Faculty

Sarah Bryan is currently pursuing an M.Ed. in Secondary Education and an M.M. in Performance and Pedagogy and studies with Dr. Jason Kwak. She earned her Bachelor’s in Piano Performance at Texas Christian University under the tutelage of John Owings. She has also studied with Dr. Sarah Spencer and several distinguished artists including Bradley Bolen, Adam Wodnicki, John Solomons, Jon Novacek, and Harold Martina. She holds a position at TCU as a website manager for PianoTexas. She was among the first North American pianists and teachers invited by concert pianist Eduardo Rojas to participate in the Popayan International Music Festival in Colombia in 2023, where she hosted a masterclass and performed in the opening ceremonies at the Guillermo Valencia Theater.

Martin Kesuma is an award-winning pianist acclaimed for his “heartfelt flexibility and harmonic sensitivity” (Fanfare Magazine) and “clearly articulated playing of the highest order” (The Art Music Lounge). He has performed nationally and internationally as a soloist and collaborative artist. He has appeared as a soloist with the Central Texas Philharmonic, Round Rock Symphony, Density512, Texas State Symphony Orchestra, University of Texas University Orchestra, and Orkes Simfoni Nasional Indonesia.

Prizewinner of numerous international competitions, his awards include top prizes at the San Jose International Piano Competition, Vancouver International Music Competition, Betty Dickinson Piano Competition, ASEAN International Concerto Competition, and the Texas State International Piano Festival Concerto Competition. His debut album, Detours, released on Centaur Records in 2021, received critical acclaim and features works by Ginastera, Granados, Kapustin, Takemitsu, Suprana, and Carl Vine. He has also been featured in interviews and performances on NPR, KUTX, Texas Public Radio, and K-Radio New York.

Alongside his performing career, Kesuma is active as an educator and arts leader. He is the Marketing Director of the Texas State International Piano Festival. In addition, he served on the faculty of Texas State University and Texas Lutheran University, and was Director of the FunKey Piano Project at Texas State University.

A native of Jakarta, Indonesia, he holds the Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees from the University of Texas at Austin, an Artist Diploma from the Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory of Music, and a Bachelor of Music degree and Performer’s Certificate from Texas State University. His principal teachers include Anton Nel, James Anagnoson, Jason Kwak, and Washington Garcia.

Born in Kazan, Russia, into a family of musicians, Daria Rabotkina gave her first solo recital at the age of 10. Her education started at the Specialized Music School under the guidance of her parents and Nora Kazatchkova. Later, it continued in Kazan State Conservatory and Mannes College of Music in New York City under the tutelage of Vladimir Feltsman. In addition, she holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Eastman School of Music where she studied with Natalya Antonova.

Concerto highlights include San Francisco and New World symphonies, Kirov (Mariinsky) Orchestra, Moscow State Symphony, Winnipeg Symphony, Hudson Philharmonic, Charleston Symphony, Harrisburg Symphony, Orquesta Sinfonica de Concepción, and Turku Philharmonic Orchestra. Rabotkina has collaborated with Michael Tilson Thomas, Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Feltsman, Julian Kuerti, JoAnn Falletta, Benjamin Shwartz, and Giancarlo Guerrero. As a soloist, she has given recitals at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, Kennedy Center, Weill Recital Hall and Merkin Concert Hall in New York City, Ravinia’s Rising Stars, and Dame Myra Hess in Chicago. Her appearances abroad include Denmark, Switzerland, Germany, France, Mexico, and Japan.

Winner of the 2007 Concert Artists Guild International Competition, Rabotkina received top prizes at several international competitions and participated in Russia’s White Nights, Finland’s Kuhmo, and Copenhagen’s Summer festivals. In the United States, Rabotkina has appeared at the Rockport Chamber Music, International Keyboard Institute, PianoSummer at New Paltz, and San Francisco International Piano festivals.

Her first three recordings were done with CAG Records as part of the Victor Elmaleh Collection. The debut recording features Tchaikovsky’s Grand Sonata and Prokofiev’s Ten Pieces from Romeo and Juliet. Her second CD contains Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations and Schubert’s Moments Musicaux. Rabotkina’s third project involved live recording of three concerti. The latest CD (MSR Classics), with humoresques by Dvořák, Reger, Rachmaninov, and Schumann, was released to critical acclaim in 2018.

Rabotkina joined the piano faculty at the Cleveland Institute of Music in the fall of 2024 where she also serves as the Director of Academy Piano Studies. Previously, she presented masterclasses, private lessons, and lectures at the Kazan State Conservatory. Passionate about early piano education, Rabotkina founded the FunKey Piano Project at Texas State in 2018, where she was an associate professor of piano (2016-24).