Student Spotlight

Interview by Sarah Achenbach Violin was just a hobby when Pei Wu“Derek” Chen, a senior in the Conservatory, started playing at age 8 in Changhua, Taiwan. By 11, pastime became passion with his first solo performance with the Changhua Philharmonic and concertmaster stints for the Changhua Children String Orchestra and

Nikolai Klotchkov – BM, musical performance (saxophone); BS, interdisciplinary studies in kinesiology, computer science, and neuroscience; Auburn University, 2019 Winner of the Gulf Coast Steinway Society Concerto Competition and first prize in the Rising Talents of Americas International Competition (saxophone, 2018) Nikolai Klotchkov, a Russian-born saxophonist, scientist, and DMA student, loves

Music for New Media senior Aaron Gao’s internship led to his first television credit by Bret McCabe As a Peabody Conservatory Music for New Media student Aaron Gao realized that rhythm wasn’t his forté and practiced improving that skill by writing beat patterns. “I’m actually quite happy about this loop,

by Sarah Achenbach Jasmine Pigott carries a lot of firsts. She is on track to be the first Black female tuba player worldwide to earn a Doctor of Musical Arts degree. She’s produced the first EP of original tuba music in Black music styles composed and performed by Black tuba