Mingfu Han

Dr. Mingfu Han is a pianist, arts leader, and cultural entrepreneur based in California. As founder and president of the International Classical Music Alliance (ICMA), he leads international initiatives connecting classical music performance, education, recording, and interdisciplinary artistic collaboration across the United States, Europe, and Asia.

In addition to his work as a performer and educator, Dr. Han has organized concerts, festivals, multimedia exhibitions, and international cultural exchange projects involving artists, institutions, and audiences from multiple countries. His artistic and organizational activities have included collaborations associated with Carnegie Hall, Pepperdine University, Curtis Theatre, and music festivals in Italy and the United States.

Dr. Han holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance from the University of Kansas, where he also served as a Graduate Teaching Assistant. Beyond his academic and performance activities, he is also the founder of Manus Label, an independent classical music label focused on recording projects, artistic development, and cross-disciplinary creative production.

Through ICMA and his broader artistic work, Dr. Han continues to develop international platforms that support emerging artists, cultural dialogue, and new forms of artistic collaboration in the global classical music community.

Yaqi Wang

Yaqi Wang is a distinguished pianist, educator, and arts administrator completed her Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance and Pedagogy at the University of Kansas. With a rich academic foundation, she holds a Graduate Professional Diploma from the University of Hartford's Hartt School, a Master of Music from Temple University, and a Bachelor of Music from Tianjin Conservatory of Music.

An accomplished performer, Yaqi has captivated audiences at prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall, Curtis Theatre, and the ICMA Music Festival at Pepperdine University, Malibu. Her repertoire spans solo, chamber, and concerto works, with highlights like Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 with the Grammy-nominated St. Petersburg Quartet (2024).

As a dedicated educator, Yaqi operates her own studio in California. She has shaped curricula for exam preparation and group instruction, mentored fellow instructors, and served as a teaching assistant at Beijing's Art Service Center for Scholars.

Her leadership extends to the non-profit sector. She is Vice President of the International Classical Music Alliance and founder of Concert Star LLC, where she organizes global events like the Clarity Recital in Los Angeles and the Carnegie Hall Award Ceremony. Through performance, pedagogy, and community-building, Yaqi Wang continues to inspire the next generation of musicians while advancing classical music's global presence.

Yuanyuan Liu

Yuanyuan Liu is an accomplished pianist and dedicated educator. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The Hartt School, where she also earned her Master's degree under the mentorship of Professor Paul Rutman. During her studies, she also received coaching from Jose Ramos Santana and Luiz de Moura Castro. Originally from China, she began her piano training at the attached School of the Wuhan Conservatory of Music and completed her Bachelor's degree in Piano Performance there. She was the recipient of numerous scholarships, including the Evelyn Bonar Storrs Scholarship, the Fuller Talent Award, and the Irene Kahn Piano Scholarship.

Yuanyuan distinguished herself in many prestigious competitions, including First Prize at the Chopin Memorial Competition at the Hong Kong International Piano Competition, the Excellence Prize at the Classic Piano Sonata Contest in Wuhan, and Best Piano Solo at the Yueyang Pugongying Televised Competition. She has performed widely across Asia and the United States, appearing in venues such as Lincoln Theater, Qintai Concert Hall, Ji'an Baoli Concert Hall, and Steinway Garden Hall. After a successful recital in 2023, she was named tourism ambassador of her hometown, Pingjiang.

With over 13 years of teaching experience, Yuanyuan is a dedicated piano pedagogue who has been recognized multiple times as an outstanding teacher. Her students have excelled in competitions and gained admission to prestigious universities in the United States. She currently teaches at the Hartt School Community Division. She has judged prestigious events like the 9th Steinway & Sons International Piano Competition, the 34th United States Open Music Competition, and the Young Musician Festival of The Schubert Club.

Zhongyan Cao

Zhongyan Cao is a pianist, educator, and web designer currently pursuing the Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Pedagogy and Performance at the University of Kansas, after earning his Master of Music in Piano Performance from the University of Michigan. A recipient of the Wilma R. Miller Piano Scholarship and the IPPA International Piano Competition Silver Award, he has performed widely in the United States and China with repertoire spanning Beethoven, Liszt, Scriabin, and Prokofiev.

With over five years of teaching experience, Cao has guided students to success in international competitions and ABRSM certifications. His pedagogy integrates body-aware technique, ear-led listening, and score literacy, with an emphasis on alignment, balanced touch, and efficient motion before speed. He teaches bilingually in English and Chinese, and has developed interactive learning tools including rhythm.cool and Impro.cool, the latter serving as the applied framework for his presentation on improvisation teaching in group piano at the 2026 MTNA National Conference in Chicago. He was elected President of the University of Kansas Collegiate Chapter of MTNA for the 2025 term. In addition to his work in classical music, he composed and scored the original soundtrack for the Steam game Why Am I Here.

As web designer and coordinator for the International Classical Music Alliance, Cao developed articma.org and the digital systems that support the organization's international artistic collaboration and outreach.

Cao has studied with renowned educators including Priscila Navarro, Ivy Lu Wang, Scott McBride Smith, Arthur Greene, Christopher Harding, Misha Namirovsky, Yuan Sheng, and Changguang Bao. Their diverse pedagogical traditions, emphasizing technical refinement, interpretive depth, artistic individuality, and musical storytelling, have profoundly shaped his development. Carrying forward their philosophies, Cao is dedicated to uniting tradition with innovation and passing this legacy on to the next generation of pianists.