7th Apex International Music Competition Judge Committee (To be Updated)

Dr. Min Kim

Judge Committee Director

Dr. Min Kim has studied piano in Canada and the United States with distinguished musicians. Her teachers include Bela Siki, Herbert Stessin, Nelita True, and Kum Sing Lee. She received her Bachelor and Masters of Music in piano performance from The Juilliard School in New York City, and a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the Eastman School in Rochester, New York. She presently is the chair of the piano department at New Jersey City University, as well as teaching at the Precollege Division at the Manhattan School of Music. Many of Dr. Kim’s pupils have been prizewinners and she is frequently in demand as a guest master class teacher and adjudicator. Along with her busy teaching schedule, she performs regularly as a soloist and a chamber musician throughout the tri-state area and Canada.

Dr. Kayoung An

Instrumental Judge

“Passionate,” “expressive,” “bold,” and “sensitive: This is how critics described pianist Kayoung

An’s performance with the Bayerische Kammerphilharmonie in 2017. Her playing was praised

by Korea Music Review: “Along with elegance, she has fire.”

A multi-award-winning pianist, An has performed widely as both soloist and chamber musician,

appearing on some of the world’s major stages, including Carnegie Hall, SummerStage, Bruno

Walter Auditorium, Seoul Arts Center, and the Chicago Cultural Center. Her performances have

been broadcast on WFMT Chicago (98.7 MHz), KBS Classic FM, KBS-TV, and WBFY Belfast

Radio (100.9 MHz), reaching audiences across the United States, Korea, and Europe.

Throughout her career, An has collaborated with a distinguished roster of conductors, among

them Gábor Hontvári, Lawrence Golan, and Francis Fortier. She has been featured as a guest

soloist at leading concert series and festivals, including the Korean-U.S. Friendship Cultural

Festival, the Bar Harbor Music Festival, Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts.

Her recent album, “Kayoung An and Friends Play Bernard Hoffer”, was recorded in partnership

with conductor David Gilbert, former assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic and

longtime music director of the Greenwich Symphony Orchestra.

In addition to her performing career, An is deeply devoted to music education. She is a member

of the Piano and Chamber Music Faculty at the Manhattan School of Music Precollege Division,

where she has established herself as an inspiring and sought-after mentor. Her students have

won top prizes in some of the most respected national and international competitions.

Dr. Alexander Timofeev

Instrumental Judge

Alexander Timofeev debuted as a composer and pianist at 19, performing his Piano Concerto (2003) with the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Moldova. His accolades include the American Composers Orchestra's Audience Choice Award and Commission at the 2017 Underwood New Music Readings (New York); he is the finalist of the 2021 Organ Taurida International Composition Competition, and 2018 International Competition of the Moscow Conservatory for Young Composers ‘New Classics’ (Russia); winner of the 2016 Richard Weerts Composition Competition (USA); finalist of the 2016 Thailand International Composition Festival Competition; and Commissioned Composer for the 2019 NJMTA conference. His compositions have been broadcast on WQXR, Pro TV (Romania) and Tele-Radio Moldova.

As a pianist, Timofeev won First Prizes at Niš International Piano Competition, Serbia (2006) and the Margaret Guthman Piano Competition, Atlanta (2006), and received Third Prize at the 2007 MTNA Young Artist Piano Competition (Toronto). The Philadelphia Inquirer lauded Timofeev’s playing as ‘superb’ in the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2 performances with the Philadelphia Ballet Orchestra in 2023.

Alexander Timofeev completed his DMA studies in piano performance at the University of Maryland, College Park (2012). He holds a Master of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music (2008) and a dual B.M. degree in piano performance and composition from Rowan University (2006). His teachers included Veda Zuponcic, Zlata Tkach, Harold Oliver, Larissa Dedova, Douglas Humpherys, Lawrence Moss, Victor Levinzon, Aliona Vardanean, and Mikhail Sechkin. Dr. Timofeev currently serves as 3/4-time faculty at Rowan University.

Dr. Tianyi Li

Instrumental Judge

A native of Shenzhen, China, TianYi Li traveled to New York in his early teens to pursue

his love of piano. Within six years, he had finished his high school and undergraduate curricula,

graduating cum laude from New York University Steinhardt, where he worked with Eduardus

Halim. He continued his studies at the Juilliard School, where he obtained his Master of Music

degree in 2020 and his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in 2025 under the guidance of Jerome

Lowenthal. Mr. Li is the recipient of the third prize, alongside prizes for best performance of a

semifinal recital, best performance of romantic works, and best performance of a Scarlatti

Sonata at the 2017 Tbilisi International Piano Competition, the sixth prize at the 2024 Xiamen

International Piano Competition, and a two-time Bowdoin International Music Festival piano

fellow in 2022 and 2024. As a soloist, he has given recitals in the United States, Europe, and

China. Recent highlights include a concert at the Oracle Piano Society in Arizona and the

complete Rachmaninoff Études-Tableaux at the Shanghai International Piano Festival &

Institute. As a chamber musician, he has performed with the New Juilliard Ensemble and

AXIOM in Alice Tully Hall, Peter Jay Sharp Theater, and at the Metropolitan Opera Club. He

has also served as resident artist at the Suncoast Composer Fellowship Program in Sarasota and

at the Bermuda Piano Festival. A devoted pedagogue, Mr. Li is a Secondary Piano instructor at

Juilliard, a Postgraduate Teaching Fellow at the New School for Music Study, and maintains an

active private studio. He lives in Princeton, New Jersey, with his family.

Dr. Rachel YunKyung Choo

Instrumental Judge

Pianist Rachel Yunkyung Choo has been praised for her artistry and musical sensitivity, with The New York Sun calling her Lincoln Center debut “perfect” and The New York Times noting she “stood out among the players” at Carnegie Hall. Rachel made her U.S. debut at the David Geffen Hall (formerly Avery Fisher Hall) at Lincoln Center with the Juilliard Orchestra under maestro James Colon.

A native of Seoul, Korea, Rachel gave her first public solo recital at the age of 12 at Kum-ho Arts Hall as part of the Prodigy Concert Series, marking the beginning of her distinguished performing career. Her performances have included solo recitals and chamber concerts at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Bruno Walter Auditorium at Lincoln Center, the Kumho Art Hall, the Seoul Arts Center, the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, the Youngsan Art Hall, the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. In 2021, she was featured in the Rising Artists’ Series at Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul, Korea. Rachel has appeared as a soloist with several orchestras, including Korean National University of Arts Orchestra, Gangnam Symphony Orchestra, Rutgers Symphony Orchestra, The Juilliard Orchestra, and TBC Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra. The performances and interviews have been broadcast on Cleveland’s WCLV Radio, New Jersey’s WWFM, and Korea's KBS Classic FM Radio.

Rachel has completed her undergraduate and Master’s studies with Yoheved Kaplinsky and Matti Raekallio at the Juilliard School and Graduate Performance Diploma at the Peabody institute of The Johns Hopkins University with Yong Hi Moon. She received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance at the Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University.

Outside of the stage, Rachel serves as a faculty member at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, where she oversees the Undergraduate Piano Proficiency and Chamber Music program.

More Jude Committee Members will be added soon!