Susanna Hilliard

Iris Messinger

Violinist Chuong Vu holds a doctorate from the University of North Texas. Dr. Vu is currently a violin professor at the Euro Arts Academy and has previously held teaching positions at the University of North Texas and the University of Texas at Arlington. He has given master classes in the United States, Brazil, Germany, Poland, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam. He has been invited to serve on the jury for several prestigious international music competitions, including the 2020 George Enescu International Competition in Romania (pre-selection round), the X International Violin Competition "Astana-Violin" 'In Memory of David Oistrakh' in Kazakhstan, and the 2025 Stefanie Hohl Competition of the Fritz Kreisler Institute at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, Austria. Dr. Vu has appeared as a soloist, recitalist, chamber music collaborator, and concertmaster on five continents, including North and South America, Europe, Africa, Australia, and Asia, with repertoire ranging from early baroque to modern. The Saigon Times writes that "Chuong Vu is an instrumentalist to treasure; Not only does he play with exquisite tone and superb technical virtuosity, but he also clearly loves the music and loves playing it." Dr. Vu is the artistic director of the Vietnam Connection Music Festival and the artistic advisor to the Vietnam International Music Competition. He is actively involved in the process of finding new sponsorship for the organizations, creating music programs to be performed at the festival, inviting international artists to the festival, and judging the competition.

John Landefeld

John Landefeld holds a Bachelor of Music Degree in Cello Performance from the Eastman School of Music where he studied with Anthony Ross, former principal cellist of the Rochester Philharmonic and world-renowned pedagogue, Steven Doane. In 1980, Mr. Landefeld studied the Suzuki cello method with Karan Nagase and Dr. Shinichi Suzuki at the Talent Education Research Institute in Matsumoto, Japan. Mr. Landefeld has taught at the Park Avenue Suzuki Studios in Rochester, New York and the Suzuki Institute of Dallas, where he served as Suzuki Cello specialist and chamber music coach for nearly ten years. In 1985, John Landefeld was invited to play with Janos Starker in a cello festival sponsored by the Chicago Cello Society. One year later, Mr. Landefeld was a national finalist in the American String Teachers Association Solo Competition, and a finalist in the Julius Stulberg Competition.

As a chamber performer, Mr. Landefeld was awarded First Prize in the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition. He was also cellist of the classical, crossover group, Neo Camerata with which he has had the pleasure of playing for enthusiastic audiences all across the United States as well as in Europe.

Mr. Landefeld’s work as a recording artist can be heard on the CDs of many Dallas/Fort Worth area musicians including Brice Beaird, Heather McCready, and Carey Dyer. Mr. Landefeld is equally comfortable in the recording studio as producer and arranger as he enjoys collaborating with other artists to record and produce their music. He has also played on recordings made for commercials that have aired nationwide. Mr. Landefeld has been a cello teacher for 30 years and has a successful cello studio in Plano. He enjoys helping the students achieve their highest possible musical goals.

Michael Schneider

Critics have hailed Michael Schneider as “a pianist with exceptional insight” and a “performer with great panache” in performances across the states and abroad. Michael has performed in legendary venues such as the château of George Sand in Nohant, France, Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, and the Library of Congress. He has been a featured guest artist at the International Chopin Festival in France, the Music Festival of the Hamptons, directed by Lukas Foss, ‘Pianotune’ Festival in Brussels, the Hungarian Festival in Cancun, Mexico, the American Liszt Society Annual Conference, the Paderewski Festival in Paso Robles, CA, and for seven summers was an audience favorite at Pianofest in the Hamptons. On February 5, 2011, with one day’s notice, Michael gave a full length solo recital in place of the cancelled San Angelo Symphony Concert due to inclement weather.

In recent years, Michael has performed the Liszt E-flat Concerto with the San Angelo Symphony, the Beethoven Triple Concerto with the Irving New Philharmonic Orchestra, Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and Concerto in F with the San Angelo and Plano Symphonies, the Brahms D minor Concerto with the Lewisville Lake Symphony, and the Poulenc Concerto for Two Pianos with the UT University Orchestra. Other concerto appearances have included the Elgin Symphony Orchestra (IL), the Richardson Symphony Orchestra (TX), the Bartlesville Symphony Orchestra (OK), the Harding University Orchestra (AK), and the Big Spring Symphony (TX).

Championing the music of Franz Liszt, Michael is quickly becoming known for his portrayal of Franz Liszt in his monodrama “Liszt and the Last Years”, which combines an original script based off of factual events with performances of works completed with a PowerPoint backdrop. This has been featured at the annual conventions of the Music Teachers Association of California and the Texas Music Teachers Association as well as performed at the University of Texas at Austin for numerous donor groups. Other lecture/presentations Michael has given include “Gottschalk: Life and Works”, “The Common Mistakes of Practicing”, and “Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue” – a children’s book by Anna Harwell Celenza read by Michael while providing soundtrack from the piano.

As a collaborator, he has performed recitals with violinists Frank Almond (concertmaster of the Milwaukee Symphony), Jun Iwasaki (concertmaster of the Oregon Symphony), cellist Boris Andrianov (3rd prize winner of Tchaikovsky Competition) and many others. He is a regular performer with Mélange Musical, a chamber series in the Dallas/Ft Worth metroplex. In July 2010, with only a few days notice, he performed with several stars in the trombone world, including full recitals with Jorgen van Rijen (international recording artist), Ian Bousfield (principal trombonist of the Vienna Philharmonic), and Jacques Mauger (trombonist of the Paris Opera and teacher at the Paris Conservatoire). In 2014, Michael finished recording a CD entitled "Multiple Personae: The Family of Clarients" for clarinet and piano by Virko Baley with clarinetist Dr. Timothy Bonenfant on the TNC Classical Label.

Michael is the creator and artistic director of the San Angelo Piano Festival, a classical music festival in West Texas with an emphasis on the piano repertoire. Annual events include guest artist recitals, impromptu musicales, a composition contest, and a young artist program that includes a competition, master classes and a showcase recital. Michael is also a co-creator of the Austin Piano Festival, established in 2013.

Michael holds degrees from the University of North Texas, where he studied with Dr. Pamela Mia Paul, and the Cleveland Institute of Music, studying with Mr. Paul Schenly. After two years as adjunct Professor of Piano at Youngstown State University in Ohio, he returned to Texas to study with Anton Nel at the University of Texas at Austin where he received his Doctorate of Music in May 2011. In the fall of 2010, Michael guest taught in place of artist-in-residence Dr. Michelle Schumann at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. He has also been adjunct faculty at the University of Texas at Austin and Concordia University-Austin.