Professor, and Chair, Keyboard Performance
Santiago Rodriguez is professor of keyboard performance and chair of the Department of Keyboard Performance at the University of Miami Frost School of Music. Mr. Rodriguez made his Carnegie Hall debut under the baton of Dennis Russell Davis. His international career was launched in 1981 when he won the Silver Medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition; he also received a special prize for the best performance of Leonard Bernstein’s Touches, a work commissioned for the competition. Mr. Rodriguez’ unique life and artistry were profiled on CBS Sunday Morning with Charles Kurault in 1993. One of today’s foremost interpreters of the music of Sergei Rachmaninov, Santiago Rodriguez has performed all of the composer’s major piano works in concert. He is currently recording The Rachmaninov Edition, which, when completed, will encompass the entire catalog of Rachmaninov’s original solo piano compositions. Mr. Rodriguez has recorded numerous world premieres, including Piano Concerto No. 1 by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco; the Concertino for piano, strings, and cymbals of Carlos Surinach; and the Piano Sonata No. 2 of Alberto Ginastera, which was premiered by Mr. Rodriguez at Alice Tully Hall in New York. Santiago Rodriguez also enjoys a distinguished reputation as a teacher and master-clinician. Since 1980, he was a member of the Piano Division at the University of Maryland where he held the rank of professor and artist-in-residence. Mr. Rodriguez holds a masters degree from the Juilliard School, where he studied on full scholarship as a pupil of Adele Marcus, and he completed his undergraduate studies magna cum laude with William Race at the University of Texas.
Professor, Keyboard Performance
JB Floyd is professor of keyboard performance at the University of Miami Frost School of Music, where he served as department chair for many years. JB Floyd’s musical interests are diverse. As a pianist, composer, and improviser, his music making includes classical piano recitals and solo appearances with orchestra; new music performances as a soloist and collaborator; and jazz concerts. His compositions include solo piano pieces, works for piano/Disklavier and computer assisted electronic instruments, and works for chorus, orchestra, jazz ensembles and chamber music combinations. He received B.M. and M.M. degrees from the University of North Texas, and a D.M. in Performance from Indiana University. JB Floyd was awarded a Town Hall (NYC) debut recital by the National Guild of Piano Teachers competition and received a Fulbright scholarship for study in Vienna. He also received an artist-in-residence appointment to Hawaii by the Ford Foundation and numerous grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. Floyd has collaborated on many occasions with David Rosenboom in concerts of two-piano improvisations; they have also performed simultaneously on Yamaha Disklaviers from "virtual stages" in Santa Monica, CA and New York City over Internet Electric Cafe International, a network of sites around the world linked by teleconferencing systems, videophones and computers.
Professor and Program Director, Accompanying and Chamber Music
Paul Posnak’s international career as a concert pianist, recording artist, transcriber and teacher began as a child prodigy with a full scholarship to the Juilliard Preparatory School at age eight. He won First Prizes in the International J.S. Bach Competition as well as the Concert Artists Guild Competition in New York. Now professor and program director in accompanying and chamber music for the University of Miami Frost School of Music, he has performed at such venues as the White House, the Supreme Court, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Carnegie Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall in New York and throughout Europe, South America, and Asia to critical acclaim. A highly regarded collaborative artist, Dr. Posnak has worked with many world-renowned vocalists, including Luciano Pavarotti and Jennie Tourel, and performed and recorded with many of the world’s leading chamber ensembles. He has fourteen recordings of solo and chamber works for labels such as EMI, Naxos, Vox, Arabesque, Centaur, Yamaha Disklavier Artist Series and Cambria including his latest CD recording, The Tangos of Ernesto Nazareth, released in 2006. Dr. Posnak's reconstructions of the brilliant solo improvisations of George Gershwin and Thomas “Fats” Waller from the old recordings and radio broadcasts have established him as a world authority and his recent film on Chopin, directed by documentary film maker Anthony Allegro, has attracted international attention.
Assistant Professor, Keyboard Pedagogy
Naoko Takao is assistant professor of keyboard pedagogy at the University of Miami Frost School of Music and is on the summer faculty of the Rocky Ridge Music Center in Colorado. Prior to joining Frost, she was a long-time faculty member at the Levine School of Music in Washington, D.C. She enjoys a versatile career as a soloist, chamber musician, ardent educator, master class clinician, adjudicator, and pedagogue. Winner of numerous soloist awards, including the gold medal at the 2000 San Antonio International Piano Competition and the most recent award from the S&R Foundation, she has performed concerti with the Alexandria Symphony (VA), Laredo Philharmonic (TX) and Ohio Valley Symphony and chamber music concerts at the Smithsonian, Strathmore, Library of Congress, and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Highly versatile, Takao is an enthusiastic advocate of newly composed music, often premiering new works and performing for such notable organizations as the Rose International Cello Competition. She has coached chamber music extensively with the members of the Guarneri Quartet, is a founding member of the Post Classical Ensemble, and performs a wide range of works by Copland, Schoenberg and other modern luminaries. Her solo piano recitals often feature works by Beethoven, Chopin, Ravel and Rachmaninoff. Originally from Japan, Ms. Takao studied at the Preparatory Program at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, earned a BM from the Hartt School of Music and a MM and DMA from University of Maryland, College Park.
Associate Professor, Keyboard Performance
Tian Ying is associate professor of keyboard performance at the University of Miami Frost School of Music, where he has also served as department chair. Winner of many prestigious awards, including high honors at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 1989, Tian Ying enjoys a worldwide reputation as a pianist of taste, dexterity and artistry. Professor Ying has performed in many prestigious concert halls, including Jordan Hall in Boston, Mondavi Center in Davis, California, Orchestra Hall in Chicago, Woodruff Art Center in Atlanta and Shanghai Grand Opera Theater in Shanghai. Tian Ying’s 1993 Bank of Boston Celebrity Series concert was chosen as one of the Top Ten in classical music events by the Boston Globe. In addition, Professor Ying has been profiled in such publications as the New York Times, Christian Science Monitor and People Magazine. Ying has also appeared with numerous renowned orchestras all over the world and records for Centaur Records.
Lecturer, Organ
Dr. Robert Remek is a lecturer in organ performance for the University of Miami Frost School of Music. Dr. Remek has been a church musician in South Florida for 29 years, serving as Director of Music and Organist for both Roman Catholic and Protestant congregations. He is currently the Director of Music at First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood. His organ teachers have included Dr. Arden Whitacre, Dr. Warren Canfield, and Dr. Kenon Renfrow. He has previously served as Dean of the Fort Lauderdale chapter of the American Guild of Organists and has passed the Colleague, Associateship, and ChoirMaster professional certification examinations of the Guild. Dr. Remek was nominated for a 2005 Excellence in Teaching Award at the University of Miami, and is listed in Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in American Education. In addition to his teaching in the Frost School of Music, Dr. Remek is also Assistant Professor of Humanities at the North Campus of Miami Dade College.
Accompanist, Frost School of Music
Paul Schwartz is Staff Accompanist for the Frost School of Music, with a special focus in accompanying for vocal, choral and instrumental performances.
