Our Alumni

Hailed as “spine-tingling” (Fort Worth Star-Telegram) and “breathtaking” (Boston Musical Intelligencer), American pianist Kyle Orth has distinguished himself globally as a captivating soloist and chamber musician. Since his orchestral debut at the age of fifteen, Orth has appeared as a soloist with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Israel Symphony Orchestra, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, and Orquesta Sinfónica de Oaxaca (Mexico), under the batons of Jaap van Zweden, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Hugh Wolff, and others. He recently joined Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra on their subscription series to present Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 2. His “unbuttoned enthusiasm” left a “sparkling impression” on critics, and the Star Tribune further commended his playing for its “thrillingly visceral” impact.

As a chamber musician, Orth has performed in prominent international festivals including the Perlman Music Program, the Ravinia Steans Music Institute, the Bowdoin International Music Festival, and the Pablo Casals Festival-Academie in France. He studied at Texas Christian University and New England Conservatory as a student of John Owings and Wha Kyung Byun. In 2021 Orth was appointed Professor of Piano, Wheaton College Conservatory of Music in Illinois. 

Matan Porat is one of the most original voices to have emerged in recent years, with artistic activity encompassing a wide spectrum of work as a pianist and composer.

Porat has played solo recitals at such venues as the Philharmonie in Berlin, Wigmore Hall in London, Auditorium du Louvre and Salle Gaveau in Paris, the Alte Oper in Frankfurt and 92Y in New York. He has appeared as a soloist with orchestras including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia, Concerto Budapest, Geneva Camerata, SWR Sinfonieorchester, Münchener Kammerorchester, Hong Kong Sinfonietta and Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra.

Head of the Piano department and Lecturer of Piano Music and Piano Pedagogy at the Sibelius Academy, studied at the Sibelius Academy (Matti Raekallio and Teppo Koivisto) and at the HfM Karlsruhe (Carmen Piazzini). His research interests are piano practice and piano sight reading. Pokki is also the founder and Artistic Director of Mänttä Music Festival and the co-founder and Coordinator of the Youth Piano Academy, a training program for exceptionally talented teenagers. He is also a Board Member of EPTA Finland (European Piano Teachers´ Association)

Since the age of seven he has performed at many concerts in Israel, Europe and the USA: Germany, Austria, France, Scotland, Holland, Switzerland, Portugal, Florida, Washington DC and in the Carnegie Hall in New-York . He often performs for the Israeli "voice of music" channel, both in live broadcasts and in recordings, and has recorded for the Dutch radio as well.