Eric Rau is in his fourth year of undergraduate studies at the University of North Texas, pursuing a degree in cello performance as a student of Professor Nikola Ruzevic. Originally from the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, Eric started playing the cello at the age of five and previously studied under Dr. Elizabeth Morrow of the University of Texas at Arlington. He has participated

in summer programs, including the Interlochen Arts Camp and UNT’s Summer String Institute.

Eric has been featured as a soloist with the Fort Worth Youth Orchestra, the Fort Worth Civic Orchestra, and the Northeast Orchestra of Tarrant County after winning the organizations’ concerto competitions. In April of 2023, he placed second in his category at the Rudolf Matz International String Competition in Croatia. From 2021-2023, Eric served as co-principal in UNT’s Concert Orchestra, and since the fall of 2023, has served as assistant principal in UNT’s Symphony Orchestra. Eric is also an active member of the Kintsugi String Quartet of UNT, a section cellist in the Las Colinas Symphony Orchestra, and a former member of the award-winning Helicon Trio.

Sangsoo Kim earned his B.M. in Piano Performance at Seoul National University in South Korea and his M.M. and Performance Diploma in Piano Performance from Indiana University under Emile Naoumoff, where he worked as an Associate Instructor. He is currently a Doctoral candidate at The University of North Texas with Dr. Pamela Mia Paul, where he has worked as a Teaching Fellow. He serves as a piano instructor at Dallas ISD and staff accompanist at the Lewisville Lake Symphony International Competition. He has been recognized as a 1st prize winner at the Petroff Piano Competition, Texoma Piano Competition, and winner of 13th Texas State International Piano Festival Concerto Competition. He has performed Prokofiev Concerto No. 3 with the Central Texas Philharmonic.