Current Fellows

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Nomin Samdan ’26

Born into a family of musicians, pianist Nomin Samdan made her first public appearance at the age of 7 in her native country, Mongolia. Since then, she has had an expansive career as a soloist, collaborator, and educator; performing across the continents of Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent professional appointments include a position on the Piano Faculty of the Mongolian State Conservatory, as well as pianist for the Mongolian State Opera and Ballet House. A long-time admirer of contemporary music, Ms. Samdan has premiered vocal works by Juliana Hall, Michael Finnissy, Dennis Báthory-Kitz, and Albin Fries. Ms. Samdan received her B.Mus and Graduate Performance Diploma in Piano Performance from Boston Conservatory at Berklee under the guidance of YaFei Chuang; additionally, Ms. Samdan holds a M.M. in Collaborative Piano from Boston University. 

Nomin is currently a Collaborative Piano Fellow at the Bard Conservatory, working under the mentorship of Erika Switzer and Kayo Iwama.

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Kyeongji Koh ’26

Kyeongji Koh, a collaborative pianist, chamber musician, and organist, possesses a wide-ranging repertoire from Baroque to contemporary music, with a particular passion for art songs, opera, and choral music. She relocated from South Korea to the United States in 2018 and has been awarded scholarships including the Koehler Piano Scholarship, Hallen Scholarship, Kolze-Rasmussen Scholarship, Lovering Scholarship, and Baker Memorial Scholarship. 

Currently, Kyeongji is pursuing a collaborative piano fellowship at Bard College Conservatory of Music. She earned her master of music in collaborative piano from the College-Conservatory of Music (University of Cincinnati), completed a performer’s certificate in piano performance at Northern Illinois University, and graduated with a bachelor of arts in church music from Seoul Theological University, receiving scholarships throughout her studies. Her teachers and mentors include Kenneth Griffiths, Donna Loewy, Sandra Rivers, Michelle Conda, Soyeon Kate Lee, William Goldenberg, James Brown, Kwon-Jung Sun, and Yoon-Kyung Cho. 

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Lara Saldanha ’26

Pianist Lara Saldanha is equally at home as a soloist and collaborator in the worlds of new music, standard repertoire, and historical performance. New music highlights include appearances with Metropolis Ensemble, Sandbox Percussion, Chelsea Symphony, Leschetizky Association, Mannes American Contemporary Ensemble, and Round Top Festival. Standard repertoire highlights include concerts at Princeton Sound Kitchen, Valley Cottage Young Masters Series, Rites of Spring Festival, Music Iowa City, Icicle Creek, National Federation of Music Clubs, Weill Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and Bohemian National Hall.

Lara debuted in India, her country of origin, at the National Center of Performing Arts in Mumbai, Kala Academy in Goa, and Pune Music Society in 2017. As a historical performer, Lara performed with Kollective 366 in Beethoven’s Triple Concerto in 2024, Virginia Baroque Academy, and Mannes Baroque.

Lara is currently a collaborative piano fellow at Bard Conservatory, having completed her DMA in Piano Performance at Stony Brook University, PDPL and MM at Mannes, and BA/BM at Northwestern University, and high school diploma at the International School of Geneva and Geneva Conservatory, Switzerland. Lara deeply grateful for the guidance of her past teachers, including Christina Dahl, Vladimir Valjarevic, Alan Chow, Serguei Milstein, Neya Korsantia, and Inna Terekhov. Lara is a committed educator, having held assistantships at Mannes and Stony Brook, and with a thriving private studio.

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Ella Nagy '27

Bio coming soon!

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Yumi Jang '27

Yumi Jang began her musical journey at the age of four and has since established an active
international career as a solo pianist, collaborative pianist, chamber musician, and educator.
She has performed in renowned venues worldwide, including Carnegie Hall in New York,
Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Royal Albert Hall in London, Mirabell Palace in
Salzburg, the Seoul Arts Center in South Korea, and numerous stages across Canada and
the United States. Renowned for her expressive and dynamic playing, she has received
critical acclaim and distinction through success in various international competitions.
She has been awarded top prizes in the New York International Music Competition, the
American International Music Competition in Cleveland, the Vienna Classical Piano
Competition, the Québec Music Competition in Canada, and the Hong Kong Asia Open
International Piano Competition. In addition to her performance career, Yumi is also a
dedicated pedagogue whose students have won competition prizes and gained admission to
leading universities, conservatories, and arts schools.
Yumi earned her Bachelor of Arts at Yonsei University in South Korea and completed her
Master of Music at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. She began her
doctoral studies at the University of Minnesota before completing her Doctor of Musical Arts
in Piano Performance at the University of Western Ontario, Canada, where she also served
as a Graduate Teaching Assistant.
Her collaborative work has flourished internationally. In 2024, she was selected as a
Chamber Music Institute Fellow at the Toronto Summer Music Festival. She has also
participated in the Scotia Festival of Music and the Salzburg Summer Music Festival, further
expanding her chamber music collaborations. Yumi has served extensively as a
collaborative pianist at the University of Western Ontario, the University of Toronto, and the
Glenn Gould School at the Royal Conservatory, as well as working as a rehearsal pianist
with the National Ballet of Canada. Beginning in the fall of 2025, she will join Bard College
Conservatory of Music as a Collaborative Piano Fellow, continuing her active career as both
performer and educator.

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Hyuna Shin '27

Bio coming soon!