The Adjudicators
Mihyun Lee
Dr.Mihyun Lee performed as a piano soloist and chamber musician at various venues in Italy, Czech Republic, South Korea, and the United States (Ohio, New York, Washington, D.C, and California). She has performed with the Russia Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Vienna CMS Orchestra, Romania Oltenia Craiova Philharmonic Orchestra, Janacek Chamber Orchestra, and Sae-Jong Symphony Orchestra. Her outstanding performance was broadcasted on the Classical 101 and WOSU TV in Ohio, and she made her debut at Carnegie Weill Recital Hall and the Kennedy Center as a winner of International Piano Competitions.
She holds degrees in piano performance from Sook-Myung Women’s University (BM). Cleveland Institute of Music (MM) and The Ohio State University (DMA), where she received a scholarship and worked as a graduate teaching assistant.
As an educator, she has taught both in-person and online classes to students, and has hosted a piano summer festival in California for students learning virtually since 2020. She was one of the adjudicators for the World Piano Teachers Association USA-Missouri Amateur Competition. She has served as a piano faculty at Sook-Myung Women’s University, Baek-Seok Arts University, Hobart.
Lok Ng
Pianist Lok Ng was born in Beijing, China, where she began her piano studies at a very young age. By age 11 she was studying under Zhau Ping-Guo at the Central Conservatory of Beijing, the most prestigious music school in China. As a teenager, she moved to Hong Kong and continued her piano studies with Gabriel Kwok at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.
Lok immigrated to the United States in 1992 and earned both her undergraduate and graduate degrees in piano at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, followed by her D.M.A. in piano performance at the University of North Texas, where she studied with Joseph Banowetz. Finally, Lok earned a post-doctorate Professional Studies Certificate in piano at Manhattan School of Music, studying under Zenon Fishbein.
Throughout her career, Lok has been a prizewinner at several piano competitions, including second place at the Liszt-Garrison International Piano Competition, finalist at the American Prize competition, first place at the MTNA Young Artist piano competition in Nevada, and first place on two occasions at the UNLV concerto competition. She has also participated in master classes with many world-renowned pianists, including Vladimir Feltsman, Earl Wild, Nelita True, Vladimir Shakin, Janice Weber, Peter Nagy, Jerome Rose, and Douglas Humpherys.
As a performer, Lok has played in prestigious venues in both the United States and China, and she has given guest artist recitals at music programs around the country. In 2008, she was the conference artist for the New York State MTA annual conference held at SUNY New Paltz, NY, and in the summer of 2010, Lok performed at the HongKong Academy for Performing Arts’ 25th anniversary, a concert titled “The Academy’sBest Pianists,” given at Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall. Additionally, Lok is a busyadjudicator at piano competitions around the United States, serving on the piano juriesof the STMTA (Southern Tier Music Teachers’ Association) competition at BinghamtonUniversity; the MTNA Young Artist Piano Competition; the NYSMTA Heddy KilianCompetition; the Frederic Chopin Piano Competition in Latham, NY; as well asnumerous competitions and auditions sponsored by piano teachers’ organizations inMissouri, Iowa and Illinois. Lok has also taught piano at Skidmore College, the Collegeof Saint Rose, and Union College, all in New York; and in Missouri she is currently anAssistant Professor of Music in Piano at Truman State University.
Garik Pedersen
Garik Pedersen, a Steinway Artist, is enjoying a rewarding “post-academic” career as a teacher, performer, and researcher in St. Louis, Missouri. His new recording of solo and chamber works for piano by British composer Sasha Johnson Manning will be released in 2025. He was featured in a May, 2024 television documentary on The Victory Vertical Project, his touring lecture-performance that tells the musical story of small pianos built for the military during World War II (Fox Nation, Secret History of WWII, season 3).
His performance career has taken him throughout the US and to Europe, Asia, Canada, Central America, and the Philippines. He has presented programs for the State Department, the National Federation of Music Clubs, and professional music teacher associations in the US, Europe, Canada, and Taiwan. His recordings can be found on the Albany, Regent, and Hornblower labels and he has performed on numerous public television and radio broadcasts.
Pedersen taught for over 30 years at Eastern Michigan University, which granted him emeritus status in 2021. At EMU his piano studio included prizewinners in national, international, regional and state competitions. Since moving to St. Louis, he has had a finalist (2023) and a winner (2024) in the St. Louis Teen Talent Competition at the Fox Theatre.
A scholarship student of Wesley True at the University of Central Missouri, which named him Distinguished Alumnus in Music, he was a DMA piano student of John Simms at the University of Iowa. Other major influences have been Gyorgy Sebok, Eugene Bossart, and Edwin E. Gordon.
Garik is a past president of Michigan Music Teachers Association, which honored him with its Distinguished Service Award in 2016. He received the Michigan Touchstone Award in 2017 in recognition of his “commitment to Michigan’s artistic excellence and his advocacy for the arts.”
For more information about The Victory Vertical Project: victoryvertical.com.