Sigma Alpha Iota

sai-national.org • Summer 2026 23 Distinguished Members Director and Coordinator of Applied Studies. In these roles, she oversees academic and performance programs, coordinates applied music instruction, mentors faculty and students, and supports the School of Music's artistic and curricular development. An internationally active pianist, educator, and clinician, Dr. Yang has performed, lectured, and conducted master classes throughout the Czech Republic, Korea, China, Taiwan, and the United States. During the summers of 2015, 2016, and 2018, she was invited to present recitals, lectures, and master classes, and also teach applied piano, at major institutions in China, including Sichuan Normal University, Sichuan University of Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Arts, Nanjing Normal University, Southwest University, Chongqing Normal University, Guangzhou Normal University, and Shandong University at Weihai. Dr. Yang has appeared as a featured performer at numerous international and national conferences and festivals, including "The Days of Contemporary Music" Festival in Prague, the Parma New Music Festival, the Festival of New Music at Florida State University, the Society of Composers, Inc. National Conference, the College Music Society International and National Conferences, and the Florida State Music Teachers Association Annual Conference. Her career reflects sustained achievement in piano performance, music education, and international artistic collaboration. In 2022, she was selected as a Troy University Chancellor's Fellow, and has been an advocate of the faculty/staff training and readiness in student mental health crisis. She is a Steinway Artist, recipient of the 2016 Steinway and Sons Top Teacher Award, and a 2023 inductee into the Steinway Teacher Hall of Fame. Dr. Yang earned a Doctor of Music in Collaborative/Chamber Music and a Master of Music in Accompanying from Florida State University, a Master of Music in Piano Performance from Ohio University, and a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Taipei, Taiwan. "Listen up: Music is a Language!" to various communities throughout the United States, including the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony's 2013–14 season of Young People's Concerts at the Kennedy Center, and Philadelphia Orchestra's 2022–23 season of School Concerts at Verizon Hall. RANAAN MEYER Meyer is a co-founder of Time for Three trio, Founder and Artistic Director of Honeywell Arts Academy, and is a solo performing artist, composer, and educator. In 2008, Meyer founded the Wabass Institute, which quickly became known to the double bass community as a premier summer program. After thirteen seasons as a standalone institute, Wabass expanded into the Honeywell Arts Academy, a full-scholarship music institute for not only double bassists, but also pianists and innovative musicians. The academy is fueled by the mission to foster an inclusive, supportive environment, where ideas are free flowing from teacher to student—and vice versa—inspired by the philosophy "sharing of knowledge." As a National Endowment for the Arts grantee, all programs of the Honeywell Arts Academy are full scholarships and funded purely by the generosity of charitable donations and grants. As a soloist, Meyer composed his first concerto for double bass and orchestra, "Concerto for My Family," in 2021. This piece was an homage to the people who lifted him up all along the way. Following this, composer Paul Frucht created an additional concerto for Meyer entitled "In Tseyt" (Yiddish for "In Time"), a celebration of Judaism that premiered in 2024. Meyer recorded on Michael Jackson's final album, which earned a gold record, and also made multiple recordings with NFL films. Meyer is in demand around the world for workshops in entrepreneurship, improvisation, memorization, performance preparation, teamwork, and outside-the-box learning. Most of all, his long-term vision is to empower the universe to listen through the "sharing of knowledge," and believes that if we keep the listening valve turned on, there will always be potential. Meyer is an alumnus of The Philadelphia Youth Orchestra, Temple Prep, Manhattan School of Music, and the Curtis Institute of Music. CHARLES YANG GRAMMY Award-winning artist and recipient of the 2018 Leonard Bernstein Award, Yang has been described by The Boston Globe as one who "plays classical violin with the charisma of a rock star." The Juilliard graduate began his violin studies with his mother, Sha Zhu, in Austin, Texas, and has since studied with world-renowned pedagogues Kurt Sassmanshaus, Paul Kantor, Brian Lewis and Glenn Dicterow. He has performed as soloist with orchestras and in concert throughout the United States, Europe, Brazil, Russia, China, and Taiwan. In 2005, the Mayor of Austin presented Yang with his own "Charles Yang Day," celebrated on June 9. Yang joined Time for Three in 2016 as violinist and lead singer. Not confined to only classical styles, Yang's improvisational crossover abilities as a violinist, electric violinist, and vocalist have led him to featured performances at festivals including The Aspen Music Festival, The Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, The Ravinia Festival, Caramoor, Interlochen, The YouTube Music Awards, TED, and Google Zeitgeist. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, Musikverein, Lincoln Center, Konzerthaus Berlin, Rudolfinum, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Royal Danish Theatre, Joe's Pub, ACL Live, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and The Forbidden City in Beijing, among many others. He has performed in the presence of two former US presidents and the Queen of Denmark. An adventurous composer, arranger, songwriter and collaborator, Yang's works have been featured in projects for Glamour and Pentagram. The Texas Observer stated, "Mr. Yang is a true crossover artist, a pioneer who can hop between classical and popular music and bring fresh ideas to fans of both genres. Rather than maintaining an insular focus and simply assuming that an audience for classical music will always exist, he wants to actively create that audience, to persuade and seduce others into enjoying a type of music as passionately as he does."

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