Instructors

Dr. Narae Lee, a Korean-born pianist, began playing piano at the age of six and made her official debut just a year later at the Rising Young Stars Concert. Throughout her career, she has earned numerous awards and participated in prestigious competitions and festivals including the International Dallas Piano Competition, the International Young Artist Piano Competition, the Hilton Head International Piano Competition, and the World Piano Competition.

In 2009, she made her orchestral debut with the Seoul Philharmonic at their 18th Annual Concert held at the National Theater of Korea, following her first prize win at the Seoul Philharmonic Concerto Competition. She has also appeared as a soloist with the CCM Philharmonia, playing Maurice Ravel’s Left Hand Piano Concerto. Her artistic development has been improved through masterclasses with renowned pianists such as Vladimir Feltsman, Richard Goode, Andreas Haeflinger, Jerome Lowenthal, Robert McDonald, and Kevin Kenner.

Dr. Lee holds both her DMA and MM in Piano Performance from Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University. She earned her BM, cum laude, in Piano Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where she was a recipient of the Honors Scholarship and the William Black Award. Her principal teachers include Professors Boris Slutsky, and Awadagin Pratt.

Currently, Dr. Lee serves as Teaching Assistant Professor at the East Carolina University School of Music as well as holding the Principal Keyboard position under the Joan & Jeff Poet Chair at the York Symphony in Pennsylvania.

Yunling Zhang began to play the piano at the age of four and studied with Professor Wu Zi-Jie and Professor Yang Yun-Lin at the Primary and Middle Schools affiliated to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. In 2015, Yunling received full scholarship and began studies in the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University, under the tutelage of Professor Boris Slutsky. After receiving her BM degree, she continued her MM studies with Prof. Slutsky at the Yale School of Music, and is currently pursuing her Doctorate degree in Eastman School of Music, under the guidance of Professor Marina Lomazov at the Eastman School of Music.

​Yunling made her concerto debut in 2015, playing Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor with the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2019, she also performed Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 with the Peabody Symphony Orchestra. As a soloist, Yunling held recitals in China, Europe, Canada, and the US, appearing on stage in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Xiamen, Wuhan, Baltimore, Bydgoszcz, New Haven, Calgary, and other cities around the world.

Apart from being the First Prize winner of the Harrison L. Winter Concerto Competition, the First Prize winner of the 5th Hong Kong Asia Youth Piano Competition, the Second Prize winner of the Zhou Guangren Young Pianist Award, the Second Prize of the 5th Gu Lang Yu National Piano Competition, and the Mastroianni Award of the Amalfi Coast Music Festival, she is also an avid chamber music performer. Yunling and her Piano Trio “Alchemie” studied with Professor Yu Yin-Jia, and performed in various cities. She obtained First Prize in the 3rd Chamber Music Competition of Shanghai Conservatory of Music, First Prize in the Chamber Music Competition of the Morningside Music Bridge, Fifth Prize in the Alice & Eleanor Schoenfeld International String Competition (Chamber Division). Yunling also premiered “Snow Fragments” by composer Aaron Israel Levin as part of the New Music New Haven program, and was the recipient of the Sarah Stulman Zierler Award at Peabody Conservatory’s graduation ceremony. Yunling has received masterclasses from Gary Graffman, András Schiff, MurrayPerahia, Alexander Korsantia, John Perry, Vladimir Tropp, Fou Ts’ong, and Gabriel Kwok.

At Eastman, Yunling worked as a Graduate Assistant for accompanying, Instructor of secondary piano teaching, Instructor of class piano teaching, and studio assistant and instructor for the studio of Prof. Marina Lomazov. In August 2025, she joined and currently serves as collaborative staff pianist at the East Carolina University School of Music.