Faculty

Piano

Esther Kwon - B.A. in Piano Performance from George Mason University and studied with Dr. Anna Balakerskaia. Harmony Road Certified Music teacher with more than 10 years teaching experience and she is an active church musician. Esther studied with Eriko Robilette. Her students have received awards and performed at the Carnegie Hall past consecutive years. Her students have earned awards in various competitions and festivals, including NVMTA and International. She has experience teaching students of all ages and abilities, beginner through advanced.

Diane Moody - Diane Moody did her Doctoral work in Musicology at Catholic University in DC; graduate work at the University of Louisville in composition; M.M in performance from the University of Richmond and Shenandoah Conservatory. B.M in Performance from Virginia Commonwealth University, where she coached chamber and duo-piano ensembles and taught music classes for dancers as Adjunct-Faculty for the music and dance department. Performance certificates from Fontainebleau, France with Nadia Boulanger and Ewa Boukojemska; and from Conservatoire de Sion, Suisse with Bela Boszormenyi-Nagy; private lessons with Kendall Taylor in London. She has worked as accompanist and she has been teaching piano since the age of 18.

Shinae Song - B.A. in Piano Performance from Ewha Womans University (South Korea). She received awards from various national piano performance competitions in South Korea. With the teacher's certification in music, she has spent several years developing her skills as a competent teacher for all age groups. She has more than 7 years of experience in teaching piano to students ranging from elementary school to adults.

Yousun Choi - Currently pursuing Music Therapy Certification and Master of Music Therapy at Shenandoah University after many years of diverse teaching experiences with students of all ages. A native of Bethesda, Maryland, she has received B.M. Piano Performance from University of Michigan and further studied Master’s at Indiana University. She has performed at Zephyr International Festival for chamber music and has extensive accompanying experiences.

Monica We - Currently she is studying M.M in music education. B.A in Music from the University of Virginia. Upon completing her undergraduate studies, she started private piano teaching students of all levels and musical backgrounds and has been doing so ever since. She has had the honor of performing Liszt Piano Concerto No. 1 at the Kennedy Center with the National Symphony Orchestra as well as performing at the German Embassy in Washington D.C. Although she is open to just about any musical genre, classical music is her main mode of personal artistic expression. She has had a lot of experience with vocal and church accompaniment, chamber, choral, and orchestral ensembles.

Natalia Nelson - holds diploma in Piano Performance from Music Gymnasium of Art in Belarus. She completed eleven years of studies of music and classical piano playing. She has been working as a professional piano teacher for the last fifteen years. Her students have received awards in various competitions and festivals. She has experience teaching students of all ages and abilities - beginner through advanced. She enjoys to perform to audiences at local churches, community centers and recital halls. Also, she holds a university philology degree in Russian Language and Literature.

Art

Elaine Kim

Cello

Ryan Nobles - She graduated with a Master's in Music in Cello Performance from George Mason University in 2012 and a Bachelor's degree in Music Performance from the University of Mary Washington in 2006. Ms. Nobles served as principal cellist of the GMU Symphony orchestra in 2012, was principal cellist of the University of Mary Washington College-Community Orchestra 2003-2006, and was selected to perform in George Mason School of Music 2011 Honors Recital. Ms. Nobles performed with the University of Mary Washington College-Community Orchestra as a high school student for their Carnegie Hall performance in 2002 and has worked with the Canadian Brass, Judy Collins, Marvin Hamlisch, O.A.R., and Michael W. Smith. Ms. Nobles has also performed with the Rappahannock Pops Orchestra, Piedmont Symphony, Old Bridge Chamber Orchestra, Spotswood Community Orchestra, McLean Orchestra, American Festival Pops Orchestra, and Bel Cantanti Opera Chamber Orchestra.

Piano & Guitar

Heerak Kim - B.A. in Music Technology and Piano at George Mason University. Heerak Kim has both engineering and music background, combining both science and music he has been studying music production in addition to classical piano. Currently studies piano under Dr. Linda Monson at George Mason University. He has many experience in teaching piano and guitar to young students. He is also a lead guitarist and keyboardist at local churches.

Saxophone & Guitar

John Longbottom - has been playing the alto saxophone for 11 years and has recently begun performing with tenor saxophone and electric guitar. Recently, John graduated from George Mason University with a Bachelor’s degree in Music with a focus in Jazz Studies. During his time at Mason, John studied jazz saxophone with Dr. Tyler Kuebler and Xavier Perez, classical saxophone with Rick Parrell, and jazz guitar with Dr. Shawn Purcell. He is self-taught on the clarinet, flute, ukulele, and harmonica. Learning so many instruments continues to remind John how hard learning something new can be, but also how rewarding it is to overcome musical obstacles. As a teacher, he seeks to remove the frustration that comes with learning an instrument and to make playing music a fun and creative experience.

Violin /Viola

Edouard Benjamin Mitsui-Salé - B.A. in Music performance, and Artist Diploma in Viola performance from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory at the National University of Singapore in 2011, where he studied on a full grant under Lionel Tan. During this time, he also worked as a concert artist, performing concertos with the Tokyo Symphony, Sapporo Symphony and Jakarta Symphony Orchestras. He has also appeared in numerous solo and chamber music concerts in world cities. An enthusiastic teacher, Mitsui-Salé taught a select studio while in Singapore and Amsterdam, also regularly coaching the underclassmen at conservatory. Many of his students have gone on to win competition prizes, conservatory auditions and professional auditions.

Lauren Haren- B.M. Violin Performance and M.M. Viola Performance at the University of Akron studying under Alan Bodman and Cory Smith. Lauren is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda Music Honor Society and Golden Key. Lauren attended Brevard Music Center on scholarship and has participated in many masterclasses. Lauren has also earned a certificate with distinction from Northwestern University and Coursera for completing the course "Teaching the Violin and Viola: Creating a Healthy Foundation".

Violin

Selena Brown - M.M. in Violin Performance from University of Tennessee (graduate teaching assistant). B.M. in Violin Performance from University of Kentucky. Ensemble coach at Suzuki Piano School of Knoxville, violin instructor for String Project at the University of Kentucky, and violin faculty at El Sistema Korea along with over 10 years of private teaching experience for all ages. Performed with Lexington Philharmonic, Seoul National Symphony, SOHO chamber ensemble, and Dor L'Dor klezmer band.

Violin and Piano

Hyunjung Mia Allen - B.M. in Violin and Piano from HyoSung Woman's University in South Korea (1993). Mia was concertmaster at Hawaii Pacific University for four years (2010). She has been teaching all ages of students over 20 years. Her students has received great results in competition and festivals.