2020/21 university of utah teaching project: beethoven 32 piano sonatas

Dr. Vedrana Subotic teaches undergraduate and graduate students in the piano performance program at the University of Utah. Since joining the faculty at the school of music, she has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in career development, accompanying, chamber music, keyboard skills, piano pedagogy, and piano literature.  Dr. Subotic's piano students learn their craft by studying and understanding the artistry of both the old-world piano legends and the younger generations of globally inspired keyboard virtuosos.

Every year Dr. Subotic presents the annual STUDIO PERFORMANCE PROJECT - an intensive study and performance of a specific body of piano repertoire. The 2020-21 project of presenting the complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas commenced on September 5, 2020, and will conclude on April 24, 2021. The past projects include studio performance of complete Debussy Preludes in  April of 2019 and complete Chopin Etudes Op.10 and Op.25 in April of 2020.

Committed to excellence in pre-college education, Dr. Subotic believes that children should be taught on the highest level from a young age.  Dr. Subotic's pre-college students study different schools of piano technique and sound production, while also learning music theory and history, performance practice, and chamber music collaboration, through her uniquely designed and applied music education program. She maintains a small pre-college studio of gifted young pianists, and enjoys spending time mentoring and guiding their musical lives.

MUSICIANS TOOLKIT: Piano Fundamentals Series
Committed to teacher development and to championing music education in grades K-12, Dr. Subotic recorded  80 video lessons for the online music education company, Musicians Toolkit (www.musicianstoolkit.com)
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Dr. Subotic's pre-college and college students have won numerous honors, awards and competitions, and have been admitted to music programs at such schools as Yale, Harvard, Indiana, and Rice Universities, University of Michigan, and the Mozarteum Academy in Salzburg, Austria.  Dr. Subotic's students have performed in numerous concert halls including the Carnegie Hall in NY.

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2020 UNIVERSITY OF UTAH STUDIO 

UNDERGRADUATE (BACHELOR OF MUSIC)
CALEB SPJUTE
MATT SIMMONS
RACHEL SMITH
NICOLE NOWERS
SUZANNAH ROSE
JERRY LI
IAN WAGMAN
BERNARD LI
ALAN CHAVEZ
ALLISON BURTON
SHANTEL CHEN
AMY BUCHANAN

GRADUATE (MASTER OF MUSIC)
AMY BACH

GRADUATE ( DOCTOR OF MUSIC)
BRYCE PATTERSON 
CLAIRE TUELLER THUESON
CARMEN HALL
ALEXIS BOSKOVICH
 

CURRENT STUDENT BIOSKETCHES

CLAIRE TUELLER THUESON
            Claire Tueller Thueson is currently a doctoral student in Piano Performance at the University of Utah, studying with Dr. Vedrana Subotic. In May of 2017 she graduated from the prestigious Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California with a Master's degree in Piano Performance. She received her Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from BYU-Idaho in April 2015.  She won the Northwest title in Young Artist Piano in 2015, and competed at the national level of the MTNA Young Artists’ Competition.  A frequent winner of local, regional and state piano awards, she won state titles at the Idaho Music Teacher’s Association Piano Competition for Young Artist Piano in 2013 and 2014 and Senior Piano in 2009.  She won the student concerto festival at BYU-Idaho and performed with the Symphony in February 2012. She performed Ravel Piano Concerto #2 with the Idaho Falls Symphony after winning their Young Artists’ Competition in 2010. Former piano teachers include Mr. Jeffrey Kahane, Professor Norman Krieger, Dr. Stephen Thomas, Professor Gary Amano, Cheryl Hansen, and Joan McGann. She has performed in master classes with Barry Douglas, Alpin Hong, Stephen Beus and Arthur Greene, and was accepted to the Aspen Music Festival and School as a student of Anton Nel during the summer 2014 session. Also active as a chamber musician and collaborator, she was a featured performer on the inaugural Evening of Chamber Music with the Idaho Falls Symphony in January 2017. As a collaborative pianist, she has worked with students of Rod Gilfry, Martin Chalifour, and Kristine Ciesinski. Ms. Thueson currently resides in Salt Lake City with her husband, a dental student

​CARMEN HALL
              Carmen Hall, NCTM is currently a Doctoral Student at the University of Utah, studying with Dr. Vedrana Subotic.  She has a Masters Degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from Brigham Young University where she studied with Paul Pollei, founder of the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition.  She teaches in American Fork, Utah.  Her students have become piano majors, some receiving full music tuition scholarships at a university level.  Others have presented recitals on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, and received honors and awards in festivals and competitions at state and local levels. Carmen most recently participated in SummerArts at the University of Utah and won 1st place in Video Teaching and 1st place in Collaborative Piano.  She also won first place in the Utah International Youth Piano Competition (Adult Division).  She has performed with the Timpanogos Symphony Orchestra as winner of their Concerto Competition, Adult Division. She founded Young Pianists International in 1996 with the goal of sharing cultural experiences and performance opportunities with other music students throughout the world.  The group has travelled to China (1996, 1997), Japan (1997, 2014), Mexico (1998) and Oregon (2002, 2009, 2016) and Washington DC (2018).  Carmen is a permanently certified member of Music Teachers’ National Association and also a member of Encore Music Teachers Organization in Utah Valley where she serves as the Theory and Ear Training Evaluation Chair. She loves playing chamber music and is currently working on her first doctoral recital with two piano trios.  She is a past member of the Gaia Piano Quartet. Carmen and her husband have 3 adult boys.  They play the piano, banjo, guitar, ukulele, organ, nose flute, soccer and basketball.  She completed the Boston Marathon in 2016.

ALEXIS BOSKOVICH
              Alexis Boskovich has received her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in Piano Performance from the University of Utah, where she is currently working on her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance with Harp Performance as her related field.  Her piano teachers have included Ruth Barnes, Dr. Bonnie Gritton, and Dr. Vedrana Subotić.  Her harp teachers have included Cate Todd, Sarah Thomson, and Dr. Cathryn Clayton.  During her undergraduate years, she played the harp with the University Philharmonia, under the direction of Dr. Barlow Bradford and Dr. David Cole.  She has performed as a member of the Crimson Harps Ensemble.  Alexis is an active performer and accompanist in the community.  She has played the piano for productions of Seussical the Musical, Footloose, and Shrek.  Alexis has played the piano and harp with many groups, including the Sterling Singers, the West Valley Symphony, the Salt Lake Symphony, and is a current member of the Wasatch Community Symphony Orchestra and the Utah Philharmonic Orchestra.  Alexis taught piano for the Youth Enrichment Foundation at Glendale Middle School for four years, and helped to establish the program at East High School.  She has maintained a private piano and harp studio since her junior year of high school, except while serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Rome, Italy.  Alexis also has a Master of Arts degree in Educational Studies from the University of Phoenix.  Alexis has a LinkedIn profile.  She can be found on YouTube, too.  ​

​UNIVERSITYOF UTAH STUDIO ALUMNI
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UBEENG KUEQ (BM)
RUBY HALL (BM)
NATALIE ARCILESI (BM)
KRSITIANNA WRIGHT CALLAHAN (BM)
AMY BACH (BM)
​JESSICA LEE (BM)
TONG LIU (MM)
MIKA FUJITA (MM)
​ELIZABETH JARDINE CONDE (MM)
ALXIS BOSKOVICH (BM AND MM)
RYAN BEHAN (MM)
LINDSEY KERR (MM)
SASHA BAINSON (MM)
JANALYN HOLMAN (MM)
BARBARA GILL (MM)
KIMBERLY BAKER (MM)
​NATHAN JOHNSON (MM)
DESIREE GONZALES (DMA)
CHRISTIE SOWBY (DMA)
JELENA CINGARA (DMA)
GALINA DIVEEVA (DMA)

​ALUMNI BIOSKETCHES

TONG LIU (MM, 2020)
           Tong Liu started learning piano when she was eight years old. She studied with Tong Bo, professor at Central Conservatory of Music in China. She graduated from Brigham-Young University, Idaho where she studied with Dr. Stephen Thomas. Tong is currently studying at the University of Utah and pursuing her Master’s Degree with Dr. Vedrana Subotic. Before studying at BYUI, she spent two years at California State University, Stanislaus and studied with Dr. Benjamin Boren. Tong Liu has appeared as either a soloist or accompanist world-wide. Most recent performances include North Carolina, California, Idaho, Las Vegas, and Utah in United States; along with Luxembourg in Europe and major cities in China. She was also an active pianist when she was in school; participating in different chamber groups, accompanied all instrument and vocal types, and frequently gave solo concerts throughout the year. As a musician of Brevard Music Center Festival, Edward Auer summer workshop, and Vianden Music Festival; she had a chance to study with Craig Nies, Edward Auer, Junghwa Moon Auer, Nicolas Roth, Yoshi Akimoto, and Anthony Padilla.  She has performed well in piano competitions including Musicians West Piano Competition and Idaho Federation of Music Competition. Tong was also the winner of the concerto competition at BYUI, where she performed Schumann A minor piano concerto with the BYUI orchestra.

MIKA FUJITA (MM 2019)
            Mika Fujita, from Uwajima, Japan, graduated from the Kawai Music Academy in 1984 and has more than 25 years of experience as a piano teacher in both Japan and the USA. She was a member of the Music Teacher’s National Association and served as Co-Chair for the Florida State Music Teacher’s Association from 2008-09. As a collaborative pianist, she performed at The Villages in Ocala, Florida, the Phillips Collection in Wash. D.C., the International Physics Conference in Morelouse, Mexico, the Baughman Center in Gainesville, Florida, and at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City. She also accompanied the Suzuki students in Gainesville, Florida, for 8 years for her daughter’s violin teacher’s studio. She was a member of the Turquoise Trio and has also performed in various ensembles including the Early Music Ensemble and New Music Ensemble at the University of Utah. Mika is currently completing her Master’s in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Utah where she has also received her Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance in 2016. In the fall of 2013, Mika received the Gerald B.Tracy Memorial Piano Endowment from the School of Music at the University of Utah, where she also obtained a Music Scholarship Award. She has studied under the instruction of Dr. Heather Connor, Dr. Caleb Harris and is currently a student of Dr. Vedrana Subotic. She played in master classes led by Dmitry Rachmanov, Paulina Zamora, Chris Guzman, and Geoffrey Burleson, and attended the InterHarmony Music Festival in Italy in 2017. After she completes her master’s degree, Mika will return to teaching where she will apply the skills and knowledge she has gained through her experiences at the university. She is also a mother of three children. 

KRISTIANNA WRIGHT CALLAHAN (BM, 2019)
           Kristianna Wright (Callahan) is a senior pursuing a Bachelors of Music in Piano Performance at the University of Utah. She has studied under the direction of Dr. Vedrana Subotic since 2016. Recently, she has won the 3rd prize in the Best Composers: Liszt International Piano Competition performing Un Sospiro. She has also won the 4th prize in the Summer Arts Piano Competition, and performed Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23, 1st Movement with the Salt Lake City Symphony. She looks forward to her Senior Recital this spring, in which she will be performing Sonata No. 1 by Alberto Ginastera, among other repertoire. She currently teaches a studio of 11 students. When she’s not practicing, Kristianna enjoys hiking, yoga, paddle boarding, traveling, and going on adventures. ​

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