Youth piano instructors
Kyle Dacon
Kyle Dacon is a first-year doctoral student at CU 抖阴传媒在线 from Garland, Texas. He earned a bachelor's degree in piano performance from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota and a master's degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Dacon will be studying with Jennifer Hayghe. In his free time, he enjoys watching and playing all kinds of sports with friends; he believes athletes and musicians share many similarities and enjoys both the mental and physical challenges of playing piano. Dacon's main career goal is to teach piano to students of all ages and backgrounds while maintaining his own performances and recitals whenever possible.
John-Austin King
John-Austin King is a classical pianist, teacher and composer from Clover, South Carolina. He earned听bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degrees in classical piano performance from the UC-College Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati. King鈥檚 performances have taken him across the globe to venues in Germany, the Czech Republic, Iceland and various regions of the United States. Currently, he鈥檚听pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in classical piano at the 抖阴传媒在线. Most recently, King taught and coached young classical musicians in performance at the Vi冒 Dj煤pi冒 music festival in 脥safj枚r冒ur, Iceland. Patience and determination are at the forefront of King鈥檚 teaching and practice philosophy; he firmly believes that every musician is endowed with an extraordinary potential waiting to be unlocked.听
Ohad Nativ
Ohad Nativ is a classical pianist and musicologist with versatile experience as a performer, teacher, conductor and scholar. Nativ was born in Israel, grew up in New Jersey and spent significant time in Europe. He is currently pursuing a Musicology PhD at CU 抖阴传媒在线, following master鈥檚 and bachelor鈥檚 degrees in piano performance from Northwestern University and Oberlin Conservatory, respectively. Nativ has performed in a large variety of international festivals, ensembles, concert series and competitions, as well as taken lessons and master classes with significant world-class pianists including James Giles, Peter Takacs, Spencer Myer, Alexander Kobrin, Ilana Vered, Matti Raekallio, Jason Hardink and others. As a musicologist, Nativ鈥檚 interests and experience range from analytical and critical theory to history, particularly focusing on early 20th-century post-Romantic structuralists. Experienced in teaching in a variety of settings, levels and age groups, Nativ believes education in piano should include good technical and musical training, shaping students into well-rounded artists.听
Luca Pompilio
Born in Genova in 1999, Italian pianist Luca Pompilio pursued his undergraduate studies in Pavia (Italy) where he completed a BM in piano cum laude in 2019 and a BS in physics (University of Pavia) in 2021. After earning a three-year diploma in chamber music (flute and piano duo) in Florence (Italy) in 2023, he completed an MM in piano performance at SHSU in Texas where he was also a teaching assistant, accompanist/coach and scholarship recipient. His main piano teachers include Diego Caetano, Roberto Paruzzo, Pier Narciso Masi, Cinzia Piccini, Barbara Cristina and Anna Zucchi. Pompilio has performed as a soloist and collaborative pianist in Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the United States鈥攆rom Alaska to Texas鈥攁nd he has won prizes in international competitions in Europe and America. In summer 2024, he was a young artist for the Art of the Piano festival at San Francisco Conservatory, and returned to study at Sion Acad茅mie and festival in Switzerland. Pompilio has taught piano privately and for a school in Pavia, his hometown, and later in U.S. university as a teaching assistant. He has also been a sailing coach for kids and adults, loves photography and food, and is fluent in Italian (mother tongue), French and English.听
Warner Nu帽ez-Solano
Costa Rican pianist Warner N煤帽ez Solano has been recognized in competitions across Costa Rica, Colombia, Cuba, Lithuania and the United States, including first prize at the International Piano Competition La M煤sica del Siglo in Lithuania, the National Latin American Piano Competition in Costa Rica and the Texas Tech University Concerto Competition in 2024.
He has performed concertos by Mozart, Haydn, Saint-Sa毛ns and Liszt and collaborated with institutions such as the Compa帽铆a L铆rica Nacional de Costa Rica, Opera Amarillo and the Texas Tech Symphony Orchestra. His recording projects promote Latin American music, featuring works by composers including Andr茅s Soto, Doce Musas, ACAM nominee and Carlos Escalante, M煤sica para Piano Vol. 1. Recent appearances include the nationally broadcast tour 鈥淢elod铆as Florales鈥 and the Luis Felipe Arias Festival in Guatemala.
Committed to education, he has led workshops in Costa Rica, Panama and Guatemala and co-founded Virtuarte, an online music school. N煤帽ez studied with Federico Molina and Leonardo Gell at the University of Costa Rica, earned his master鈥檚 with Daniel del Pino at Texas Tech University and will begin his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the 抖阴传媒在线 in fall 2025 with Andrew Cooperstock.
Chirapa Wungkaom
A native of Thailand, Chirapa Wungkaom is establishing an exciting career as a classical performer and educator with the teaching philosophy 鈥渕usic can shine through the curiosity and creativity of the individual.鈥 As an active performer, Wungkaom was awarded the Silver Medal prize from the SET Youth Musicians Competition and the second prize winner of the Conrad Art Song Competition. As an educator, she was awarded Outstanding Teacher from both the Chicago International Music Competition and WPTA International Piano Competition in 2021. Among several master classes in Europe and the United States, Wungkaom has worked with Jacque Rouvier, Rolf Plagge, Rolf-Dieter Arens, Paul Barnes and Matthew Bengtson. In 2023, she appeared at Interlochen Art Academy as a teaching assistant in the piano department. A graduate of Bowling Green State University where she studied with Robert Satterlee, Wungkaom was enthusiastic to work with many talented young composers having performed new works while collaborating with chamber groups. She is currently pursuing a Doctoral of Musical Arts at the 抖阴传媒在线 under the guidance of Andrew Cooperstock.听
Gregory Worthley
Gregory Worthley is a doctoral student in piano performance at the 抖阴传媒在线. From 2022-2024, he was on the faculty at the New School for Music Study in Kingston, New Jersey, where he taught private and group lessons. Worthley is also the website coordinator for the Frances Clark Center, an organization devoted to piano teaching. He completed the Postgraduate Fellowship Program at the New School for Music study, and earned his MM in piano performance and pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma and his BM in piano performance from Evangel University. Outside of piano, Worthley enjoys hiking, cooking and spending time with his wife, Amica.听