International Piano Institute

DR. RICHARD LANGE

International Piano Institute Co-director, Topics and Master Classes, Piano lessons

Dr. Lange founded the Piano Institute in 1993 and serves as Coordinator of Piano Studies at University of Northwestern – St. Paul, where he has served on faculty since 1989. Dr. Lange holds a DMA in piano performance from the University of Minnesota. Appearances include KCSM TV in San Mateo, California, Live from Landmark broadcast on KSJN radio in St. Paul, the College of Holy Names Orchestra in Sacramento, and the UNW Orchestra. 

PETER (BOWEN) LIU

International Piano Institute Co-Director, Piano Lessons

Bowen (Peter) Liu is a dedicated pianist who earned his Master of Music in piano performance from the University of Iowa. He is currently completing his Doctoral of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) in piano performance, also at the University of Iowa, under the tutelage of the renowned pianist Dr. Ksenia Nosikova.Peter has established himself as a talented and committed artist. From 2019–23, Peter served as a Graduate Teaching Assistant, providing group and individual piano lessons and collaborating with a variety of musicians in the community. Peter’s exceptional artistry has led him to achieve notable success in competitions. Recent accolades include: 2022 Schubert Club competition winner, first place in the 2021 Iowa Music Teachers Association competition (IMTA), first place in the 2019 Minnesota Music Teachers Association (MMTA) competition, first place in the 2019 Thursday Young Artist college division, and winner of the 2019 Concerto-Aria competition at the University of Iowa.

DR. LEONARD DANEK 

Dr. Leonard Danek studied composition with Dr. Paul Fetler at the University of Minnesota and piano with Jeaneane Dowis in New York. A prolific composer of over 350 works, including two piano concertos, numerous sonatas for organ and piano, and over 60 chorale preludes for organ, he has received many commissions with works performed in recital locally, by the Houston Symphony Orchestra, and at an annual meeting of the College Music Society in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Danek has given many solo recitals on both piano and organ throughout the Upper Midwest to critical acclaim. 

OSIP NIKIFOROV – Guest Artist

​Born in the city of Abakan in Siberia to a family of musicians, Osip started studying piano with his father at age 6. While still living in Russia, Osip has participated and won numerous awards in national and international competitions, such as the Gold Medal at the Delphic Games in Astana, Kazakhstan, and Third Prize at the 1^st International e-Piano Junior Competition in Minnesota, where at the age of fourteen he shared the prize with Jan Lisiecki. A year later, he was the winner of Dorothy McKenzie Award in New York City at the International Keyboard Institute and Festival Competition. At just 14 years of age, Osip performed Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Minnesota Orchestra.

Since 2010 Osip Nikiforov has been residing in the United States. In 2024, he recorded a series of folk tale inspired piano pieces for children by the Ukrainian composer Aida Isakova, which was broadcast nationally on Minnesota Public Radio and is now available online as part of the “Folk Classics from Across the Globe” radio special. In 2023 Dr. Nikiforov performed a series of all-Rachmaninoff solo programs in Texas and Minnesota, dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the composer. In 2020 he was awarded First Prize at San Antonio Young Artist Tuesday Musical Competition. Osip is regularly invited to perform at concert series as well as festivals, including the Minnesota Orchestra Summer Festival in Minneapolis, the Schubert Club Courtroom Concert Series in St. Paul, the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series in Chicago, the Memorial Classical Music Series in Houston, and the Mozart Festival Texas in San Antonio. Besides the United States, he has given solo recitals in Spain, Israel, South Africa, Russia, and Japan. Osip has also frequently collaborated with national and international orchestras, including the St. Petersburg State Academic Capella Symphony Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Khakass Philharmonic Orchestra, the Incarnate Word Symphony Orchestra, and the Mississippi Valley Symphony Orchestra. In 2016 he became a recipient of the Adopt a Young Artist award, given to a young classical musician in Minnesota. He is also the Second Prize winner of 2014 Music Teacher National Association Competition in Young Artist Division in Chicago.
Osip Nikiforov is a graduate of University of Minnesota, BM ’17; Manhattan School of Music, MM ’19; and Rice University, DMA ’23. He has also appeared on Minnesota Public Radio, Performance Today by YourClassical, WFMT Radio, GetClassical, Classical Connect, Star Tribune, Austin Daily Herald, and Houston Press. In Fall 2021 Osip’s first piano solo album “Russian Elegie” was released by Orpheus Classical on all major digital platforms.