Don Liuzzi joined the Philadelphia Orchestra as principal timpanist in 1989. Previously, Mr. Liuzzi served seven years as a section percussionist in the Pittsburgh Symphony.  He has taught percussion and chamber music at Duquesne University, Manhattan School of Music, Rowan University, and for the past 16 years, at the Curtis Institute of Music.  He has presented masterclasses and coachings throughout Asia, South America, Europe, as well as the United States.  He has taught regularly at New World, Pacific Music Festival, National Orchestral Institute, Canton International Summer Music Academy, and the newly formed Lindenbaum Music Festival in Seoul, Korea.  Mr. Liuzzi is active in educational electronic media, serving as the coordinating producer for the film Music From the Inside Out and performing solos on Mr. Rogers Neighborhood.  His new CD Movement In Time is due out in the Spring of 2011 on the Equilibrium label.  He also performs regularly with the DePue Brothers Band, whose new CD Weapons of Grass Construction, was released in the Winter of 2010.

Hugh Sung
Piano Soloist
Collaborative Pianist, Curtis Institute of Music
Click for information on the PIMF Piano Studies Program

Pianist Hugh Sung has been an active soloist and chamber musician ever since his debut with The Philadelphia Orchestra at the age of 11. Two years later, he was accepted for studies at The Curtis Institute of Music, where his principal teachers included Eleanor Sokoloff, Jorge Bolet, and Seymour Lipkin, along with Karen Tuttle and Felix Galimir for chamber music. Throughout his studies and subsequent to graduating with a Bachelor of Music, Sung has performed in major cities throughout the Americas, England, Canada, South Africa, Japan, and Korea. Mr. Sung has been presented at some of the world's most prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall, Weill Hall, Wigmore Hall, The National Gallery of Art, and The Ravinia Festival. He has made several guest appearances at radio stations throughout New York City, Rochester, Philadelphia, and New Zealand, and was featured on NPR's nationally syndicated "Performance Today" performing works by Clementi, Ravel, and Mussorgksy. His concerto engagements have included performances with the Concerto Soloists Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, annual appearances with the Masterworks Festival Orchestras since 1998, and extensive tours with the South Jersey Symphony Orchestra. Most recently, he was presented on Japanese National Television NHK in collaboration with violinist Aaron Rosand during a recital in the esteemed Ouji Hall in the Ginza district of Tokyo.

Pianist SVETLANA SMOLINA, born in Nizhny-Novgorod, Russia, has performed with orchestras and in recitals worldwide.  Some recent notable solo appearances with orchestras include Mariinsky Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall, New York Philharmonic at Avery Fischer, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Orchestra National de France, Odessa and Nizhny Novgorod Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Toledo Symphony, Florida Philharmonic, Shreveport Symphony, New York Chamber and many other ensembles.

A frequent guest at festivals worldwide, Ms. Smolina has performed at the Salzburg Festival, Hollywood Bowl Festival in Los Angeles, Ravinia Rising Stars Festival in Chicago, White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg , Maggio Musicale in Florence, Mikkeli Festival, Ruhr Festival, Easter Festival in Moscow, Rotterdam Phillips Gergiev Festival in Holland, International Gilmore Keyboard Festival, Settimane Musicali di Stresa, Festivale di Bologna, Michelangeli Festival in Brescia, Hennessy Artists Series at Hanoi Opera House, Vietnam, festivals in Greece, Philadelphia  International Festival, and many others.

As recitalist she performed in prestigious halls such as Royal Covent Garden Opera, Mariinsky 3 Concert Hall, Tchaikovsky Moscow Conservatory Hall,  Kravis Center in West Palm Beach, Lincoln Theater in Miami, NJPAC Hall in New Jersey, Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, Grand Artists Series in Tel-Aviv,  Academia Santa Cecilia in Rome,  Vienna’s Sacher Hall, and many others.

Recent recordings and broadcasts  include Stravinsky’s Les Noces (Valery Gergiev, conductor; Decca/Phillips), a recording of solo `works for the Chopin Project, a recital with violinist Vadim Repin for Deutsche Grammophone in Berlin and many broadcasts for NPR, BBC, WNYC, PBS, RAI, Cultura TV and other networks.

Dr. Smolina is DMA graduate from the University of Michigan, a recipient of “ New Names” Scholarship program in Russia  and  has been a prizewinner  of many international competitions, including Citta di Senigalia International Piano Competition (Italy), Kingsville International Piano Competition, Wideman Piano Competition and the Murray Dranoff International Duo Piano Competition in Miami, Florida. Svetlana‘s principal teachers include Alexander Toradze, Arthur Greene, Evgeny Mogilevsky, Monique Duphil. In the summer of 2011 Svetlana will join iPalpiti Festival of International Laureates in Los Angeles, making her debut at Walt Disney Concert Hall with iPalpiti Orchestra (Eduard Schmieder, conductor) and in solo and chamber concerts,  and  work as  piano faculty on Philadelphia International Music Festival (PIMF) and as collaborative faculty at Mozarteum Summer Academy.work as collaborative faculty at Mozarteum Summer Academy.