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From Plantation, Florida, Christina Lai finds
passion in all fields of music teaching and collaboration. Among several
achievements, Christina debuted with the UNC Symphony Orchestra performing the
Ravel Left Hand Piano Concerto. She has attended and performed at the
Chautauqua Institution and at the Aspen Music Festival and School as a Thomas
S. Kenan Fellow. She has won various prizes in various competitions including
the Florida State University Chapman/Neeson Competition, National Association
of Negro Musicians Piano Competition, Music Teachers National Association Young
Artist Competition, Rosen-Schaffel Competition, and Young Artists Piano
Competition of the North Carolina Music Teachers Association. Christina was one
of nine national recipients of the Chopin Foundation of the United States'
scholarship awards. Additionally, she has received guidance from artists such
as Richard Goode, Nelita True, John Perry, Boris Slutsky, Natalya Antonova,
Phillipe Entremont, Ian Hobson, Alexander Gavrylyuk, Winston Choi, and Daniel
Shapiro.
Complementing to her musical ventures, Christina
was an avid volunteer in the music therapy department of the North Carolina
Memorial Hospital. She also enjoys teaching and has taught for Florida State
University, University of North Florida, Good Sam Arts, Aspen Music Festival
and School’s Passes and Lessons Scholarship Program, and UNC’s Musical
Empowerment (a non-profit organization designed to provide free lessons to
underprivileged children). Her students have received scholarships and have
been accepted into collegiate-level piano programs.
Christina’s chamber performances have reflected
her support of works by female composers. Funded by UNC’s Research Fellowship,
she and violinist Ina Liu travelled to France to work with female composer
Yuying Weng on a piece synthesizing Chinese and Western Classical music
elements. As a part of Trio Azul, she engaged with the community through
collaboration with the Leon County Library and Pulitzer Prize winner Ellen
Zwilich; working with Zwilich and performing her piano trio. As part of Eirene
Duo, Christina presented a lecture on and performed Chen Yi’s China West Suite
at the University of Florida. With Trio Nobile, she was invited to participate
in University of South Florida’s Rutenberg Chamber Music Series and play in
Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, commissioning a work by Eunseon Yu and
premiering a work by Lilya Ugay.
Christina was one of four chosen as a William R.
Kenan Jr. Music Scholar at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and
graduated with a Bachelor’s of Music and a Chemistry minor. She also received
her Doctorate of Music in piano performance with a specialized study in piano
pedagogy under the guidance of Professors Read Gainsford and Diana Dumlavwalla.
Contact: (904) 620-2961 - c.lai@unf.edu |