Piano

Ellen Masaki

Ellen Masaki's first teacher, at age 5, was her aunt Harriett Ichinose, who taught her to play by ear. Formal studies with James Gallet, a member of the Honolulu Symphony, followed at age 7 on a used Acrosonic spinet piano, and her talent led to performances at state functions. "I remember playing the pipe organ at a church in Kalihi on Dec. 7th, when Pearl Harbor was bombed," she said.

The Music Teachers National Association named Masaki "Teacher of the Year" in May 2000. The award was a first for the 124-year-old organization of independent and collegiate music teachers and recognizes "teachers who go far beyond the call of duty to exemplify excellence in music teaching."

Another highlight was being chosen as one of 10 American music teachers to visit Moscow to exchange musical ideas with Russian counterparts at the Gnesin Institute.

The Ellen Masaki School of Music currently has 400 enrolled students and 15 piano teaching associates, some of them former Masaki students.

Angela Cholakyan

Angela Cholakyan is an International Piano Competition winner and the recipient of prestigious awards in two piano competitions in the former Soviet Union. She has collaborated with a number of famous orchestra conductors and performed solo recitals throughout the Soviet Union and the United States.
Born in Sochi, Russia, Mrs. Cholakyan began professional piano studies at the age of six, which she continued at Tchaikovsky School for Gifted Children. A brilliant performance of Lizst’s Concerto #1 in E flat Major with the State Symphony Orchestra at the age of thirteen won Mrs. Cholakyan the reputation of a mature pianist and musician and started her performance career. Angela performed her first solo recital at the age of fourteen, and the following year she performed Brahms concerto #1, D minor with the State Symphony Orchestra. After winning prestigious awards in two challenging piano competitions in the Soviet Union, Angela moved to Moscow to study at Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory with Professor Malinin, a student and assistant of legendary Heinrich Neuhaus, the founder of the Russian School of Piano Performance.
In 1988, Angela Cholakyan immigrated to the United States. In 1998, she founded Tchaikovsky Music Academy, where she and her colleagues taught the best traditions of the Russian School of Performance to hundreds of students. In the United States, Angela was one of the top winners in the International Piano Competition in Florida. Currently, Mrs. Cholakyan is working on her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at USC simultaneously working as an assistant for Professor Norman Krieger. In 2007, Angela became the 1st prize winner of the prestigious Concerto Competition, and performed Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto #1, B flat minor, with the Thornton Symphony led by Carl St.Clair.