Ioannis Potamousis
Ioannis Potamousis, described by the Pasatiempo as “New Colossus of the Keys”, is internationally acclaimed as a charismatic and passionate performer, known for his captivating artistry and introspective, poetic expression. “…Ioannis Potamousis impressed the audience with his powerful and charming performance as well as his ability to create a dialogue with the orchestra,” wrote the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger of his performance of Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto. “Great brilliance…unique atmosphere,” said the Cincinnati Post. The Gulf News wrote: “…It was worth it just to listen to Potamousis play Liszt's Spanish Rhapsody. As we watched the pianist lose himself, we too became mesmerized by the music which took our breath away….”, “…anyone should watch Potamousis in action- he is thunderous one moment, comedic the next, then delicate as air
Potamousis’ performances have taken him to important international venues in Europe and the Middle East as well as across North America. He has played at the Athens Concert Hall, the international summer festival, and, on his Middle Eastern tour, at most major concert halls in Palestine. Ioannis has performed in all major venues in the United Arab Emirates, including Dubai Opera, The National Theatre, The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi,, and American University in Sharjah, among others. The Dubai appearance included collaboration with the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Dubai, and in Abu Dhabi with the NSO Orchestra.
In New York, he has played in the Trinity Church Concert Series, the Mannes festival, and at Steinway Hall, the Harvard Club, and the Metropolitan Club. He has performed concertos with New York’s New Amsterdam Symphony, the Collegium Musicum of Cologne, the Summit (New Jersey) Symphony, the Athens State Orchestra, the New Jersey City Symphony Orchestra, and the Rutgers Symphony Orchestra.
Ioannis Potamousis has recently been nominated as a “Steinway Artist”. He is a prizewinner of several international piano contests, including the World Piano Competition in Cincinnati (Silver Medal), the International Piano Competition in Santa Fe, New Mexico (First prize), as well as the Beethoven Sonata Competition in Memphis. He holds degrees from the Musikhochschule Cologne, Mannes College of Music in New York, and Rutgers University, where he received a Doctor of Musical Arts. His piano teachers include Roswitha Gediga, Pavlina Dokovska, and Susan Starr, among others. Currently, he is the Head of Keyboard Studies at Brighton College Abu Dhabi and Piano Faculty at New York University in Abu Dhabi.
Elizabeth Han
Pianist Elizabeth (Yoon Jung) Han earned a Bachelor of Music in Piano performance at Seoul National University. She was featured in Music Journal as a one of the young rising pianists while she studied in SNU. She performed in solo recitals and chamber concerts in Seoul Arts Center, SNU Cultural Center, Mun-wha Ilbo Hall, Sejong Arts Center, and the Korean National Museum of Contemporary Arts in Korea. She also received the Master degree of Music in SNU with the performance and the thesis of Analysis of Sonata by Aaron Compland.
After she moved to Boston, Massachusetts, she studied with a renowned pianist Mr.Gabriel Chodos and Dr.Bruce Brubaker at New England Conservatory of Music (NEC). She earned a Graduate Diploma in Piano Performance. Ms. Han had also participated and performed at numerous music festivals and Master Classes of Gyorgy Sandor, Marc Silverman, Leonid Blumberg and Edward Auer including Korea Summer Chamber Festival, Korea Youth Chamber Festival, Austria Vienna Summer Music Camp, Juilliard, Manhattan School of Music, and Indiana University. She performed solo recitals at Killian Hall at MIT, Keller Hall, and Brown Hall at NEC. She participated and performed at numerous recitals and chamber concerts as both a solo pianist and a collaborative pianist in Boston, Massachusetts.
She has been performing with students and faculty members at New York University Abu Dhabi and The Arts Center as an adjunct collaborative pianist since she moved to Abu Dhabi, UAE, in 2017.
Stanford Yu
Stanford Yu, nineteen years old, is a rising junior pursuing a major in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Music at New York University Abu Dhabi. His musical journey started on piano at age five and later broadened to violin (age seven) and viola (age thirteen). He previously studied piano with Melody Wu, Daniel Cheng, and Benjamin Choupak, Professor Kevin FitzGerald of USC, and currently studies with Professor Ioannis Potamousis. Stanford has participated in masterclasses conducted by Till Fellner, Péter Nagy, Mark Livshits, Professor Bernadene Blaha, Dr. Wei-Yi Yang, Dr. Ning An, Alexander Kobrin, Jon Nakamatsu, and Katarina Krpan. He also previously attended music festivals in Croatia (JM Croatia Summer Piano School), Poland (Euro Arts Academy in Szczecin), and Italy (Virutoso & Belcanto in Lucca, and Amalfi Coast Music & Art Festival). Stanford has won numerous awards, most notable being the Gold Prize at the Global Finals of the Washington Rachmaninoff International Piano Competition, with a full scholarship to New York, and a performance at Carnegie Hall. In addition, he was also a Finalist at Murai Grand Prix in Varaždin, Croatia, the Winner of the Golden State Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition, with the opportunity to perform with the Senior Symphony, and the Finalist of the International Piano Competition for Young Musicians in Enschede, the Netherlands. Outside of music, Stanford loves watching movies, swimming, playing rugby on the school team, and traveling around the world. Back in his hometown of Cupertino, California, U.S.A., he also loves playing water polo with his friends and spending time with his pug, named Mozart. As Stanford continues his journey almost halfway across the world from his hometown, he strives to find the perfect balance between academics and the arts to inspire him to this day and onward.
Yizhuo Meng
Yizhuo Meng is a Chinese pianist, collaborative pianist, educator, and artistic leader whose career spans performance, teaching, and international artistic collaboration. She has appeared in solo recitals, chamber music concerts, and international festivals across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the United States, with recent engagements in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Beijing, and other major cultural venues.
Meng completed both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Piano Performance at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln in Germany. In 2020, she was admitted to the postgraduate diploma program in Vocal Coaching at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (mdw), further developing her work in collaborative performance.
Alongside her performing career, Meng is active as an educator and competition juror. She has served on the juries of international competitions including the Four Notes International Piano Competition in Abu Dhabi and the Washington International Rachmaninoff Music Competition. Her students have received awards in national and international competitions and gained admission to leading conservatories in China, the United States, and Germany.
She is also active in international artistic project management and is the founder of the Chinese Brahms Music Research Association and EMG Studio. She has received prizes at several international competitions as well as the German DAAD Prize.
