Participants

Rahul Birmiwal

Rahul Birmiwal, 33, is a technology professional and lifelong pianist from Washington State. After early distinction — including the 2011 Mary McShane Memorial Award for Most Outstanding Pianist, multiple WSMTA competition wins, and a top-20 finish in the 2010 King FM Young Artist Competition — he stepped away from performing to pursue a career in engineering. He has since returned to the stage, winning the 2025 PNW Piano Competition (Adult Division). His repertoire is rooted in Bach and the Romantic tradition, and he is passionate about the unique community that amateur competitions foster.

Carl Di Casoli

A citizen of both the USA and Italy, Carl Di Casoli studied statistics at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, USA, earning both his masters and PhD degrees in statistics in 2006 and 2009, respectively. Although he currently works as senior director in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry with many work experiences in both small start-up biotech companies (Apellis and Cabaletta Bio) and large multinational companies (such as Bayer and Celgene), he finds time to indulge his passion for piano by performing recitals and entering amateur competitions. In 2022, he was second prize winner in the Osaka Piano Competition—Atlanta Region, and one of 5 winners at the Pianolink International Amateurs Piano Competition in Cremona, Italy. In 2021, he was finalist and laureate at the International Chopin Competition for Amateurs in Warsaw, Poland and first prize winner at the Harmonia International Piano Competition. In addition, he was first prize winner in the amateur divisions of the Bradshaw and Buono (New York) International Competition (2020), first prize winner in the San Diego International Amateur Piano Competition (2019), and the second prize winner of the Concours International de Grands Amateurs in Paris, France (2008). In 2017, he performed a full solo recital at the München Gasteig Kleinersaal in Germany. In addition, he has played at many venues in New York City such as Merkin Concert Hall, Weill Concert Hall, and Zankel Concert Hall as a member of the New York Piano Society both solo and chamber music.

Minnie Ho

Minnie Ho is an engineer working in the field of self-driving cars and currently serves as Director of Systems Engineering and Integration at Zoox (an Amazon company). At Zoox, she leads efforts to design and integrate AI software into purpose-built robotaxis and recently helped launch the company’s ride-hailing service in Las Vegas. She holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering (1995) and a Master’s in Computer Science with a focus on Artificial Intelligence (2023), both from Stanford University.

Beyond engineering, Minnie is an accomplished pianist. She has performed four times with orchestra at the California Concerto Festival, playing works by Bach (BWV 1052), Mozart (K.466), Schumann, and Beethoven (Op. 37). She participated in Piano Texas, including a master class with Yoheved Kaplinsky, and she was a competition winner at Carnegie Hall in 2017. Additional highlights include being selected to play in a master class for Olga Kern (2022) and chamber music appearances at Piano Sonoma, performing Franck’s Sonata in A minor and Brahms’ Trio in B major.

Her principal teachers have included Thomas Hansen, Sandra Shen, Gwendolyn Mok, and Jon Nakamatsu. Most profoundly, Ruth Slenczynska has been a guiding light since Minnie was thirteen. Ruth’s enduring lessons in music, integrity, and creativity continue to influence Minnie’s work and life. As Minnie writes, “Ruth will always be my role model.”

Esther Jiang is a dedicated pianist currently based in New York, where she balances a rigorous musical life with a career as an Operations Manager. Her musical journey is currently guided by the esteemed Prof. Andrey Axinn and Prof. Patrick Kreeger from The Juilliard School. 

With a repertoire spanning from the intricate polyphony of Bach to the profound structures of Beethoven, Esther Jiang  has developed a versatile artistic voice. She is particularly drawn to the Romantic repertoire, where she brings a blend of structural clarity and emotional depth to the works of Brahms. Her current exploration also includes the crystalline precision of Mozart, reflecting her commitment to mastering a wide range of stylistic nuances.As a professional managing complex business operations, Esther Jiang  brings the same level of discipline, strategic thinking, and integrity to her piano studies. She believes that the pursuit of musical excellence and professional management are mutually enriching, each demanding a high degree of focus. She is honored to share her music at the Oberlin Amateur Piano Competition.

Kayoko Komatsubara is an amateur piano enthusiast and graduate musicology student at Butler University, studying piano with Dr. Daniel Baer at the Music Institute of Chicago. Her artistic goals include completing the RCM ARCT Piano Performance Diploma, participating in piano festivals annually, and completing her musicology studies. Her prior education includes a BS in Finance and an MS in Accounting (CPA), with professional experience in public accounting, financial examination, the automotive industry, and English translation, interpretation, and teaching. She returned to piano as an adult, completed the RCM Piano Level 10 examination in 2023, and has participated in Piano Texas since 2024. Her musicology interests include the historical reception of Mozart’s Così fan tutte, the life and legacy of Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, and American Midwestern music. Outside music, Kayoko practices yoga, enjoys gardening and working with nature, and is a Reiki practitioner.

Vivian Ku

Vivian is a mother of four and a native of Hong Kong, and has recently relocated to Ann Arbor, Michigan with her family. Since her childhood, Vivian has participated in music festivals including the Chopin Avenue and East Meets West in Asia. She is excited to join her first piano festival in the US with Oberlin. She has enjoyed taking lessons from teachers Robert Langston, Dr. Henry Chow, Dr. Timothy Kwok, and is currently studying with Professor Christopher Harding. 

Chia Ying Lee is an AI researcher with a lifelong passion for piano. Trained in Singapore and the US, she holds degrees in Mathematics and Music from the University of Michigan, and a PhD in Applied Mathematics from Brown University. Following a decade-long hiatus to pursue her second passion of figure skating, Chia Ying recently returned to her first love after buying a piano to furnish her new home in Boston. A Gold stream semifinalist in the 2026 Boston International Piano Competition and Silver stream finalist two years prior, and a 2025 PianoTexas Festival Amateur Performer, she is active in the local amateur pianist community and also blogs about her fascination for connecting neuroscience and motor learning theory with piano playing. Her past teachers include John Ellis and Linda Jiorle-Nagy. She currently studies with Roberto Poli, and has taken masterclasses with Alexander Kobrin, Alessio Bax, Jonathan Bass, Sergey Schepkin, Enrico Elisi, and Victor Rosenbaum.

James Lim is a fourth-year resident physician in the combined internal medicine and pediatrics (Med-Peds) program at The Ohio State University and Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He spent his childhood in Seoul, Houston, and Irvine before attending UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco for his undergraduate, graduate, and medical studies. James has studied piano with Sohyoung Park, Miranda Wu, Jacqueline Chew, and currently works with Josh Brodbeck in Columbus. While at Berkeley, he participated in masterclasses with Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Seymour Lipkin, and performed with the UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra as the winner of its 2014 concerto competition. During medical school, he continued his musical studies through the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s Continuing Education program, where he performed regularly in student recitals. Following residency, he plans to pursue a fellowship in clinical informatics and continue to balance an active interest in music alongside his medical career.

Manuel Llorens

Born in Venezuela and a naturalized US Citizen since the early 1990s, Manuel studied with American Teacher and Pianist Harriett Serr, a student of Isabella Vengerova, one of the founders of the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. Earlier in life, he studied with Musicologist and Pianist Juan Francisco Sanz, and was part of the Simon Bolivar Orchestra Conservatory of Music. For the last 30 years, Manuel has worked in the Content Services Software Industry, first developing International Reseller Channels and later as a Technology Educator. Currently, he works as a Senior Trainer for Hyland Software.

Michael Preddy is a lifelong pianist with a Master of Music degree and a career in both teaching and performing. I attended Jane McGrath Pedagogy as well as Piano Texas and Adamant in Vermont for many years.

Jonathan Shih

Jonathan is a Seattle-based product designer at a small startup. He began his piano studies with various Chicago-area teachers (most notably Emilio del Rosario), and continued briefly at Northwestern University under James Giles before a minor hand injury and recession-induced career introspection led him to forgo piano for an engineering degree. After a decade-long hiatus due to work travel, he resumed playing and now studies with Peter Mack. Jonathan has performed live on 98.7 WFMT and was a finalist in the 2024 WIPAC competition, earning special awards for “Best Classical Performance” and “Most Imaginative Programming”. Outside of music, he enjoys cooking, traveling, and collecting other hobbies.

Wei Ling Wang

Wei Ling’s musical journey began in grade school and continued through her college years with private piano studies. After earning a degree in computer science, she embarked on a career in the telecommunications industry, where she has been instrumental in building wireless and wireline networks for telecommunication companies. Her work enables the transport of voice, video, and data for both consumers and corporations. On the musical front, Wei Ling had the honor of performing a concerto movement with the Fort Worth Symphony after winning the concerto competition at the prestigious PianoTexas Academy and Festival. Her passion for music has also led her to participate in amateur competitions in various cities, including Boston, Chicago, Seattle and Washington D.C. Furthermore, Wei Ling has consistently contributed to the music community by actively serving as a board member for several nonprofit music organizations. Beyond her professional and musical pursuits, Wei Ling enjoys engaging in a variety of outdoor activities. Some of her memorable adventures include canyoneering in Zion National Park, zip-lining through the lush landscapes of Kaanapali in Maui, and hiking in Majorca, Spain, the very place where Chopin composed his renowned “Raindrop” prelude.

Hi, my name is Sean Yang. I’m a software engineer based in Seattle. I began studying piano at age 5 but stopped during middle school. During the COVID pandemic, I returned to the piano and discovered a much deeper interest and appreciation for it than before. I have not previously had the opportunity to attend a program like this, and I would truly appreciate the chance to learn, perform, and grow in such an environment.

Rebecca Zhang grew up in Virginia and began playing piano at age six, studying with Marjorie Lee, at the Peabody Preparatory with YongHi Moon, and later minoring in music performance at Princeton University with Elizabeth DiFelice. After over a decade away from piano performance, she is excited to return. Rebecca works as a machine learning engineer in New York City, where she also enjoys other hobbies of indulging in good food and good films.

Yuchao Zhou

Yuchao Zhou is a software engineer in the San Francisco Bay Area. A native of China, Zhou pursued his master’s degree in computer science in the US. Beyond his technical career, Zhou has a profound passion for piano and classical music, a pursuit he began at age 5 and has continued for over two decades without formal music education. Music serves as a vital channel for self-expression and identity for him. Recently, he showcased his talent at the 2024 California Concerto Festival for Amateur Pianists, performing the 2nd movement of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 with the Mission College Symphony. He was also a performer of the PianoTexas Amateur program in 2024. His musical journey has been enriched through studies with esteemed pianists worldwide, including pianists from China, Ukraine, Austria, Venezuela, Israel, Australia and Germany.