Current Fellows

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Neilson Chen '23

Dr. Neilson Chen, a native of Taiwan, is a highly sought-after recitalist and collaborative pianist, whose dazzling technique and thoughtful interpretations have been described by the L.A. Times as “stunning.” Currently, Dr. Chen is serving as a second year collaborative piano fellow at Bard College Conservatory of Music and collaborative piano artist in residence at Meadowmount School of Music. 

A doctoral graduate of Arizona State University, Dr. Chen also holds two master’s degrees from Taipei University of the Arts and University of Texas at Austin. Over the course of his career, Neilson has been the recipient of many prestigious honors and awards. As a winner of inaugural duo competition at Music Academy of the West, Neilson gave a recital at Hahn Hall in Santa Barbara in 2019.

As an active recitalist, chamber music musician and collaborative pianist, Neilson has performed extensively throughout the United States and internationally, having given performances in Canada, Germany, Luxemburg, France, Ireland,  Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. The highlights include performing at the National Concert Hall in Taiwan in conjunction with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and a performance of Tchaikovsky Piano Trio “In Memory of A Great Artist” in the concert series - Tempe Center Performance with the view.

Neilson spent his summers participating in music festivals as a staff pianist worldwide including the Kathaumixw Choir Festival in Canada, Saarburg International Music Festival in Germany, Vianden Music Festival and School in Luxemburg and Rocky Ridge Music Center in Colorado. Besides, Neilson is highly active in his community and also passionate about promoting new works by new generation composers. The most recent appearance was for the premiere of “The Stories We Tell from Scores,” at the Grand Canyon Music Festival.

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Diana Borshcheva '23

Praised for her beautiful deep sound and immense artistry, Russian-born American pianist Diana Borshcheva’s passions lie in both solo and collaborative repertoire. As a solo pianist Ms. Borshcheva won several competitions in Russia and Europe, including the International Piano Competition in Italy (Grand Prix) and the International Piano Competition in Lithuania (First Award).

A graduate of the Central Music School (Moscow, Russia), Ms. Borshcheva received a Bachelor’s Degree in Solo Performance from the Longy School of Music of Bard College in 2016, and a Master of Music Degree in both Solo and Collaborative Piano from the Cleveland Institute of Music in 2019. Before her position at Bard College Conservatory, Diana studied with Warren Jones at the Manhattan School of Music. 

Now in her second year as a collaborative piano fellow at the Bard Conservatory, Ms. Borshcheva has been working with singers for about 15 years. In the summer of 2019, Ms. Borshcheva worked as a pianist and vocal coach in Salzburg, Austria. In the summer of 2021, Ms. Borshcheva started a series of classical music concerts in Red Hook, New York. “Music in Red Hook,” was created to support local artists during the pandemic lockdown when most musicians lost opportunities to perform. The success of the series recently led Diana and like-minded colleagues to launch the “Music in Red Hook Cultural Institute,” a program that provides music lessons and open lectures to enrich the cultural life of the community. 

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Bat-Erdene Batbileg '23

Bat-Erdene Batbileg, from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, began piano studies at the Mongolian State Conservatory; then studied in Italy at the United World College College of the Adriatic in Duino, and completed a BM at G. Tartini Conservatory of Music in Trieste and a MM at the J. Tomadini Conservatory in Udine. He later taught at the Mongolian State Conservatory and took part in international competitions, winning first prize at the 2011 Milosz Magin International Competition in Paris and the 2013 Villa de Madrid Competition in Spain, and 4th place in the Concorso Pianistico di Premio Venezia. He took part in the 2015 Frydryk Chopin competition in Warsaw, the 2017 Japan Piano Open and the 2018 Malta International Competition. In addition to solo performances, he has appeared with the Mongolian State Philharmonic and at festivals in Beijing. He is an active collaborative pianist, appearing with singers in competitions and at special events including President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Mongolia in 2019. He is currently in his first year as a collaborative piano fellow at the Bard Conservatory.

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Nhi Huynh '24

Nhi Huynh made her orchestral debut with the Ho Chi Minh City Symphony Orchestra in Vietnam at the age of thirteen. During her time at the Conservatory of Music in Vietnam, she was a regular performer on various concert programs and made frequent appearances on national television channels. Nhi took five years away from the piano while she continued her academic education in New Zealand. She started her professional musical career at the University of Denver, where she earned her Master of Music with Steven Mayer. Nhi recently completed her Doctor of Musical Arts at Stony Brook University and was awarded the Ackerman Prize for Excellence in Graduate Studies (Performance), under the instruction of Gilbert Kalish.
 
Nhi is an advocate of new music with a strong passion for promoting contemporary music, bringing the genre to a wider audience. As a winner of Stony Brook University Concerto Competition 2020, she performed Sheila Silver’s Piano Concerto with the Stony Brook Symphony Orchestra in 2022. Nhi has premiered and performed many works by living composers such as William Bolcom, Sheila Silver, Unsuk Chin, Wang Lu, and the Grammy-nominated Metropolis Ensemble. She has also appeared in Stony Brook Contemporary Chamber Players concerts and collaborated with Stony Brook University composers. Nhi is an avid chamber musician and was in Gilbert Kalish’s Chamber Intensive program 2018-2020. Her trio performed a concert for the Embassy of Armenia celebrating Komitas’ 150th birthday at the Kreeger Museum in Washington, D.C. Nhi’s other important mentors include Christina Dahl, Sheila Silver, Kyungwha Chu.
 
Besides her active performance career of solo and chamber music, Nhi is a dedicated teacher. She was an undergraduate piano instructor at the University of Denver and Stony Brook University, and recipient of the Suffolk Piano Teachers Foundation Award in 2020 for her excellence in teaching. After a long hiatus of live music due to Covid, Nhi founded a Hospital Outreach Project - Ear to H(ear)t - that brings live musical performances to cancer patients and staff at the Stony Brook University Hospital & Cancer Center.

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Viktoria Sarkadi '24

Viktoria Sarkadi is a Hungarian collaborative pianist and music educator. She has earned her bachelor’s and master’s degree in performance at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. After graduating, Viktoria went on to become Graduate Studio Assistant - Collaborative Pianist at The University of Edinburgh, where she was later offered the position of Staff Pianist for the university’s undergraduate course in music.

As a chamber musician, Viktoria has had the opportunity to learn from internationally recognized artists such as Kim Kashkashian and Ferenc Rados, and has performed in venues across Europe and the United Kingdom, like Casa da Musica in Porto, the Palace of Arts in Budapest, or the Usher Hall in Edinburgh. She is an active performer appearing in competitions alongside singers and string players, as well as in special events. Such events have included a celebratory concert for Classic FM’s 25th anniversary in the presence of HRH Prince Charles, and Members of the Parliament's visit to The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
As part of a cello - piano duo, she has worked with Live Music Now, a charity organization aiming to bring live music to unusual venues, to people of vulnerable groups, including people in hospitals, hospices, care homes. Making classical music accessible and available in non-traditional settings has become an important aspect of her career.

Passionate about collaborative music making, she is co-artistic director and regular chamber music coach of the Allegro Summer School in Hungary, an annual short course aiming to introduce the early experiences of chamber music to children aged 9-18 through string - piano duos and larger ensembles. Viktoria is currently in her first year as Collaborative Piano Fellow at Bard Conservatory.

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Nomin Samdan '24

Born into a family of musicians, Nomin Samdan made her first public appearance at the age of 7 in her native Mongolia. Since then she has performed as a recitalist and chamber musician in Russia, Italy, Slovenia, Shanghai, France, US, Austria, Lithuania and Mexico. She has won top prizes from piano competitions in Mongolia, Russia, France and Spain. Ms. Samdan started her education at the Mongolian Music and Dance College where she studied with Prof. Zanaa Gombojav. She later received an International Baccalaureate diploma, after attending the United World College of the Adriatic in Italy. There she had the privilege of studying with Alberto Miodini and Igor Cognolato as well as being coached by the prestigious Trio di Trieste and the Trio di Parma.

In 2008, Ms. Samdan has entered the Boston Conservatory under the guidance of world renowned pianist and pedagogue YaFei Chuang and has received her Bachelor’s Degree (summa cum laude) in 2012 and in 2014 she has completed her Graduate Performance Diploma studies. And in 2017, Nomin received her Master’s Degree in Collaborative piano from Boston University. 

In 2013, Ms. Samdan was invited to “Vivace Vilnius International Music Festival” in Lithuania to perform with faculty and students and in 2014 she was a guest artist in Leon Chamber Music Festival in Mexico. Nomin now works at Mongolian State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet as a pianist, and is a faculty member of the piano and chamber music departments of Mongolian State Conservatory.