Leadership
Board of Directors (2024-2025) CAPMT
CAPMT President: Dr. Michael Krikorian
CAPMT District I Director (San Diego North and
South): Erica Calvert
Executive Board
District 1
San Diego North Chapter
PRESIDENT
Sean Bennett
Sean Bennett’s recordings have been downloaded 2
million times, performing Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto #3 at 14, first recording
the famed Horowitz arrangements, and is an expert on why music sticks in peoples' thoughts. His studies include work with John Browning,
Peter Serkin, Emanuel Ax, Jerome Lowenthal, Seymour Lipkin, Leon Fleisher,
Dmitry Paperno, Vladimir Leyetchkiss and Gary Graffman. He gave 400+ concerts
through his early years winning 50 local, national, and international
competitions including the Kosciuszko National Chopin Competition and 7
Steinway awards, and was awarded a Steinway B.
Bennett taught neuroscience and music at Harvard and
Cambridge, working with Steven Pinker and Noam Chomsky, winning the Bok Teaching
Award, and advised Bill Gates Sr. as Gates Scholar Chair. He currently advises
former Verbier Academy students, 5 winners of the National MTNA Piano title,
1st prize Geneva, Rubinstein, Junior and Senior Tchaikovsky, Kaufman, and
Amateur Van Cliburn competition winners, including Alexander Malofeev, Benjamin
Grosvenor, Alexander Kantorow and others. Bennett is the CAPMT San Diego North
President and Artistic Advisor at the New Music School in Chicago. More
information at seanbennett.net
and recordings at www.youtube.com/slambennett
.
VICE PRESIDENT
Lee Galloway
Lee Galloway is an accomplished
performer, composer, teacher, competition judge and conference presenter. He
graduated from San Diego State University with honors in 1977 and he continued
graduate music studies with the pianist, Steven Gordon, a Columbia Artist. He
has been a Featured Guest Artist for NBC television (2003) and a musical coach
for CBS television (1999) and was the lead pianist for a piano themed Super
Bowl Halftime show, produced by Radio City Music Hall in 1988. His piano compositions
are published by the Alfred Music Company and the Hal Leonard Music
Corporation, and his recently published Musician’s Success Journal has been
very popular among teachers who prepare students for evaluation programs.
He has been a popular presenter for
the Music Teachers’ National Association (MTNA), World Piano Pedagogy
Conference (WPPC), the Music Teachers’ Associations of various states
throughout the U.S., as well as in China, where he has given pedagogical sessions
and Master Classes. In 2012, he created and presented the ‘Professional Studio
Institute,” a day- long series of music teacher business presentations for the
Professional track at Pedagogy Saturday at the MTNA National Conference in New
York. He was the State President of the Music Teachers’ Association of
California from 2007 to 2009 and he is in continuing
demand as a competition adjudicator. Lee was the President of the North Chapter
of San Diego CAPMT from 2024-2025.
TREASURER
Tavner
Delcamp
Tavner Delcamp grew up in a musical family
in Cincinnati, Ohio. He studied 15 years with
Frederic Gahr learning aspects of the technique and
interpretation needed for the performance of many well-known classical
works. He received a BS in Chemistry from the University of Cincinnati and
continued his studies in graduate school eventually receiving a PhD in
biochemistry. He moved to San Diego in 1996 and worked at the Johnson
& Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development Institute. Since
2011 he has taught chemistry at Navy College and at several San Diego community
colleges. He has taught piano to young students for over 20 years as well
as serving on the board of the San Diego North Chapter of CAPMT. After
stepping down from a three-year stint as President he now serves in the capacity
of Treasurer.
RECORDING SECRETARY
Victor Labenske
Victor Labenske
is professor of music at Point Loma Nazarene University where he has been on
the full-time faculty for almost 40 years. He teaches courses in piano and
composition. A summa cum laude graduate of PLNU, he
earned his master's degree in piano performance at the University of
Missouri-Kansas City, Conservatory of Music where he studied with Joanne
Baker. He also earned the Doctor of Musical Arts in piano performance at
the University of Southern California where he studied with Stewart Gordon.
He has been honored with such
distinctions as playing in the opening ceremonies of the 1984 Olympic Games and
being named an Academic All-American Scholar. His compositional output,
nearly 800 published compositions and arrangements, includes sacred piano
collections, educational piano music, and also
chamber, vocal and handbell works. Dr. Labenske remains active as a concert artist
both as soloist and as a collaborative performer. In the past, he served as the
CAPMT District 1 Coordinator. He currently serves on the board of the Music
Merit Foundation.
MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY
Alice Lin
I am a full-time piano teacher with a
background in piano performance from UC San Diego and have been a member of
CAPMT for two years. My teaching experience includes working with underserved
elementary and high school students, as well as postgraduate students in the
healthcare field. I previously served as Chief of Integrative Medicine for a
county healthcare system, where I incorporated music into patient care. I
hope to contribute to CAPMT SDNC as Membership Secretary by warmly welcoming
members and fostering a collegial and supportive community for music teachers
in our region.
DIRECTOR
Jihun Cho
Dr. Jihun Cho is a pianist and music
educator based in Carmel Valley, San Diego. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts
from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a Master's
degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, both in Piano Performance
and Pedagogy.
Alongside teaching private piano and
working as a music teacher at local Catholic schools, Dr. Cho is an active
researcher and presenter. Her work on inclusive teaching methods, including her
published research in the MTNA e-Journal, has been featured at prominent
international music education conferences.
Contact SDNC CAPMT: