Piano Day
Piano Day will be held on April 4, 2026. Registration for Piano Day will end on March 25, 2026. To be considered for participation in the masterclass, please send a video recording of the piece you'd like to play during the class to benjamin.corbin@cnu.edu. Due to limited time, a maximum of 6 students will be chosen for the masterclass. Piano Day is offered at no cost to the participants. Please bring a lunch and water bottle. This year's Piano Day features pianist Ching-Yi Lin in a masterclass and solo piano recital in the Peebles Theater.
Schedule
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 9:30 a.m. | Registration and Welcome! |
| 10 a.m. | Masterclass |
| 11 a.m. | Short break |
| 11:15 a.m. | Masterclass |
| 12:15 p.m. | Lunch break |
| Afternoon Schedule | TBD |
| 5 p.m. | Recital by Ching-Yi Lin, Montgomery College |
About Piano Day
Piano Day is an opportunity for beginner, intermediate and advanced student pianists aged 12-18 who are studying piano privately to experience a day of music and learning in the beautiful Ferguson Center for the Arts.
If you have any questions, or would like to see past schedules, please contact Dr. Benjamin Corbin, Director of Keyboard Studies, and Assistant Professor of Piano and Collaborative Arts for more information at (757) 594-7730 or benjamin.corbin@cnu.edu.
About Dr. Corbin
Pianist Ben Corbin maintains an active schedule as a performer, teacher, and masterclass clinician. He was awarded top prizes in the Phi Beta Music Competition, OMTA Piano Competition, and the Coeur d’Alene Symphony Young Artists’ Competition. Described as an “incisive” pianist (Colorado Springs Gazette) and praised for his “sensitive keyboard work” (The Virginia Pilot), Ben has also been featured on classical radio KMFA in Austin, TX, WFMT Chicago, and WHRO in Virginia. He has had the privilege of performing at Taiwan’s National Concert Hall, The American Theater, the Ferguson Center for the Arts, and on the Dame Myra Hess International Concert Series, as well as a concerto soloist with the Hampton Roads Philharmonic, the Chesapeake Bay Wind Ensemble, the Virginia Symphony Chamber Orchestra, the University of Oregon Symphony Orchestra, and the Christopher Newport University Wind Ensemble.
Dr. Corbin holds degrees in Piano Performance (BM, MM) from the University of Oregon where he studied with Dean Kramer and David Riley, and Collaborative Piano (MM, DMA) from The University of Texas at Austin where he studied with Anne Epperson. Ben was awarded fellowships in collaborative piano to attend the Brevard Music Center and the Colorado College Summer Music Festival. He has served as a member of the Collaborative Piano staff at the Meadowmount School of Music in New York, the International Clarinet Festival of Panamá, the Torggler Summer Vocal Institute, and Snow Pond Center for the Arts. Dr. Corbin is currently the Associate Professor of Piano and Collaborative Arts at Christopher Newport University, where he also serves as the Director of Keyboard Studies.
About Ching-Yi Lin
Originally from Taiwan, Lin swiftly established himself after winning the First Prize and Commissioned Prize at the Taipei Taiwan International Piano Competition. He received the Second Prize at the 2022 Texas State International Piano Competition, performing with the Central Texas Philharmonic. He also received the Third Prize at the 2019 Marbella International Piano Competition.
His other major prizes in both regional and international competitions include prizes in the Young Artist Competition by Philharmonic Society of Arlington, Metropolitan International Piano Competition, New York International Artist Association Competition, NTD International Piano Competition in New York City, and the Wonderlic Piano Competition in Baltimore.
In addition to his solo engagement, Lin has collaborated with members of Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Philadelphia Orchestra. These collaborations have taken place at prestigious venues such as the Grunin Center of the Arts, Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center, Kaufman Music Center, National Recital Hall at Taipei, and Will Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.
As the winner of Howard County Arts Council Rising Star Awards Competition in 2023, he has made his recital tour of celebrating of Rachmaninoff’s 150th birthday cross several venues in Maryland and Washington D.C. In 2024, his highlight includes being featured as a guest pianist in a dedicated concert honoring the legendary Leon Fleisher at the Mohican Hills Concert Series.
A vivid music educator, Ching-Yi was appointed as a faculty associate at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University between 2021 and 2024. He has given and coached masterclasses and lectures at Berkshire High Peaks Festival, Gijon International Piano Festival, Kirov International Music Festival, Ocean County College, Soochow University, University of Maryland, and University of Maryland at Baltimore County. He completed his Bachelor of Music degree at Soochow University in Taiwan. He holds his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the Peabody Institute as a recipient of the Richard Franko Goldman Prize in Performance under the tutelage of Alexander Shtarkman. Since 2025, he has been appointed as a faculty at the Montgomery College.