lin-Linder Piano Duo and have been praised for their “strong combination” and ability to “create a satisfying experience” (Fanfare). Her chamber music commercial recordings include On Walls by Greg Simon and Phil Woods Sonata with Dr. Edward Goodman (saxophone), and Fin de la Tierra: Land’s End with Dr. Jackie Glazier (clarinet).
A native of Taipei, Taiwan, Fanya is a top prizewinner of the Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition, Concours International de Piano France-Amériques, New York International Piano Competition, and Seattle International Piano Competition. Inspired by her mentors Dr. Yu-Jane Yang, Professor Hung-Kuan Chen, and Professor Lydia Artymiw for their dedication in education, Dr. Lin is currently on the faculty of the University of Arizona School of Music as Associate Professor of Practice in Piano, where she teaches applied piano lessons, chamber music, piano literature, and Yoga for Musicians course. For more information, please visit fanyalin.com.
David Northington
At his debut recital, the New York Times called David Northington “an immensely gifted musician…who combines the technical mastery of a virtuoso with the musical sensitivity of a poet.” Such critical accolades have followed Northington throughout the world in concerts and concerto engagements. His tours have included the United States, eastern and western Europe, Canada, China, and Russia. David Northington’s masterful pianism has won him first prizes in the Concert Artists Guild Competition, the East/West Artists Competition, the American Music Scholarship Association’s International Competition, the unanimous Judges Prize at the Fourth Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, and selection to the Artistic Ambassador Program sponsored by the United States Information Agency.
As an Artistic Ambassador for the United States, Northington has toured extensively in France, Spain and Portugal. In addition to broadcasts throughout Europe on the Voice of America, he has filmed recitals for telecast on French National Television. The national honor society Phi Kappa Phi selected Northington for its 2010 triennial National Artist Award in recognition of his professional artistic accomplishments.
Since receiving degrees at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and the Yale University School of Music, David Northington has taught on the faculties of several universities. Amongst his teachers are the legendary Byron Janis, Richard Goode, Claude Frank, Raymond Dudley, and John Bigg. Presently he is the Powell Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Piano at the University of Tennessee School of Music, and has been on the artist faculty of the Interharmony International Music Festival in Germany and Italy in the summers.
In the summer of 2016 Northington founded the East/West International Piano Festival (www.ewpianofest.com), which was held at Shandong University in Weihai, China in July. In the summer of 2017 the Festival was held in Hangzhou, China at the Liangzhu International Arts Academy. The 2018 Festival was held in China’s ‘Piano City’, Shenzhen. In 2019 the East/West International Piano Festival was held in Seoul, South Korea on the campus of Myongji University, where it will be held in 2020. As Founder/Artistic Director of the Festival, Northington selects a maximum of forty outstanding young pianists to attend the Festival annually. He has given master classes and lectures as well in the major music conservatories and universities in over ten countries worldwide. Dr. Northington has also been the featured guest artist at several state Music Teachers National Association conventions, most recently in Georgia and North Carolina. During the past few years, he has performed two-week residencies, recitals and master classes at Shandong University in Weihai, China, the Xinghai Conservatory of Music in Guangzhou, China, Shenyang Conservatory in Shenyang, China, and the Central Conservatory Middle School in Beijing, China.
Dr. Northington has also been given the Artist of the Year Award by the Tennessee Arts Commission, as well as numerous Outstanding Teacher Awards from the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts, where he joins the faculty for one week each year. Mr. Northington has compact disc recordings on the Centaur label of the Chopin Waltzes (CRC2791) and the complete piano works of Aaron Copland (CRC3090, CRC3240).
Stephen Siek
Stephen Siek, a Professor Emeritus at Wittenberg University, has concertized extensively throughout North America and the UK, and is the author of England's Piano Sage: The Life and Teachings of Tobias Matthay, as well and the highly acclaimed Dictionary for the Modern Pianist. A contributor to the Revised New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, his scholarly writings on historic pianism have appeared in journals such as the Piano Quarterly, International Piano, and the Piano Journal of the European Piano Teachers' Association. He has also annotated over a dozen major collections of recordings by artists such as Dame Myra Hess, Wilhelm Kempff, Dame Moura Lympany, Cyril Smith, and Ruth Slenczynska for various labels, including APR, Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Hyperion, and Marston. In addition, his own recording of The Philadelphia Sonatas by the Scottish-American composer Alexander Reinagle has been highly praised.
Currently Director of the Emeritus College Academy for Continued Learning at Arizona State University, he also serves as a Faculty Associate at ASU, where he has given numerous courses on topics ranging from “The Life and Music of Sergei Rachmaninoff” to “Frédéric Chopin: The Poetic Revolutionary.” He holds the B. Mus. and the M. Mus. degrees from the University of Maryland, and a Ph.D. from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. In May of 2019, he was named an Honorary Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in London.
radmila stojanovic-kiriluk
Dr. Radmila Stojanovic-Kiriluk, NCTM, is a certified teacher, performer, author, editor, and lecturer, currently holding a position a residential faculty member and director of piano studies at Mesa Community College (MCC) in Mesa, Arizona. In this role, she teaches private piano lessons, group piano, piano pedagogy, and piano literature. She possesses a comprehensive background in music education, having spent over twenty years at MCC, served as a faculty associate at the ASU School of Music for thirteen years, and held a professorship at a Music College in Niš, Serbia for six years.
Radmila earned a DMA degree at Arizona State University and Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Belgrade, Serbia. She has performed solo and collaborated with orchestras, instrumentalists, and choirs across various countries. Her recordings have been featured on radio and television, and she frequently serves as an adjudicator for piano competitions, national exams, and festivals. With a keen interest in exploring new subjects, she has spent over twenty years presenting a range of topics on piano and music at conferences and workshops. Her work was published by VDM Verlag (Germany), Toccata Classics (London), FJH (USA), and Schott Publishing Company (Germany). She also wrote several articles for Clavier Companion and American Music Teacher (AMT) as well as for EPTA Piano Bulletin in the Netherlands.
Radmila is currently serving as the President of the Arizona Music Teachers Association as well as the board member of the East Valley Music Teacher Association and the Avanti Fund. In 2018, Radmila was awarded the Arizona State Honor Teacher Award. She resides in Mesa, Arizona, with her family.
