Piano Faculty

Roma Bandza

Roma Bandza was born and raised in Lithuania where she received her piano training within the Russian tradition. As a child she received extensive musical training for seven years at Children’s Music School, and then for high school she attended the Kaunas Higher Music School as a piano major. She earned her Bachelor’s in Piano and Organ Performance at J. Groudis Music Academy and her Master’s in Piano Performance at State Conservatory Lithuania. 

In Lithuania Roma worked as piano instructor and accompanist at M. K. Čiurlionis School of Arts and also B. Dvarionas School of Music. She came to the U.S. in 1990 and has taught piano privately since then. In her lessons she strives to make lessons fun while at the same time teaching proper technique and reading music.

Roma performed the Mozart Piano Concerto no. 12 with the Parma Symphony in 2019 and has worked as a staff accompanist at Cleveland State University for both voice and ballet and was also accompanist at the School of Cleveland Ballet. Roma has extensive experience as a music director and organist at several churches in the Cleveland area, including St. Philomena Catholic Church, St. Patrick Catholic Church and All Saints Lutheran Church in Cleveland and many others. She is currently Director of Music at St. Casimir’s Catholic Church in Cleveland. Roma also has studied voice and is a member of the Cleveland Orchestra Blossom Festival Chorus as well as Akron Symphony Orchestra Chorus. She also has studied voice at Cleveland Institute of Music with Joanne Uniatowski and with Elizabeth Chesko at Cleveland State University, as well as organ at Cleveland State with Maria Sharff.

Dr. Gary Graning

Dr. Gary Alan Graning earned his doctorate in piano pedagogy from Columbia University, Teacher’s College where he was course assistant to Robert Pace. He received his master’s in piano performance from the University of Michigan and his bachelor’s in piano performance from Oberlin Conservatory where he studied pedagogy with Janet Owens and piano with Joseph Schwartz and Axel Sigunde.

Gary taught at the Cleveland Institute of Music Preparatory Division for over 40 years and is highly experienced in teaching children as young as age 5 up through adults. His teaching career began with teaching assistantships at the University of Miami and Florida State University. Later he taught at Cuyahoga Community College, as well as the University of Akron, where he taught group piano, keyboard harmony, and piano pedagogy. He also taught piano in New York City at the Stecher and Horowitz School of the Arts, Greenwich House Music School, and the Community Music Center.

He has performed as a collaborative artist at Pomona College and the Aspen and Scotia Music Festival. Gary has premiered solo piano works with the following composers present: Samuel Adler (Sonatina 1979), Vohn Hilliard (Sonata in the Sun), and Camargo Guarnieri (Dansa Brasileira, Dança Selvagem, and Sonatina VI).

John Philipps

John Philipps graduated as a piano performance major from Cleveland State University, where he studied under the guidance of pianists Angelin Chang, Joella Jones of the Cleveland Orchestra and Jackie Warren, Cleveland's "first lady of jazz". He has served as a private music instructor locally for several years, and teaches a handful of private students in his spare time.

In addition to teaching, John is an active performer, regularly engaging with the local music community through diverse musical settings, performing in venues such as the Maltz Performing Center, Hoke Theater at Stocker Center and Reinberger Hall at Severance. He has performed as a collaborative pianist with singers and string instruments, a chamber pianist, a concerto soloist, and as part of various jazz ensembles.  John has experience with many genres of music - from Baroque and Classical era music to romantic composers such as Liszt and Chopin, 20th century composers like Debussy and Poulenc, and pop/rock/jazz music.  His concerto performances include both Chopin concertos, Beethoven's 3rd, and Mozart's 23rd and 24th, with which he has appeared with local community orchestras.

As far as teaching is concerned, his determination is to meet each student where they are at, to cultivate enthusiasm for whatever style of music they are drawn to, and to elevate them to be musically self-sustainable - to have the tools to achieve their own goals.  The lessons can focus on any aspect of musicianship, whatever the student needs or wants, including sight reading, improvisation, technique, transcribing, theory, ear training, or difficult repertoire.  Outside of music, John enjoys a casual soccer match and spending time in nature.  

Diane Haley

Diane Haley earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in piano performance from Cleveland State University, where she studied under Andrius Kuprevicius. While there, she was among just a few students selected to perform for Leonard Bernstein during a ceremony at Cleveland State, where he was presented with an honorary degree.

Diane has taught piano in the Northeast Ohio area for 40 years both at her home studio and at the Bruno Brothers Music Shoppe where she was part owner. She has extensive experience as a piano accompanist, including for the Brunswick and Strongsville school systems, St. Ambrose School in Brunswick, Medina Show Biz Co., and The Beck Center. She also has extensive church musician experience as an organist, pianist and choir director for adults and children. She was Director of Music at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Brunswick for 13 years, Brunswick United Methodist Church for 11 years, and was organist and director of the children’s and handbell choirs at St. Ambrose Church in Brunswick for three years, among other church posts. Diane was for many years a coach for contestants of the Miss Northeast Ohio Preliminary Pageant’s talent portion and judged a number of the Miss Northeast Ohio Pageants.

Diane currently runs a business along with a duo partner called Escape for Seniors, where they perform at retirement communities, assisted living centers, and various clubs for seniors around the northeast Ohio area.

Dr. Joanna Huang

Dr. Joanna Ying-Ho Huang is a full-time Artistic Staff Pianist at the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM). As a native of Taipei, Taiwan, she began her musical journey studying piano at 5 and French Horn at 9. She earned both her Doctor of Musical Arts in Collaborative Piano and her Artist Diploma in Collaborative Piano at CIM. She earned her Master’s Degree at CIM as a double major in Horn and Collaborative Piano Performance. She studied French Horn with Richard King and piano with Anita Pontremoli.

As an educator, Joanna has received her Piano Pedagogy Certificate from CIM and she is the chamber music assistant for the Preparatory Academy of CIM, where she collaborates and performs with the young students. It is Joanna's goal to share her passion for music in any form of musical collaboration, especially with those who have not gotten the chance to explore the beauty of classical music.

During her time at CIM Joanna has performed in numerous recitals, orchestra concerts, chamber music performances, new music ensembles, and greater Cleveland community outreach performances as a horn player and a pianist. She twice received the Cleveland Heights Alumni Chapter of Mu Phi Epsilon Rosa Lobe Award as well as the Dean Award in Accompanying, “Recognizing the highest level of artistic achievement in the collaborative piano department.” Joanna has worked with members of the Emerson String Quartet, the St. Petersburg String Quartet, The Cleveland Orchestra, the Akron Symphony Orchestra, and the Canton Symphony Orchestra. She won First Prize in the CIM 29th Annual Darius Milhaud Performance Prize Concert in 2023, and she had the honor to perform in a masterclass with Michael Tilson Thomas in 2022.

ANNA JUDKINS

Anna Judkins is a native of Decatur, Alabama and studied both piano and organ through her formative years. She studied organ with Suzanne Purtee and piano with Kay Grubbs and Francis Schwemmer. At Brigham Young University, she took piano lessons with Robin Hancock, piano pedagogy with Irene Peery-Fox, and keyboard skills with Scott Holden. She studied organ with Douglas Bush and Don Cook. In 2015, she received her bachelor’s degree in organ performance. 

Anna has taught both piano and organ privately for 15 years and in various states (Utah, Alabama, Montana, and Ohio). She has taught at multiple traveling BYU Organ Workshops in locations across the United States and Canada. She also was the Director of the 2016 Utah Valley Pipe Organ Encounter, taught at local Organ Guild Super Saturday classes held at Brigham Young University, and taught at the 2018 RCCO Calgary Organ Festival. 

Anna has performed concerts throughout Utah, Montana, and Calgary, Canada. She was invited to perform at the Washington DC National Cathedral in 2020. She received third prize in the Utah American Guild of Organists Young Artists Competition. She has been the collaborative pianist and organist for multiple groups and soloists. Notably, she played with the Utah Baroque Ensemble, The Great Falls Symphony Orchestra Choir, and with Emmett O’Hanlon at the Irish Festival in Painesville, Ohio.

Anna is the current organist/pianist for both Westlake United Methodist Church in Westlake, Ohio and St. Rocco Catholic Church in Cleveland, Ohio. She is a sought-after accompanist for churches, recitals, juries, and adjudicated events in the area. 

MARINA KERZE

Marina Kerze received her musical education from prominent institutions in Russia such as the Perm College of Music and St. Petersburg State Conservatory. She moved to the United States in 2005 to study with renowned pianist Margarita Shevchenko. She received her master’s degree in piano performance from Cleveland State University and an artist diploma from Oberlin Conservatory of Music as a student of Sedmara Rutstein.

Marina has over 20 years of experience teaching piano. She received training in piano pedagogy while at Perm Music College and later at St. Petersburg State Conservatory. She has taught students of different ages and levels, some of them pursuing a musical career. She has served as a piano faculty member for the Aurora School of Music and as a collaborative pianist at Cleveland State University.

Marina made her debut performing as a soloist with a symphony orchestra at the age of 12 and has won several young artist piano competitions such as the Igumnov All-Russian Competition (Lipetsk, Russia) and the Tchaikovsky All-Russian Festival (Perm, Russia). She has participated in a great number of concerts as a soloist and a collaborative pianist and has also won several concerto competitions. She is known as a pianist with impressive virtuosity and fluid playing. Her performances have been described as “brilliant” and “powerful.”

Zach Lynn

Zachary Lynn earned his Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance from Cleveland State University, where he also earned a Master of Education degree in Curriculum and Instruction. While at Cleveland State, Zachary studied piano under Grammy Award-winning pianist Dr. Angelin Chang. Prior to attending Cleveland State, Zachary studied at Ohio University under internationally acclaimed pianist Dr. Sylvia Reynolds Eckes and at Cuyahoga Community College under Mi-yong Kwon.

Zachary started teaching private piano lessons in his undergraduate days at Ohio University at the Athens Community Music School. His students over the years have ranged from grade school children to adults. While studying at Cleveland State, he worked as the music theory tutor for the Tutoring and Academic Success Center at CSU. As an educator, he believes that the fundamental benefits of music can be enjoyed at any skill level and can have a positive influence on personal growth throughout life.

As a performing pianist, Zachary focuses on the core repertoire in classical music. In addition to performing classical repertoire, he is interested in the application of piano in non-western music and has performed multiple times in the Cleveland Thyagaraja Festival of Indian Carnatic music.

Ryan Reynolds

Ryan Reynolds received his bachelor’s degree in piano performance and music composition from Baldwin Wallace University (BW), where he served as principal pianist of the BW Symphony Orchestra and the BW Jazz Ensemble. In addition to piano and composition, Ryan also studied pipe organ, harpsichord, and basso continuo. He performs as a piano accompanist in the Cleveland area.

Ryan has taught students of a wide range of ages and experience levels. As a teacher, he values the development of aural skills and the cultivation of a strong internal sense of music. Priority is placed on pragmatic and sensible explanations of musical conventions that lend themselves to the acquisition of good musical intuition. He works to guide his students toward a relaxed, fluid technique that allows them to play with agility and musicality while avoiding tension and discomfort. Ryan appreciates the individuality of all of his students and adapts his approach with consideration to their goals, experiences, and learning styles.

Jarred Sorauf

Jarred holds a Bachelor’s in Piano Performance from Wittenberg University, and a Master’s in Piano Performance from Cleveland State University, where he studied with Grammy Award-winning Angelin Chang as well as Joela Jones. He also studied organ at the Cleveland Institute of Music with Todd Wilson. 

Jarred has taught private piano for over 10 years. He has been on the piano faculty at Cleveland State University and the faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) where he taught all of CIM’s keyboard skills courses. His approach draws from the Dorothy Taubman Institute which emphasizes releasing muscular tension and maximizing efficiency of position and movement for greater facility on the piano as well as preventing overuse injuries.

Jarred has considerable solo and collaborative experience in piano, organ, chorus, musical theater, and instrumental and choral conducting. Some highlights include performing in the 2016 World Piano Meeting in Coimbra, Portugal, and at the Conservatory Maurice-Baquet in Paris, France. He has also been piano accompanist for numerous ensembles including Cleveland Winds, the Cleveland State University Symphonic Band, and the Southwest Community Chorus in Berea. Jarred held the position of Director of Music at Middleburg Heights United Church of Christ and is the Director of Traditional Music at First Baptist Church of Greater Cleveland in Shaker Heights.