About Us
A Little Words About Us
Grace School of Music (Best Music Lessons in DC and Maryland)
Grace School of Music unites dedicated and experienced teachers to offer personalized music lessons both in-person, virtually, and in-home. Our mission is to inspire, educate, and elevate. We provide piano, string, voice, and woodwind lessons to students of all ages in the metropolitan Washington DC area, including Germantown, Gaithersburg, Boyds, Clarksburg, Potomac and Rockville in Maryland.
yao Lin, dma
Dr. Lin started to learn piano at very young age with the internationally renowned Soviet piano pedagogues A.A. Krasotov and A.M. Koncharov. With highest recommendation and exempt from entrance exams, she was enrolled in Odessa National Conservatory of Music in Ukraine where she received both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees with the uppermost honors, the “red diplomas”, from the conservatory.
Ms. Lin has won many awards in such international piano competitions as the Third National Piano Competition in Kelaipeida of Lithuania, the International Reprising Competition “южный экспресс” (Southern Express) in Yalta, Ukraine, the Northern Illinois University Concerto Competition, and the American Protégé International Piano and Strings Competition in New York City. She was appointed to the jury panel for the Chicago Chinese Music Festival Youth Piano Competition in from 2011 to 2013. In December 2017, the Maryland General Assembly awarded her with an Official Citation signed by Senator Susan Lee, in recognition of her artistic contribution to the arts in the State of Maryland.
Dr. Lin is fluency of speaking three languages, Russian, English and Chinese.
Meet Our Team
Guzal Isametdinova
Uzbekistani pianist Guzal Isametdinova has cultivated her passion for music from a very early age. As a soloist, she appeared with a Chamber Orchestra of Uzbekistan. As a chamber partner, Guzal won the Lyric Chamber Competition in Florida with her group Trio Fantasia, which led to their New York recital debut. Additionally, she is a prize recipient of competitions both as a soloist and as a chamber partner held in the United States, Europe, Russia, and Uzbekistan.
She participated in masterclasses for Leon Fleisher, Jonathan Feldman, Warren Jones, Martin Katz, and so many more. Among her summer programs were Aspen Music Festival and Collaborative Piano Institute. Guzal’s experience as a pianist ranges from baroque repertoire to contemporary music, including playing on organ and harpsichord.Guzal is currently pursuing Doctoral Degree at the University of Maryland under the guidance of of Rita Sloan.
Yuhe Wang
Yuhe Wang is currently pursuing her doctoral degree in piano performance at University of Maryland. Started piano at four, she quickly showed a strong talent and won several competitions in China before entering teenage years. She resumed her music study after coming to the U.S., originally aiming for a career in economics. She graduated with two Bachelor of Art degrees in both music and economic from University of Rochester, and a Master of Music degree in piano performance from Ithaca College. Her teachers include Qin Zhou, Peiying Huang, Shichao Zhang, Vincent Lenti, Dmitri Novgorodsky, and Larissa Dedova.
Yuhe received several masterclasses with renowned pianists such as Xianyi Liao, Yuri Didenko, Gerardo Teissonnière, Mikhail Mordvinov, Amy Gustafson, Nikolai Lugansky, Lukáš Vondráček, and so on.
Her teaching career began when she was appointed Teaching Assistant at University of Rochester, later awarded Graduate Assistantship at Ithaca College. She continues to receive Teaching Assistantship at University of Maryland. She teaches piano in both group and private settings.
Bixiao Wang, DMA
Dr. Bixiao Wang holds a doctorate in vocal performance from Shenandoah University. She has performed extensively across the United States and internationally throughout Europe and Asia. Highlights of her performances include the roles of Rosina in “The Barber of Seville,” Countess in “Le Nozze di Figaro,” Celia in “Lucio Silla,” and Laurentia in “Captain Lovelock.” Dr. Wang is an experienced private vocal and piano instructor with numerous honors and awards, including a first-class award for opera arias from the International Music Competition in Hong Kong.
Liangjun Shi, DMA
Dr. Liangjun Shi is an award-winning Chinese tenor and accomplished vocologist, known for his expertise in Chinese art song. He has performed at prestigious venues such as The Great Hall of the People and Peking University Hall. Shi has won several international music competitions, including the 24th International Music Competition in Korea and the 6th Sino-Singapore International Music Competition. His stage roles include Don Quixote in *Man of La Mancha* and Remendado in *Carmen*.
Dr. Shi holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Voice Pedagogy from the University of Maryland, where his dissertation focused on a pedagogical guide to Chinese art song. He also earned multiple advanced degrees in Voice Performance and Pedagogy from The Ohio State University and Peking University. As a certified Vocologist and Singing Health Specialist, he has contributed to national and international conferences, discussing topics related to vocal health and Chinese singing styles.
Shi currently serves as an Artist in Residence at Grace School of Music, where his students have excelled in leading roles and gained acceptance into prestigious programs. He is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, The Voice Foundation, and the Pan American Vocology Association.
ken Ding, mMA
An esteemed cellist, artist, and educator, holds a distinguished academic background and graduated from Central Conservatory of Music Beijing, China and Hochschule für Musik und Theater Rostock, Germany. Former cello faculty at the University of North Carolina’s Music Department.
As an outstanding solo cellist and chamber musician, Ken have been invited to perform on international tours in the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, and Czech Republic.
Ken is currently serving as the cello section instructor for the Maryland Classical Youth Orchestra (MCYO), where his expertise and guidance continue to shape the future of young musicians in the region. His best students’ concert series throughout the United States, including performances at renowned classical music venues such as Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall in New York, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., and the Music Center at Strathmore in Maryland.
Over a decade of teaching experience, his students have made distinguished level of achievement and received numerous accolades under Ken’s guidance, such as top prizes at the Joseph and Goldie Feder Memorial String Competition in Washington DC, top prizes at the International Grande Music String Competition in New York, Beethoven Young Musician Competition in Vienna, Austria.
Mingyue LI, DMA candidate
Mingyue Li is a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) candidate in Piano Performance at the University of Maryland, studying under renowned pianist Mikhail Volchok. With over a decade of dedicated piano study, Mingyue brings to her teaching and performing a unique blend of international training, concert experience, and passion for music education.
She holds a Master’s degree in Classical Piano Performance from the Manhattan School of Music, where she studied on scholarship, and a Bachelor’s degree from Utah Valley University, where she was awarded the NPPR scholarship. Her early training began at the Affiliated High School of the Xi’an Conservatory of Music in China.
As a soloist and chamber musician, Mingyue has appeared on prestigious stages across the U.S. and China, including performances at the Hunter International Music Festival, the Manhattan School of Music, and Utah Valley University. Her recent recitals include a master solo recital at Miller Hall, a saxophone-piano duo concert at Greenfield Hall, and chamber concerts at the Manhattan School of Music.
In addition to her performing career, Mingyue is a dedicated educator. She currently serves as a Teaching Assistant at the University of Maryland and has previously taught piano and music theory at Tutti Music and Arts and Wong’s Piano Studio in New York. Her students benefit not only from her academic expertise but also from her rich performance background and mentorship by prominent pianists such as Wael Farouk, Hilary Demske, Danping Sun, and Zhuangzhuang Li.
Mingyue has participated in masterclasses with distinguished artists including Jie Yuan, Jason Hardink, Xun Pan, and Misha Nomirovsky. She is also an award-winning pianist, having received top prizes at the American Mountain West International Piano Competition, the Shaanxi Instrumental Music Competition, and other national and international events.
Fluent in both English and Chinese, and with six years of educational and cultural immersion in the United States, Mingyue bridges Eastern and Western traditions, inspiring a new generation of pianists with both technical excellence and deep musicality.