BSM Faculty
Sherry Kim
Executive Director
Korean-American pianist Sherry Kim graduated from the Manhattan School of Music with a Master of Music degree and Professional Studies certificate, studying under Alexandre Moutouzkine. Before that, she graduated from Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music with a Bachelor of Music under Alan Chow. During her time as a student, she appeared in concerts at various festivals and master classes such as the Aspen Music Festival and School, Banff Centre Piano Master Class, Pianofest in the Hamptons, Miami Music Festival, and Washington International Piano Festival.
Sherry has extensive experience with competitions. She is the 1st prize winner of multiple concerto competitions: the 2014 Dora Zaslavsky-Koch Concerto Competition at MSM, the 2015 Jefferson Symphony International Young Artist Competition, and the 2019 Miami Music Festival Concerto Competition, and was awarded performances with those orchestras. As a big proponent of Chopin’s music, she won 2nd prize at the VI Chopin International Piano Competition in Hartford in 2016, 2nd prize in the Fryderyk Chopin Society of Texas International Chopin Piano Competition in 2020, and was invited to compete in the 10th National Chopin Piano Competition in Miami, Florida.
These days, Sherry wears many different hats. Primarily, she holds a strong reputation as a private piano instructor in the NYC/NJ area and has judged numerous piano events and competitions. She is also on the faculty at Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University as a collaborative pianist since 2022. Sherry is the Artistic Director of the Piano Star International Competition hosted by Piano League. Sherry is excited and honored to be the Executive Director of Bravura Summer Music starting in 2025.
Chiu-Tze Lin
Artistic Director
BSM Piano Faculty
Chiu-Tze Lin, conductor of the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra and the Bravura Youth Orchestra, is a versatile and multifaceted musician - conductor, pianist, and teacher. In October of 2019, Ms. Lin was inducted into the Steinway Teachers Hall of Fame, the 1st time that such honors were given to teachers by the Steinway company. Ms. Lin was also honored by the Music Teachers National Association as a Foundation Fellow, an honor bestowed only to individuals who have made significant contributions to education in the country. Ms. Lin was a finalist in the orchestral conducting division of the American Prize Award. She has served as the music director and conductor of the Manalapan Battleground Symphony for seven years. Under her baton, the symphony received the Victor Grossinger Award for Innovative Programming. Ms. Lin has also conducted the AT&T Sinfonia in Holmdel and the Woodland Ensemble. She was the music director of the Princeton Presbyterian Church, and directed choirs and orchestras in major oratorios in the Princeton area.
Ms. Lin was selected as a “Hottest Artist in New Jersey” by the Asbury Park Press. As a concert pianist, Ms. Lin has been acclaimed by the New York Times for her “strong technique, a hearty tone that sounded big and unforced [which] provides the greatest musical pleasure.” She is a Steinway Artist who has performed in Asia, Europe, and across the United States. Ms. Lin has appeared as a touring soloist with the Chicago Symphony, and was a soloist with the Cincinnati Symphony. Her CD featuring works of J. S. Bach has been described by New York Concert Review as a "... most satisfying performance ... with eloquence and sensitivity." This recording has also been selected by the Bravo Baroque organization as a recommended keyboard CD. Her recordings have been broadcast from stations across the country.
Ms. Lin was a director of the 2004 Beijing Music Festival, the first international summer music festival sponsored by the Chinese Ministry of Culture. She has led the Northeastern American Arts Troupe to perform at the International Shanghai Arts Festival and the Opening Ceremony of the Summer Youth Festival at the Shanghai Grand Theatre and the Oriental Arts Center. Ms. Lin has conducted the Shanghai Musicians Chamber Orchestra at the Sino-American Cultural Exchange Concert in a performance that was broadcast across China and around the world. She has led the Bravura Youth Orchestra in concerts in Russia, China, Taiwan, and this past summer, in Japan.
Chiu-Ling Lin
Program Director
BSM Piano Faculty
Chiu-Ling Lin is an international-renowned pianist, educator and former Artistic Ambassador who made extensive solo appearances in South America. Critics have written that she makes compositions “soar with her joyous and skilled interpretation.” Dr. Lin made her Carnegie Weill Recital Hall debut as the winner of the East and West Young Artist Auditions. She has soloed with orchestras such as the Atlanta Symphony, Chicago Civic Orchestra, Singapore Symphony, Des Moines Symphony & Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra. Her appearances in New York, Boston, Chicago, England, Canada, and throughout the Far East have featured her unique mix of music by Chinese and Western composers. Her virtuosity is showcased in the CD, “Portraits of China.” As a chamber musician, she has collaborated with world-renowned artists such as Marina Piccinini, Marcos Granados, and Ignat Solzhenitsyn.
Dr. Lin is committed educator who received her Bachelor’s degree from the New England Conservatory of Music and her Master’s and Doctoral degrees from Indiana University. She was the Emeritus Professor of Piano of Drake University in Des Moines, IA where she taught for 37 years before moving to West Windsor, NJ where she maintains a private piano studio. She was the past president of the New Jersey Music Teachers Association and the recipient of the 2014 Foundation Fellow. She is also the NJ-DE-PA tri-state representative of the Associated Board of the Royal School of Music and the Program Director of Bravura Summer Music at Lawrenceville School, NJ.
Ingrid Clarfield
BSM Piano Faculty
Ingrid Jacobson Clarfield, Professor of Piano Emerita at Westminster Choir College of Rider University is a is a nationally recognized performer, lecturer and author. She has presented workshops, lecture-recitals, and master classes in over 175 cities in 40 states across North America, including State and National MTNA Conferences, National Conference of Keyboard Pedagogy, and other prestigious conferences and festivals. Professor Clarfield has written twenty-six books, and is the subject of a documentary entitled: Take a Bow: the Ingrid Clarfield Story.
In 2006, Professor Clarfield was named MTNA Foundation Fellow and in 2009 was the 1 st recipient of the NJMTA Teacher of the Year award. In 2012, she was awarded the prestigious MTNA Teacher of the Year and in 2015 she received the NCKP Lifetime Achievement Award. She received the first Jacobs Music Steinway Al C. Rinaldi Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017. In 2018, the Music Educators Association of NJ also awarded her their Lifetime Achievement Award. Professor Clarfield was inducted into the first Steinway and Sons Teachers Hall of Fame in 2019. In 2024 she was the recipient of the MTNA Distinguished Service Award.
Clarfield maintains a private studio where her pre-college students have won hundreds of awards in state, national, and international competitions resulting in performances in such venues as Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Weill Recital Hall, Kennedy Center, Merkin Concert Hall, Steinway Hall, and concert halls in Beijing. 19 of her students have won the MTNA Competition at the State Level, with 7 having won the Eastern Division progressing to the National Finals. One student, Damien Dixon, was the First Prize National Winner. Most significant to Professor Clarfield is her students’ involvement in community outreach concerts raising money for charities benefitting children and performing for nursing homes and other adult facilities.
Sylvia Wang
BSM Piano Faculty
Sylvia Wang has performed across the U.S., Europe, Asia, Central America, Australia and Argentina. She has also recorded for the Newport Classic, CRI, Boston Records and Northeastern labels and been a winner and finalist for numerous awards and competitions. These include the Royal Overseas League Music Festival in London, the AVANTI award leading to a debut in London’s Purcell Room, Chamber Music Yellow Springs in Ohio and the J.S. Bach International Piano Competition in Washington, D.C.
Currently on the faculty at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, she has served as adjudicator and presenter for such institutions as the Central Conservatory in Beijing, China, the Centre for Young Musicians in London, the Chautauqua Institution in New York and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in Australia. Her former students have won prizes and awards at the Tokyo International Piano Duo Competition (Grand Prize and bronze medal), the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, the Carnegie Millennium Book Project and the Concert Artists Guild and occupy teaching and playing positions in the U.S. and abroad.
At age 17, she left her native Penang, Malaysia to study at the Royal Academy of Music in London as a recipient of the prestigious Associated Board scholarship, earning the highest award in solo performance, the Recital Diploma. Thereafter, she graduated with the M.M. and D.M.A. with top honors from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.
She returns regularly to Asia to teach and perform, with engagements at the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory in Singapore, a six-city tour of China, a residency at the Central Conservatory in Beijing and UCSI in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In addition to her work for “regular” audiences, she has presented animal-themed concerts for children in schools and concert halls across Southeast Asia.
She is the author of the e-book, “Memorization and the Pianist”, which has sold on 5 continents. In the summer, she serves as director of the Duo Piano Master Classes at Northwestern’s summer session. In recognition of “distinction in the field,” she was conferred an honorary Associateship of the Royal Academy of Music in London.
Hua-Yi Wang
BSM Violin Faculty
Born in China, Hua-Yi Wang graduated from the Central Conservatory in Beijing, the top music school in China. A child prodigy, Hua-Yi Wang studied under the tutelage of the world-renowned violin pedagogue Wang Zhi Long. He soloed with the Central Conservatory Orchestra, and was appointed concertmaster of the National Philharmonic Orchestra of China. During the Cultural Revolution in China, Mr. Wang was persecuted and served in a labor camp for 10 years. He was stripped of his prior post, but later appointed to be the Principal Violinist of the Children’s Art Theater. After the Cultural Revolution, Mr. Wang was able to return to the position of first violin with the National Philharmonic Orchestra.
Wang came to the United States in 1985, and received a Masters degree from the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. He studied violin and chamber music under Isak Vigdorchik, graduating first in his class. J. Smith, the director of the program, wrote that “Mr. Wang is a diligent violinist with magnificent talent … He will definitely bring honor to the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music.”
A resident of New Jersey, Mr. Wang has been an avid music educator for more than 20 years. It is an impressive that his students constitute more than 15% of the New Jersey All-State Orchestra strings (violin/viola) membership. His brilliant teaching style has been recognized by the Music Teacher National Association (MTNA) and the National Association for Music Education (MENC). Both the music community and his students respect Wang’s dedication to teaching.
Jing Yang
BSM Violin Faculty
Jing Yang is a violist, violinist, and five-string violist, originally is from music island, Kulangsu China, and moved to Montgomery NJ in 2024. Jing has performed and toured in more than 50 countries, including United Nations Hall in New York, Duke's Hall in London, La Scala Opera House in Milan, Festspiel House in Salzburg, Esplanade Theaters in Singapore, Taipei Arena, and other major venues around the world. She became the associate principal violist of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony at age 26.
Jing has won second prize at the 2007 Bled Viola International Competition in Slovenia and 2009 International Bodensee Music Competition in Germany, first prize at the 2006 Sir Edward Cooper Prize and Arthur Bliss Works Competition in England. After releasing her CD album, “Kulangsu: Through the Strings of Time” 2014, she began touring as a soloist. She also founded her a music institute, Studio Vio. She serviced as a president of the Chinese String Musicians’ Association and a Fellow of the U.S. - China Young Leaders’ Forum. Jing studied viola at Shanghai Conservatory of Music, 2 master degrees of viola at the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Mozarteum University of Salzburg, all with full scholarships.
Jing was a chair at the viola department at Xiamen University 2012-2015. In 2017, the first Kulangsu Viola Master Class and MusicFestival was successfully held by Jing and Studio Vio. She has taught in many music festivals and master classes,including Easton Music Festival, Bad Leofelden MusicFestival in Austria, Inner Mongolia Music Festival, Xi'an Viola Music Festival and so on. Her students have been admitted to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Royal Academy of Music in London,Mozarteum University of Salzburg, Hannover Conservatory of Music in Germany, University of Toronto in Canada, Yang Xiutao Conservatory of Music in Singapore, and so on.
Sofia Nowik
BSM Cello Faculty
Cellist SOFIA NOWIK is an active performer and dedicated teacher. She is the principal cellist of the Allentown Symphony (PA), and also frequently plays as a substitute musician with the New Jersey Symphony, Princeton Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, American Ballet Theatre, and the American Symphony. Sofia is also a member of the chamber groups, Exponential Ensemble and Ensemble Mélange (formerly known as Shuffle), and has been a guest with other NYC-based ensembles such as the Brooklyn Art Song Society, Philasonia, Shattered Glass, and the Metropolis Ensemble. As a soloist, she has performed with the Allentown Symphony, New Jersey Youth Orchestra, Central Jersey Symphony (now Somerset Symphony), Manalapan Symphony, the Tim Keyes Consort, and the Urban Playground Chamber Orchestra in NYC.
Sofia is the proud teacher of twelve young cellists in the Chatham area of NJ, and is a sought-after coach in NJ. Her students have been accepted at both the Juilliard and Manhattan School of Music pre-colleges, have earned places in both the Regional and All-State Orchestras in NJ, as well as have earned first and second chairs in the NJYS family of orchestras.
A graduate of the Juilliard School, Sofia earned both her Bachelor and Master degrees there while studying with David Soyer, Bonnie Hampton, and Darrett Adkins.
Amy I-Yun Tu
BSM Flute Faculty
Amy I-Yun Tu, a Taiwanese flutist, is celebrated for her artistry as a soloist, chamber musician, and dedicated educator. A passionate advocate for music education and community engagement, she has inspired the next generation of musicians through her teaching,leadership, and performances.
Ms. Tu is a graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy and earned both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, studying with Bradley Garner. She pursued doctoral coursework at Rutgers University under the tutelage of Bart Feller, Principal Flute of the New York City Ballet and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra.
Her vibrant performance career has taken her to renowned venues and festivals across the United States and abroad. She has appeared at prestigious events such as the Midwest Clinic (2015), the International Trumpet Conference (2017), and multiple National Flute Association Conventions, most recently in Orlando (2018), Salt Lake City (2019), and San Antonio (2024).
As a dedicated educator, Ms. Tu maintains a thriving private studio and serves on the faculty at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ, and the Princeton Day School in Princeton, NJ. She previously taught at the Mason Gross Extension Division at Rutgers University and was an assistant flute instructor at the Juilliard Pre-College. Her students have been featured as concerto soloists with ensembles such as the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Manhattan School of Music Pre-College Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonietta Nova, and Monmouth Symphony Orchestra. Many have earned top placements in CJMEA Regions & All-State auditions, while others have excelled in prestigious national competitions, including the MTNA, NFA, and YoungArts.
A highly sought-after adjudicator, Ms. Tu has served on judging panels for the New York Flute Club, the National Flute Association, NJMEA Region/All-State Auditions, and the Flute Society of Greater Philadelphia. In 2024, Ms. Tu was named New Jersey Music Teachers Association Teacher of the Year, becoming the first woodwind teacher to receive this prestigious award.
Ms. Amy I-Yun Tu is a Verne Q. Powell Artist and performs on a handmade custom 14K Powell flute.