OSU mentor thrilled with success of students past and present

Monday, April 20, 2015

One of his former students is headed to teach soon at a prestigious music conservatory, another was a double winner at a recent competition, and a third is on her way to Carnegie Hall.  All three have been mentored by Dr. Thomas Lanners at Oklahoma State University, who said he’s thrilled with their success.

“When students succeed in an exceptional manner, it’s a joy for everyone who may have contributed along the way and I join parents, teachers and others in celebrating their success,” said Lanners, professor of piano at OSU.

Chul Hyung (Tony) Cho, who earned his bachelor’s degree from OSU as a piano performance major student of Lanners’, is definitely one of those success stories. Cho recently accepted a position as a full-time opera coach on the faculty of the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, starting this fall. Oberlin is one of the top music conservatories in the United States. Cho worked on the faculty of the Juilliard School of Music in New York City from September 2005 to 2007 as an associate opera coach and accompanist, and most recently, as a principal opera coach at both the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music and at Chapman University in Los Angeles. 

“Tony has become a valued friend and colleague in the music world since graduating from OSU. If I can take any credit at all for planting some of the seeds of his future success in the ultra-competitive music world, I’m truly thrilled,” said Lanners.           

In addition, Lanners’ current pre-college student, 11-year-old Kayla Cao of Tulsa, was named a second place winner in the 11-14 year old category of the 2015 American Protégé International Piano and Strings Competition, and as a result, she will perform in a winners recital at Carnegie Hall in June. She also won first place in the 2015 Gilliam Piano Competition sponsored by the Oklahoma City Orchestra League. She won as a fifth grader, competing against 24 other pianists in grades 5-8. 

Another of Dr. Lanners’ former students, 2014 OSU piano performance graduate Charlotte Dumesnil, was a double winner of the 2015 Concerto Competition at Oklahoma City University last week, winning as both a piano soloist and with a piano duo partner in two different concerti. As a result, she will be featured twice with the OCU orchestra next year.

“I’m confident that recent and current piano students like Charlotte and Kayla will continue to proudly carry the OSU musical banner for decades to come,” said Lanners. “Their futures are very, very bright!”