Roza Kostrzewska Yoder, Artistic Director

Róża made her orchestral debut at the age of eleven, has recorded for Polish National Radio and Polish National Television, and is the prizewinner of many piano competitions. She has collaborated in chamber performances with Luz Leskowitz, Jorg Demus, Paul Badura-Skoda, and the Salzburg Solisti, and has performed in solo recital in Germany, Austria, Finland, Italy, Switzerland, Poland, and the United States.

A graduate with highest distinction from the Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, Poland, Róża studied under Bronislava Kawalla, Jan Ekier, Former Chair of the Jury of the Chopin International Piano Competition, and Daniel Pollack, Antoinette and John Perry, Vitaly Margulis, and Irina Dąbrowska. Active as a performer and teacher in Greater Los Angeles, Róża frequently gives master classes and lectures for students and teachers, and has led many study programs in Poland, France, and the United States.

Róża has taught piano festivals as a colleague of Dina Joffe (Second Prize Winner of the Chopin International Piano Competition), Natalia Troull (Second Prize Winner of the Tchaikovsky Competition and Professor of Piano at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory), Pavel Nersessian (First Prize Winner of the International Dublin Piano Competition and Professor of Piano at Boston University), and Edward Wolanin (First Prize, Darmstadt International Piano Competition).

Douglas Yoder

Douglas Yoder, Ph.D., holds degrees and advanced credentials from the University of Oxford, the Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, Claremont Graduate University, Fuller Theological Seminary, and Penn State University. A Marshall Scholar at Oxford, he later pursued advanced piano studies in Warsaw, where he met his wife and longtime artistic partner, Róża Kostrzewska Yoder. Together, they founded their Los Angeles piano studio more than 30 years ago.

Douglas has performed as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States and Europe and has taught at festivals and educational programs across the country. His students have earned awards at the local, state, national, and international levels.

Beyond music, Douglas is a scholar and author whose book, Tanakh Epistemology: Knowledge and Power, Religious and Secular, was published by Cambridge University Press. Learn more at DouglasYoder.net

Gaby Sipen

Gabrielle Sipen is a Los Angeles born pianist and educator whose performances have spanned the United States, Puerto Rico, and Europe in venues including Palazzo Chigi-Saracini, Chopin’s home at Zelazowa Wola, Zipper Concert Hall, Skirball Cultural Center, Steinway Gallery, and Richard Nixon Presidential Library.

Since making her orchestral debut at the age of 12 with the Southwestern Youth Festival Orchestra, Gabrielle has appeared with the UCLA Symphony, Los Angeles Bach Festival Orchestra, Brentwood Westwood Symphony Orchestra, Antelope Valley Symphony Orchestra, and Polish Festival Orchestra.

Gabrielle is a prizewinner of many competitions, including the XIV Chopin International Piano Competition in Hartford CT, and X Los Angeles International Liszt Competition. She was awarded a Dean’s Medal at UCLA and has received awards at the state and national level in MTNA, MTAC, and CAPMT competitions. 

Currently, Gabrielle is completing her DMA in Piano Performance at UCLA with Dr. Inna Faliks. Prior to her graduate studies, Gabrielle studied with Roza Yoder. She has participated in masterclasses with many distinguished musicians including Dina Joffe, Boris Berman, Ian Jones, Pavel Nerssesian, Natalia Troull, Eteri Andjaparidze, Edward Wolanin, Vitaly Margulis, and Dmitry Rachmanov.

Prior to her doctorate studies, Gabrielle received a Bachelor of Science in Psychobiology and a Master of Music in Piano Performance from UCLA. She works as a Behavioral Neuroscience Teaching Fellow at UCLA and has assisted in various research projects at USC’s Brain & Music Lab. 

Lukasz Yoder, Marketing & Studio Manager

Łukasz Yoder is an award-winning concert pianist and recording artist. He earned both his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in Piano Performance from the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music on full scholarship, at UCLA, under Professor Inna Faliks, Chair of the Piano Department. He began his training with his mother, Studio Chopin founder Roza Kostrzewska Yoder, and has also been mentored by acclaimed American pianist Garrick Ohlsson.

In 2026, Łukasz made his orchestral debut performing Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the UCLA Symphony, receiving a standing ovation. Praised by Los Angeles Opus for his “liquid sensitivity” and “formidable power,” he has performed throughout the United States, Europe and Puerto Rico. His appearances include concerts at Zipper Hall, the Polish Embassy in Washington, D.C., the Kosciuszko Foundation in New York City, the Steinway Society of Puerto Rico, and historic venues in Poland including Żelazowa Wola, the birthplace of Fryderyk Chopin. He has also recorded for Polish Radio and Television.

Łukasz is the Grand Prize winner of the Lansum International Music Festival and a prizewinner in numerous state, national and international competitions, including the Kosciuszko Foundation National Chopin Competition, the Claudette Sorel International Piano Competition and the Beverly Hills National Auditions.