SMTA Piano Masterclass Series
Chair: Michelle Huang
Date: Saturday, October 28, 2023
Schedule: Session 1: 1:00 - 2:30 pm, Session 2: 3:00 - 4:30 pm
Location: Wedgwood Presbyterian Church at 8008 35th Ave. NE Seattle, WA 98115
Masterclass Artist Teacher: Dr. Isabella Jie, University of Puget Sound, see bio below
The SMTA Masterclass Series provides students the opportunity to be coached by highly qualified visiting master teachers. Students will receive valuable feedback on their pieces and benefit from observing the critiques of the other participating students.
About Masterclass Teacher, Dr. Isabella Jie
Indonesian pianist and teacher, Isabella Jie, began learning piano at the age of three. When she was five, she participated in her first public piano concert and has been active in performing and competing, winning numerous Indonesian piano competitions since then. At age 14, she moved by herself to Canada to study with Leon Karan and attend high school at Columbia International College.
She won first prizes at the Kiwanis Piano Competitions, and was invited to perform at the Living Arts Center in Mississauga, Ontario and graduated from the University of Toronto in 2010 with her Bachelor of Music Degree in Piano Performance with the most meritorious award and the Alexander Kinghorn scholarship for Gifted Students.
Isabella completed her Master of Music and Performer’s Diploma degrees at Jacob’s School of Music at Indiana University under full academic scholarship and Associate Assistantship. Her teachers were the world-renowned Professor Edward Auer, and Shigeoka Neriki. There, she also worked for the Young Pianist Program with Dr. Karen Taylor and taught piano courses for both music and non-music majors.
Isabella completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance at the University of Minnesota in 2017, where she studied with Alexander Braginsky. During her time in Minneapolis, she won the 18th Annual Masters Concerto and Aria Competition by Kenwood Symphony Orchestra (KSO), Marvin O. Mechelke Piano Competition, and was a two-time prize winner at the Schubert Club Piano Competition. She has performed at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in St. Paul, MN, and as soloist with the KSO.
At the beginning of 2018, she moved to Washington State and has since joined the University of Puget Sound as Affiliate Artist of Collaborative Piano. Aside from her work at University of Puget Sound, she is also a piano faculty member at Tacoma Community College and currently serves as the President of WSMTA - Gig Harbor chapter, and maintains a full private teaching studio in Gig Harbor. She has adjudicated for the Washington State MTNA Performance Competition, WMEA Piano Solo and Ensemble Contests, Performing Arts of the Eastside in Bellevue, Indonesia International Young Musician Awards, and the BBC-ORMTA Piano Competition in Brampton, Canada.