Dr. Esther Shin Chuang

Dr. Esther Shin Chuang, an award-winning pianist, has given concerts on four continents: North America, Asia, Africa, and Europe. She has shared music with audiences in the United States, Canada, Uganda, Kenya, Korea, Taiwan, Haiti, Jamaica, Malaysia, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, the UK, and Austria. She has performed in numerous prestigious venues worldwide, including St. Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh, Scotland and the Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall; both in New York City, US. She performed in the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series at the Chicago Cultural Center in the US, hosted by the International Music Foundation and broadcasted live by 98.7 WFMT (Classical Radio Station). Dr. Chuang won many competitions, including the Jan and Beattie Wood Concerto Competition, the 11th Zimmerli Piano Competition, the 19th International Young Artist Competition, the Associated Teachers of Music League Young Artist Competition, the Baltimore Music Club, and the Manchester Young Artist Competition. She has participated and performed in the Bowdoin Summer Music Festival in Maine, Beethoven Institute in New York, Brevard Music Center in Brevard in North Carolina, the Gijon International Piano Festival in Gijon, Spain, the International Summer Academy Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, and the Aspen Music Festival and School in Aspen in Colorado for five summers as a full scholarship recipient. In 2011, she was the assistant dean of the Brevard Music Festival and School. Dr. Chuang studied as a scholarship student in the Pre-College Division of the Juilliard School in New York and earned her Bachelor of Music degree at the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. She earned her Master of Music degree at the Manhattan School of Music in New York before earning her Doctorate of Worship Studies at Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies in Jacksonville. She has been on the faculty of music at Moody Bible Institute, a University in Chicago, for six years before her recent relocation to Penang, Malaysia.

Abigail Ng Jingxuan

15-year-old Abigail Ng Jingxuan is an aspiring classical ballerina with an impressive track record in collaborative, cross-disciplinary dance projects and competitions within high-pressure performing arts environments. She is a fast learner and adept at managing various rehearsals at once. She is no stranger to the performing arts scene of George Town, Penang. At George Town Festival 2019, Abigail performed in “When Night Falls: The Nocturne” (Group) and “Art in the City: Colour Your Life” (Group & Solo). Besides that, she was also the soloist in “The Enchanting Nature”, the Opening Dance for Penang Hot Air Balloons Fiesta 2020, and one of the principal dancers of 《种》, the opening dance for Georgetown Chinese New Year Festival 槟城庙会 2020. During the pandemic, Abigail performed with other young dancers of Penang in “mengHIJAU”, an original dance production by Liu Yong Sean, which was streamed online during the Penang Arts Council’s O:PEN Art Festival in April 2021. During the KLWKND Arts Festival in November 2021, Abigail performed a duet with her coach, Liu Yong Sean, in “Ode to Bamboo”, which he choreographed at the Art of Dance, sharing the stage with other world-renowned Malaysian dancers/choreographers like Lee Swee Keong, Aida Redza, Suhaili Micheline and Raziman Sarbini. Her most recent performance was in “Paquita” as soloist and demi-soloist and “Butterfly Lovers” (corps de ballet) in Mix Bill, a production by Asia Ballet Academy and Kenny Shim Dance Collective, performed at PJPAC 31 Dec 2021 – 2 Jan 2022.