Young Artists Concerto Competition for 2010 Judges Biographies

Dr. Stephanie Bruning , an Iowa native, holds degrees in Piano Pedagogy and Performance from Drake University and University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music. Dr. Bruning has performed extensively as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the Unites States and Holland. In demand as an instructor and adjudicator, she conducts master classes throughout the country and has adjudicated numerous competitions including the 2008 Elizabeth R. Davis Piano Competition and the 2007 International Young Artists Piano Competition in Washington, DC. Dr. Bruning’s area of expertise is Native-American-influenced music from the early Twentieth Century. She frequently performs and lectures on the subject at venues such as The State Department and the 2007 College Music Society National Conference in Salt Lake City, UT. In November 2009 Ludwig Masters published the first in a series of piano books compiled and edited by Dr. Bruning entitled The Indian Character Piece: Native-American Influenced from the Early Twentieth Century. Additionally, she maintains an interest in helping students address issues of performance anxiety. Currently, Dr. Bruning is Assistant Professor of Piano at Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD. She has also been on the faculty of Shepherd University, Anne Arundel Community College, and Trinity University. Dr. Bruning is an active member of the Music Teacher’s National Association (MTNA), the Music Teachers’ Association of Greater Baltimore (MTAGB), and the College Music Society (CMS). Chiu-Tze Lin, Music Director and Conductor of the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra, is a versatile and multifaceted musician - conductor, pianist, and teacher. Ms. Lin served as the music director and conductor of the Manalapan Battleground Symphony for seven years. Under her baton, the symphony received the 2004 Victor Grossinger Award for Innovative Programming. Chiu-Tze Lin started conducting at the age of eleven. Her past experience includes conducting the AT&T Bell Labs Sinfonia in Holmdel and the Woodland Ensemble. As the music director of the Princeton Presbyterian Church, she had developed a program that included a chamber orchestra which performed weekly. She has also directed choirs and orchestras in major oratorios in the Greater Princeton area. Ms. Lin was selected as a “Hottest Artist in New Jersey” in 2001 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 second CD featuring works of J. S. Bach for solo piano has been described by New York Concert Review magazine 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 the director and a faculty member of the 2004 Beijing Music Festival, the first international summer music festival sponsored by the Chinese Ministry of Culture for international exchange. She is the music director of the Northeastern American Arts Troupe for the cultural exchange performances in the summer of 2007 and 2009. The group performed in Shanghai Grand Theatre and the Oriental Arts Centre. Ms. Lin conducted the Shanghai Musicians Chamber Orchestra at the Sino-American Cultural Exchange concert in the prestigious Shanghai Grand Theatre. It was broadcast on CCTV-9, the Chinese Central Television English Channel, which transmitted the program across China and around the world. Ms. Lin will be teaching at the American Strings Teachers Association Chamber Music Institute (ASTA/CMI) at the Kean University this summer. Daphne Su, The newly appointed concertmaster of the Bravura Philharmonic Orchestra, violinist Daphne Su received her Masters of Music Performance as an Irene Diamond Scholarship recipient at the Juilliard School, under the tutelage of Masao Kawasaki. She was a full scholarship recipient at the University of Michigan, where she received her Bachelor of Music with a minor in Economics. Ms. Su performed the Brahms Violin Concerto with the University Symphony Orchestra at Ann Arbor’s Hill Auditorium, Michigan, where she was the winner of the concerto competition. She also served as the concertmaster of the University Symphony Orchestra in Michigan, as well as the assistant concertmaster of the Juilliard Orchestra. She has attended summer music festivals including Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS), the Music Academy of the West, Chautauqua Institution’s Music Festival, Pacific Music Festival, and Tanglewood Music Center. She has worked under world-renowned conductors including James Levine, Valery Gergiev, Riccardo Muti, and Oliver Knussen. She currently resides in New York City, and has an active teaching studio in New Jersey.

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