Portland

Born and raised in Oregon, the pianist Sandra Hyslop has woven a strong fabric from the fibers of her multi-faceted immersion in music. In many corners of the professional music world she has distinguished herself through her academic studies and professional experiences. As an acclaimed performer, writer, editor, and teacher, she has reached music-loving listeners and readers far and wide. As a studio and classroom teacher and coach, she has inspired fellow performers and students with her probing instruction and musical insights.

Since she first discovered the joy of working with singers and playing their vocal repertoire as a young pianist, Ms. Hyslop has coached and concertized with singers and other instrumentalists throughout the United States and abroad. Her assured stage demeanor and performances have received warm approval from audiences and critics in Los Angeles, Saint Louis, Minneapolis, Portland, and other large cities, as well as enthusiastic music lovers in smaller towns, such as Bloomington (Indiana), Stockbridge (Massachusetts), Calhoun (Georgia), Santa Barbara (California), Minot (North Dakota), and Rosario, Orcas Island (Washington).

For her writing Ms. Hyslop has received awards and commissions. She has earned the prestigious Deems Taylor Award of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) for distinguished writing about music. She received an NEA grant to produce her original stage play Roland Hayes: The Tenor of His Time, and the Minneapolis-based ensemble VocalEssence commissioned and performed her stage work Roland Hayes, Force of Nature on several mid-West stages. Ms. Hyslop recently completed a full-length biography, soon to be published, of the great violinist and beloved teacher Josef Gingold. She holds in reverent memory her two principal teachers, the professors Leonard Hokanson (piano) and Dale Moore (voice), under whose guidance she earned a master's degree in piano performance from Indiana University, Bloomington.

Eugene

Alexis Gibbons is a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music and has been teaching piano in Eugene, Oregon for over 13 years. She received a Bachelor of Music in Music Performance from the University of Oregon (UO) in 2010. At the UO, she studied performance with Dr. Alexandre Dossin, accompaniment with Dr. David Riley and pedagogy with Dr. Claire Wachter. She also earned a Bachelor of Arts in Russian and Eastern European Studies.

As a member of Oregon Music Teachers Association, she has volunteered in many positions at both the district and state level. At the district level, she has served as a corresponding secretary, chaired district festivals, and continues to volunteer as the website chair. At the state level, she served as Publications Chair and editor of Music News. She is currently volunteering on the Conference Committee.

In 2021, Alexis completed the training and final panel to become an OMTA adjudicator. She now adjudicates for OMTA Syllabus exams and festivals.

Alexis is continually working on keeping her studio active and vibrant. Her students perform regularly and participate in OMTA events.

When not teaching, she spends time with her partner, Micah and daughter, Iris. She also enjoys trail running, mountain climbing, mountain biking, skiing, reading, cooking, and playing with her dog and cat.

Eugene

Lucy Clevenger was born in Kiev, Ukraine in 1961. Her musical education included 7 years of preparatory music school, followed by music college from 1977 to 1982, and then graduate studies at Kiev State Conservatory from 1983 to 1989. From then until 1992, when Lucy emigrated to the United States, she worked as a music editor at the Ukrainian State Radio Station.

In 1995 Lucy began teaching piano privately in San Diego and continued until 2005, when she moved to Eugene, Oregon.Lucy was not a part of a music teacher organization in California but maintained an active studio there.. In 2006 she became a member of OMTA, and since then her teaching skills and confidence as a teacher have increased substantially. Lucy gained valuable instruction from her colleagues, from masterclasses and numerous district presentations, the syllabus program, and State conferences.

Lucy achieved national certification in 2014, and in 2015 she became a syllabus adjudicator. Working as an adjudicator has enhanced my teaching perspective. Her current studio includes many very talented students who participate in various district and state events. They win competitions, receive scholarships, and successfully participate in the syllabus program. To keep up with them, she must practice Chopin etudes, Beethoven Sonatas, Rachmaninoff Preludes, Prokofieff Visions Fugitives, and many other works. With my teaching studio firmly established and thriving, Lucy would now like to dedicate a portion of her time to advancing my personal performance skills.

Happy Valley

Kristy Moore was born and raised in Brazil, where she lived until she was 15 years old. Under her parents’ direction, she started playing the piano at the age of 3 and began her formal training when she arrived in the United States. As the result of positive marks from competition judges, she decided to pursue a music degree at Portland State University, graduating in 1997 with a Bachelor of music degree in Piano Performance. While at Portland State she taught Applied Piano and served as the Chamber Choir accompanist under the direction of Dr. Bruce Browne. She has studied with Harold Gray, Mary Kogen, Carol Rich, and Jeff Payne, and has enjoyed mentorship under Dorothy Fahlman and Nellie Tholen.

In addition to her work as a solo pianist and accompanist, Kristy has directed numerous choral groups. Under her leadership, Westside Christian High School Choir garnered top awards at the state level. Kristy founded Voice for the Voiceless, a non profit youth choir which performed with the purpose of promoting awareness and prevention of child trafficking. Along with several performances in the Portland area, and travels took to Princeton, New Jersey, they were invited to perform at the Oregon State Capitol, where they presented their program of commissioned compositions. In total, the choir raised over $250,000 for this worthwhile cause.

Kristy currently maintains a private studio in Happy Valley, OR, and performs with the Adent and Moore Piano Duo. She also busies herself by accompanying the choirs at Clackamas and Nelson High school and serves as an Interim Worship Leader at Lynchwood Church of God.

Eugene

At the age of five, Kumiko Vanderbush began learning piano from her mother in Japan who is a piano teacher. She benefited from listening to her mother teach piano at home in her private studio. Kumiko went on to study piano in high school and college.

Kumiko graduated from Musashino Music High School and Musashino University with a Bachelors of Arts in Tokyo, Japan. She enjoyed spending her free time playing piano with vocalist, clarinet, trumpet, and percussion players. She also joined a hiking and backpacking club that explored the Japan alps.

After moving to Eugene, Oregon she and her husband raised three daughters. Kumiko received her Oregon Teaching Certificate, and taught them in elementary school. She has enjoyed being involved in her community, creating her own songs, skits and taiko songs to teach the Japanese language.

Kumiko is excited about starting her own piano studio.

In her free time, she takes pleasure in cooking, gardening, taking excise classes, reading, and watching ballet dance performances.

Eugene

Ellen McQuilkin is a pianist and teacher based in Eugene, Oregon who is passionate about music, teaching, and the learning process. Ellen’s formal study of classical piano began with Aurora de la Paz Arias Luna at the Escuela de Bellas Artes in Toluca, México. She continued her studies with Dr. Robert Bowman (California State University, Chico) and Dr. Dean Kramer (University of Oregon). She performs locally at OMTA events, and in 2006 she and pianist Margaret Little-hales premiered Legacies, a four-hand piano work by her husband, composer Terry McQuilkin, at the OMTA State Conference. In 2019 she performed at the Orfeo Music Festival in Vipiteno/Sterzing, Italy. She continues to be an active member of OMTA, serving at the state level as an adjudicator and member of the repertoire and syllabus committees, and on the OMTA Eugene District board.

Portland

Lilin Chen holds a doctorate in piano pedagogy from Indiana University, as well as master’s degrees in piano performance from IU and piano accompanying from the University of Southern California, and a bachelor’s degree in piano from National Taiwan Normal University. She has taught in universities and pre-college music programs in the United States and Taiwan. She was also a member of the Ars Nova Piano Trio, which toured Taiwan and the United States. In Indiana, she served as vice-president of the local branch of NFMC (National Federation of Music Clubs). Since moving to Portland in 2011, Lilin has her own piano studio, has taught at Reed College, has judged competitions and auditions, and is currently treasure of Trillium Music Club, a branch of OFMC (Oregon Federal of Music Clubs). She enjoys performing as a soloist and as a collaborative pianist with a variety of musicians.