Academy Professors
Overview
The Faculty of the Alexander & Buono International Academy is second to none. Our roster of professors includes Steinway Artists, Juilliard, Princeton, Yale, and Mozarteum graduates, and a University Dean of Music Emeritus.
Our approach is one whereby music is viewed from a holistic standpoint allowing students to understand principles and techniques, and their relationship to all of their other studies. It is a method that has been responsible for immense progress on the part of everyone with whom we work.
Class sizes are kept small enough to provide the individualized attention needed to ensure the success of all our students.
Karen Beluso
Karen Beluso
Distinguished Professor
of Piano
Continuing a distinguished career as both a concert artist and music educator, this past September Karen Beluso was chosen as Business Development Lead, Northeast, for the Royal Conservatory of Music. Prior to this she served as Institutional Sales Manager of Steinway & Sons for the tri-state area for more than a decade.
No stranger to childhood celebrity, she made her orchestral debut at age twelve with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 in C. This led to an appearance with the Brentwood-Westwood Symphony that was followed by a Carnegie Hall debut with the New York Youth Symphony in a performance of Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 while still a teenager.
After her Carnegie debut, she began receiving invitations to perform from almost every corner of the globe: Costa Rica, the Philippines, Switzerland, Taiwan, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, Washington, D.C.—all of which led to even more accolades from critics and audiences alike.
Earning Bachelor’s of Music, Master’s of Music, and Doctorate of Musical Arts degrees from The Juilliard School, Dr. Beluso has expanded her career to include work in both Music Education and Arts Administration. She has been Department Head of Performing Arts at Portledge School in Locust Valley, NY, a faculty member at the C.W. Post Summer Chamber Music Festival, Director of Education and Community Engagement for the Long Island Philharmonic, and currently serves as a Distinguished Professor of Piano with the Alexander & Buono International Academy.
Timothy Blair
Timothy Blair
Distinguished Professor
of Piano
Dean and Professor Emeritus Timothy Blair previously served for 30 years in higher education, including 20 years at West Chester University (WCU) as dean of the School of Music, then as founding dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts, and founding dean of the College of Arts and Humanities.
The many notable accomplishments under his watch as Dean include the School of Music becoming a prestigious All-Steinway School, an Apple Authorized Training Center for Education, the Samuel Barber Summer Institute for Music Educators, the Brandywine International Piano Institute, numerous Kennedy Center national awards for WCU Theatre & Dance, international initiatives by the WCU Art Program, an educational partnership with The Philadelphia Orchestra, WCU artist faculty recitals at Steinway and Carnegie Halls in New York, and concerts by School of Music student ensembles and faculty at Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.
Dean Blair also provided extensive donor cultivation leadership and international initiatives that include artistic and educational partnerships with the Xi’an Conservatory and the Foshan Liu Shi-Kun Music and Art School, China; and the University of Ulsan in South Korea.
A Steinway Artist, Dr. Blair performs internationally and serves as a visiting clinician and adjudicator. He is a member of numerous professional organizations and boards, in addition to being a National Association of Schools of Music accreditation evaluator.
Dr. Blair is Chair of the Music Teachers National Association Committee for Advancement and Development and has served on the Board of Visitors of the New England Conservatory of Music. He also provided WCU accreditation leadership that resulted in national accreditation being granted to all programs within the College of Visual and Performing Arts, an historic first for WCU.
Dean Blair has been recognized with citations for his outstanding leadership in the arts and education from the House and Senate of Pennsylvania, U.S. Senator Robert P. Casey, and the Chinese Government.
Pei-Wen Liao
Pei-Wen Liao
Professor of Violin
PEI-WEN LIAO
Already boasting sold-out Carnegie Hall recitals and selection as an honoree in the 2018 Mandarin Leader Magazine, violinist Pei-Wen Liao continues to be known as a “compelling” and “deeply passionate” artist. The 2020 First Prize Winner of the Alexander & Buono International String Competition, she has demonstrated exceptional abilities as both performer and teacher, which led Academy Co-Chairman Cosmo Buono to invite her to spearhead the Violin Department of the Academy as well as its Pre-College Division.
Having performed in ten countries across four continents, Ms. Liao has appeared as a guest artist in Vienna with The Global Orchestra; at New York’s Alice Tully Hall with the World Civic Orchestra; recitals in Jerusalem; sold-out solo recitals at the Taiwan National Concert Hall; and performances for the President of Honduras; at the United Nations; and Capitol Hill in the United States.
An advocate for cultural citizenship and interdisciplinary collaborations, Ms. Liao is a firm believer in music taking an active leadership role in its potential to effect changes in the world.
A graduate of the Yale School of Music with Hyo Kang, she is also a graduate of The Juilliard School in the studio of Joel Smirnoff. She has also worked with Stephen Clapp, Cho-Liang Lin, Lara Lev, Daniel Phillips, and Ann Setzer.
Fees & Registration
For information on fees and registration, please contact us.