DEBORAH EASTWOOD serves as Instructor of Music at Morehead State University, Morehead, KY. She earned her D.M.A. in Performance and Literature at the University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign; M.M. in Trumpet Performance from the Peabody Conservatory of Music- John Hopkins University; and B.M. in TrumpetPerformance from James Madison University. She has performed and recorded as a member of the Athena Brass Band, Lexington Brass Band, and Horizon Brass Quintet, and SYMBIOSISDUO. She has performed with the Skyline Brass Ensemble, the Virginia Symphony, the West Virginia Symphony, the Danville Symphony, the Champaign -Urbana Symphony, and the Lancaster Opera Company. Dr. Eastwood has also performed at the International Trumpet Guild, International Women’s Brass Conference, International Trombone Association, Southeast Regional Tuba/ Euphonium Conference (SERTEC), North American Brass Brand Competitions, and the Great American Brass Band Festival. She has served as a member of the music faculties of Marshall University, WV; Kentucky Christian College, KY; and Maysville Community College, KY. Her teachers include Michael Ewald, Langston Fitzgerald III, and James Kluesner.
A native of South Korea, Dr. EUNBYOL KO is Assistant Professor of Piano at Morehead State University. She maintains an active international performing career as a soloist, chamber musician, and concerto soloist. She has performed in Canada, Austria, Germany, Belgium, Italy, the Czech Republic, South Korea, and throughout the United States, and has appeared with orchestras including the Kyungwon Philharmonic Orchestra, the Queen City Chamber Orchestra, and the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra. Her performances have been televised and broadcast nationally on MBC in Korea as well as Waterloo’s KCFP in Canada.
Ko has worked with notable groups and musicians throughout her career, including Leon Fleisher, Claude Franck, Awadagin Pratt, Julian Martin, Midori, the Tokyo String Quartet, and the Juilliard String Quartet. As a collaborator, she has worked with members of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic, Dayton Philharmonic, Columbus Symphony Orchestra, and the China National Symphony Orchestra. She has served as a chamber music coach and accompanist for the renowned Starling String Project and the Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music (CCM) Vocal Department, and has been an official accompanist for the Young-Pyong International Clarinet Festival in South Korea, the Henri Marteau International Violin Competition in Germany, and the Mozarteum International Summer Academy in Salzburg, Austria.
Prior to joining the Department of Music, Theatre and Dance at Morehead State University Ko was on the faculty at Austin Peay State University. She has also taught at CCM and has served on the faculty of the CCM Preparatory Department. Her students have won numerous awards and competitions, including first prizes in the Dayton Philharmonic Young Artists Competition, New Horizons Piano Competition (Cincinnati), and various MTNA State Competitions. Ko is an active member of the Music Teachers National Association and has also given presentations for the organization both locally and nationally.
Ko’s competition honors include first prizes in the South Korea National Piano Competition, the Eum-Yeon competition in South Korea, and the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music’s Chamber Music Competition. She was also a prize winner in the International Yellow Springs Chamber Music Competition, the Kankakee Young Artists Concerto Competition, and the American Protégé International Piano Competition.
Eunbyol Ko holds a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Piano Performance (with a Cognate in Chamber Music) from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and a Masters degree in Piano Performance from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Her former teachers include Soo-Jung Shin, Shigeo Neriki, Eugene Pridonoff, and James Tocco.
ALEX THIO is instrumental accompanist and piano instructor based in Cincinnati, Ohio. A native of Singapore, he pursued his undergraduate studies in piano performance at Grace College in Winona Lake, Indiana. He continued his academic pursuits at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music where he attained the Masters of Music degree in Piano Performance. He embarked on doctoral studies in Piano Performance and Piano Pedagogy at the Conservatory and continues to work towards acquiring the Doctor of Musical Arts degree.
As a collaborative pianist, Mr Thio has appeared in performances and competitions organized by the North American Brass Band Association, the International Women’s Brass Conference and the International Tuba Euphonium Conference and will be one of the official collaborative pianists for the IWBC 2010 in Toronto, Canada. He has also collaborated in concert with brass artists such as Gail Robertson, Stacy Baker, Jay Hunsberger, Timothy Northcut and Earle Louder.
He is an active adjudicator for evaluation festivals and piano competitions such as those organized by the American Guild of Music.
Mr Thio serves as choral accompanist to the Sycamore Junior High and High School choirs in Blue Ash, Ohio. He is also a private piano instructor and continues to offer piano and music theory instruction to students of all ages and performance levels within the Cincinnati area, including Blue Ash, Montgomery, Mason and West Chester.
Special Thanks to:
- the amazing TIM HOLBROOK and his photographic expertise! The portraits of the SYMBIOSISDUO on the front page of this website were Tim’s creations!
- the gracious TONI HOBBS and her skill in graphic design and photography as well. You make us look good!
- the Composers and Arrangers who creative works we were honored to perform and record. Thank you for trusting us with your ‘babies’! Click here to read about the SYMBIOSISDUO’s Composer and Arranger Friends!
