-
Keyboard Faculty
Xun Pan, Department Chair
Piano b. Tianjin, China
B.A., Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing
M.M., Syracuse University
D.M.A., Rutgers UniversityWinner of numerous international piano competitions, Dr. Pan has presented highly acclaimed solo performances worldwide from Carnegie Hall to China's Beijing Concert Hall. He is also a noted chamber musician performing as pianist of the Newstead Trio, a resident trio of the Pennsylvania Academy of Music, which records on the Prince Label. Dr. Pan has been served as a judge in several piano competitions includes "Frinna Awerbuch" International Piano Competition in New York and International Piano Competition Theodor Leschetizky in Taiwan. Dr. Pan has been a faculty member of the Pennsylvania Academy of Music since 1994, and a visiting professor of China Conservatory of Music in Beijing.
John Couch
Piano
b. Mt. Forest, Ontario, Canada
Artist Diploma, University of Toronto School of Music
M.M., Indiana University
D.M.A., Catholic University of AmericaJohn Couch served on the faculty of Bloomsberg University and has presented master classes at Pennsylvania State University, Bucknell University, West Chester University and Mansfield University. His extensive performance experience includes solo, chamber and orchestral appearances in Virginia, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., as well as recording projects, which have aired on PBS. As a lecturer, Dr. Couch has presented several pedagogical and performance related articles in addition to classroom instruction in music history, music theory, ear-training and counterpoint. Dr. Couch joined the faculty at the Pennsylvania Academy of Music in 2001.
Jody Norton
Piano, Accompanist
b. Lancaster, Pennsylvania
B.M. Manhattan School of Music
M.A. Hunter CollegeJody Norton, piano, studied at the Peabody Institute, the Manhattan School of Music and Hunter College of the City University of New York. She studied under the mentorship of the distinguished pianist, Sonia Vargas. A native of Lancaster, Ms. Norton has held recitals in the United States and the Dominican Republic, has been involved as an accompanist for musical theater in New York City, and has served as an instrumental accompanist at the Diller-Quaile School of Music in New York City. Ms. Norton was also accompanist at the Manhattan School of Music Prep Division and taught at the Bloomingdale House of Music in New York City from 1992-1995. Ms. Norton also serves as the accompanist for the Academy's Children's Choir. She joined the faculty of the Pennsylvania Academy of Music in 1995.
Yanni (loannis) Potamousis
Piano
DMA, Rutgers University
Yanni (Ioannis) Potamousis, piano, began his studies in Cologne, Germany, and later received his DMA from Rutgers University. For the past four years he has been an adjunct professor of music at New Jersey City University, a piano instructor at the Hudson Valley Academy of Music, and a member of the piano faculty at the Garden State Music Festival in New Jersey. Mr. Potamousis has received numerous honors and awards including first prize at the International Piano Competition in Sante Fe, New Mexico, and a silver medal at the World Piano Competition in Cincinnati. In addition to an extensive resume of solo performances that have taken him to Europe, the Middle East and North America, Mr. Potamousis has performed with ensembles such as the Athens State Orchestra, Alstadt Philharmonic of Cologne, and the New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra of New York.
Frances Veri
Piano, Duo-Piano b. Lancaster, Pennsylvania
B.S., The Juilliard School
M.S., The Juilliard SchoolAt Juilliard, pianist Frances Veri won first prize in the Mozart Concerto Competition. After earning her master's degree and teaching at the Hartt College of Music, she pursued further study at the Fontainebleau American School for the Arts in France. As duo-pianists in Veri & Jamanis, she and her husband made their Lincoln Center debut in 1970. That was followed by an active career in touring internationally under Columbia Artist Management, recording with Philips, EMI and Connoisseur and varied television and radio work, featuring especially the works of George Gershwin. Veri & Jamanis received special commendation from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for excellence in cultural programming for the PBS special, "Carnival of the Animals." Frances Veri composed and recorded the soundtrack for a further PBS special, "Like the Wind." She and her husband founded the Pennsylvania Academy of Music with community support in 1989. She has been a faculty member and the Dean of the Academy since then.
Irina Shmeleva
Piano b. Russia
M.M., St. Petersburg Conservatory in St. Petersburg, Russia
Irina Shmeleva, piano, is a native of Russia. Having studied music education, piano performance, and piano accompaniment, she ultimately earned her Master of Music in Chamber Ensemble from the St. Petersburg Conservatory in St. Petersburg, Russia. For twenty years she was a piano accompanist and music instructor at the Sviridov School of the Arts in St. Petersburg, during which time she toured Great Britain and the United States with students and choirs from the school. Ms. Shmeleva has over twenty years experience in music education.
Mark Huber
Jazz piano
b. Lancaster, Pennsylvania
B.M., Magna Cum Laude, Westminster College (New Wilmington, PA)Jazz pianist Mark Huber is a Lancaster native who started his career in classical piano, winning the Westminster College's concert competition while a student and performing the Mendelssohn G Minor Concerto as a result. He has collaborated with many top jazz artists in the mid-Atlantic region and has been a jazz soloist with the Lancaster and Delaware Symphony Orchestras. He has performed at the Mellon, Rehoboth Beach, Berks and Downtown Lancaster jazz festivals and has done extensive research into the "Great American Songbook," making him in constant demand with jazz vocalists for his ability to interpret standards. Mr. Huber's style and technical facility is a result of a fusion of influences – a blending of his familiarity with so-called classical composers such as Bach and Chopin with years of "on-the-job training" as a pianist for instrumentalists and vocalists. Mr. Huber has 25 years of private teaching experience and is the staff pianist at the American Music Theatre.
Simon Andrews
Harpsichord
b. Croydon, England
B.A. Christ Church, Oxford, England
B.Mus. in composition, Christ Church, Oxford
M.A. Christ Church, Oxford, England
Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley>Educated at Chichester Cathedral Choir School, and Christ Church, Oxford, Simon Andrews pursued composition and piano accompaniment studies at the Royal Academy of Music. Winner of the 1985 Benjamin Britten Composition Prize, Dr. Andrews's compositions have been performed throughout the United States and England, France, China and Zambia and broadcast on BBC Radio. In addition to his composition activities, Dr. Andrews has been active as a conductor of opera on both coasts, Music Director of the Harrisburg Choral Society, and involved in education as assistant professor of music and director of choral ensembles at Franklin & Marshall College. He joined the faculty of the Pennsylvania Academy of Music in 2001.
Ju-Ping Song
Piano
Ph.D., New York University
Ju-Ping Song, piano, holds a Ph.D. from New York University and has previously been on faculty at Hunter College in New York City. She has performed solo, ensemble, and orchestral works in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Ms. Song is frequently invited to participate in music festivals and workshops around the world, most notably the Darmstadt Contemporary Music Workshop, the Bogotá New Music Festival, the Tanglewood Music Center, and the Florence Youth Orchestra Festival in Italy. She has recently been on staff for the Young People’s Chorus of New York City.
