 A champion of innovative music, Robert Franz conducted the ASCAP award winning new music concert series of The Louisville Orchestra and has been a co-host of “In a Different Key,” a weekly contemporary music radio program on WUOL. He is also a strong advocate of arts education and created a music education program for Kentucky Educational Television entitled, “Creating Music and Stories.” Mr. Franz is the Resident Conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Music Director of the Mansfield Ohio Symphony Orchestra, and has conducted other orchestras throughout the nation. As an oboist, he participated in the NEA/CMA Rural Residency Chamber Music Initiative and held the English Horn position with the Winston-Salem Piedmont Triad Symphony. In addition, Mr. Franz has participated in Children's Center and Enrichment Center chamber music residencies designed to provide arts enrichment experiences for people with disabilities. Robert Franz received his Master of Music degree in conducting from the North Carolina School of the Arts in 1992 and his Bachelor of Music degree in oboe performance in 1990 from that same institution. He has participated in conducting workshops in the Czech Republic, St. Petersburg, Nashville, the Festival at Sandpoint, Idaho, and the 1997 National Conductor Preview sponsored by the American Symphony Orchestra League.  At age seven, Chu-Fang Huang began studying the piano and by age 12, received a full scholarship to the Shenyang Music Conservatory’s pre-college division. She made her U.S. recital debut in the La Jolla Music Society’s Prodigy Series. At 23, Chu-Fang Huang captured the attention of the musical world when she became the first Chinese pianist to win first prize at the prestigious Cleveland International Piano Competition in August 2005. Ms. Huang’s Lincoln Center debut was in November 2005. She has given recitals in New York, Chicago, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Fort Worth, and Palm Beach. Her European engagements include the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Klavier Festival in Germany. She has also performed at the Sydney Opera House in Australia, and the Beijing Zhong-shang Concert Hall and Liao-ning Grand Opera House in China. Memories, her first recorded CD for the Naxos label, features Chopin, Ravel, Haydn and Prokofiev. Chu-Fang Huang received her Bachelor of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music, and her Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School. She is currently pursuing postgraduate studies at Juilliard. |
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