Oyku Goller hails from Istanbul, where she began piano lessons at the age of four. At the age of six, she was accepted into the Istanbul University State conservatory, where she studied with Professor Meral Yapali. She began her teaching career at the age of 15, and at the same time, maintained a performing career as a soloist and accompanist.

     Oyku graduated from Mimar Sinan University State Conservatory with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Collaborative Piano in 1995 and continued to work for both the Istanbul and Mimar Sinan Conservatories as an ensemble pianist and an accompanist for opera classes and musicals. For almost 20 years, she served as Korrepetitor (a job requiring one to be both opera coach and opera accompanist) for well-known operas such as La Boheme, La Traviata, The Marriage of Figaro, Magic Flute, and Carmen. Her accompanying skills spanned further than opera, including many solo instruments, such as violin, cello, flute, trombone, guitar, and contrabass.

     Oyku’s piano teaching career began in Istanbul, where many of her students were accepted into Conservatories and went on to become accomplished pianists. Upon her arrival to the United States in 2008, she continued teaching at Steckman Studio of Music in Oak Park, Chicago as well as the YMCA in Bethesda, Maryland. Oyku enjoys teaching a wide range of levels and ages – from the very young beginner to advanced teens to adults.

      Karoline Strickland is a 2007 graduate of Campbell University where she was a recipient of the Mary Williams and Marion L. Eakes Scholarship, as well as a recipient of the IBM Thomas J. Watson Scholarship and the 2003 NCHE College Scholarship. She graduated from Campbell with a B.A. in Comprehensive Music, emphasizing performance, and also completed a second major in English. She is a member of Sigma Tau Delta and Phi Kappa Phi.

    Throughout her high school and college years Karoline has won many musical awards, including the NCFMC Elizabeth Terrell and Estelle Brady Senior Piano Concerto awards at both state and district levels. She has achieved Superior ratings at state and district levels in the annual NCMTA Festival, and has been awarded many first place honors in advanced solo and concerto categories at the annual RPTA Young Artists Auditions, a local competition drawing more than 900 students every year. Karoline has received the Elizabeth Fletcher Memorial award from the Raleigh Music Club, and has been both a bronze and silver medalist in the Campbell University High School Piano Competition, competing against more than 20 piano students from across the state. In 2007 she was chosen to represent Campbell University in the Alma Dark Howard Competition, where she competed against representatives from four other colleges across the southeast, and was awarded second place. She has played in masterclasses for Adam Wibrowski, Mayron Tsong, Tinka Knopf, and John Salmon.

      Elisabeth Malcolm studied piano with Dr. John Salmon at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro where she received a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance and a Bachelor of Arts in violin.  She was a recipient of the Whitener Piano Scholarship and the Cooper Music Scholarship from 2003-2007.  In the spring of 2004 and 2006, she was the winner of the Euterpe Piano Competition.  She also received the Presser Music Scholarship and the MTNA Student Achievement Recognition (StAR) Award in 2007.

      Upon graduating from UNCG in 2007, Ms. Malcolm continued her studies at The University of Wisconsin at Madison.  She worked with Dr. Catherine Kautsky and Dr. Jessica Johnson and completed a Master of Music in Piano Performance and Pedagogy in 2009.  In 2008, Ms. Malcolm was a winner of the UW-Madison Beethoven Competition.  In addition to being a graduate teaching assistant there, she taught piano through the UW-Piano Lab as well as Piano Pioneers, a program that provides piano lessons for low-income families.  Her graduate research focused on healthy piano technique and wellness at the piano.  She presented this research in a workshop at UW-Madison in 2009.  Throughout her two years there, Ms. Malcolm was involved in the Collegiate Chapter of MTNA where she helped to coordinate Piano Day, an educational piano festival for local students.

     Upon completion of her masters degree, Ms. Malcolm received a 9-month post-graduate fellowship from the New School for Music Study in Princeton, New Jersey.  She continued teaching at the New School as a faculty member the following year (2010-2011).  While at the New School, she taught private and group piano to all ages and levels.  She was also the personal assistant to Louise Goss, one of the co-founders of the New School.  Besides teaching, Ms. Malcolm was the Music Director at Kingston United Methodist Church in Kingston, NJ, where she accompanied the choir, coordinated special music, and played piano for the weekly services.

     Ms. Malcolm is certified to teach Musikgarten classes for ages 0-5.  She received her certification in Greensboro, NC in 2010 and is qualified to teach Family Music (ages 0-2), Cycle of Seasons (ages 3-5), and All God’s Children Sing (ages 1-5).

     Ms. Malcolm has actively performed in her community as both a student in her years at UNCG and UW-Madison as well as during her time at the New School for Music Study.  In one of her performances with the New School, Ms. Malcolm collaborated with faculty to perform works by Bizet and Saint-Sains at Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall.