Faculty/Staff

UCF Piano Professor Yun-Ling Hsu was invited as the guest pianist for the Second US-China Piano Festival held in Ürümqi (Xinjiang Province), Northwest China from July 28 to August 5, 2017.  The largest city in China’s western interior, Ürümqi has been a multi-ethnic city and was a major hub on the Silk Road. The festival has been specially…

Luis F. Fred is the new trombone professor at the University of Central Florida. He was principal trombone of the Puerto Rico Symphony and professor of trombone at the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music. He has extensive symphonic experience having performed with the Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic and Houston Symphony orchestras.…

Dr. Luis Miguel Araya is the new Assistant Professor of Trumpet at the University of Central Florida. He is a member of the world renowned Dallas Brass, and most recently was the Trumpet Artist in Residence at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith. Known as versatile musician, he has played a wide range of…

Dr. Benjamin Lieser is the new Assistant Professor of Horn at the University of Central Florida School of Performing Arts. He holds degrees from Florida State University (BA, DM) and the University of Cincinnati (MM). His teachers include William Capps, Randy Gardner, Michelle Stebleton, Duane Duggar, and Randall Faust. Prior to joining the faculty at…

UCF Music professor László Marosi’s recent CD, Ferenc Farkas Music for Wind Ensemble, has been recognized as “recording of the month” on MusicWeb International. The CD, a selection of works by Hungarian composer Ferenc Farkas, was conducted by László with the Budapest Wind Symphony, and includes works from chamber groups to full wind bands. The…

UCF Pegasus Professor and Jazz Studies director, Jeff Rupert, will be the Florida Symphony Youth Orchestra’s new Jazz Orchestra’s conductor starting Fall 2017. The orchestra, a 17-20 piece ensemble, will feature middle and high school musicians from ages 13 to 20, and will focus on big band jazz music. Rupert is an accomplished composer, saxophonist,…

The latest album from UCF’s esteemed jazz faculty has been well received following its release on January 6. Imagination, a live duo recording from Rupert & Drexler, debuted at #16 during its first week on the CMJ chart, made the Top 50 on the Roots Music Report, and landed on CMJ and JazzWeek’s ‘Most Added’…

Piano professor Yun-Ling Hsu has been invited to review live piano auditions in Beijing, China in January. Hsu will attend the performances of young Chinese pianists and interview potential undergraduate and graduate students for UCF’s School of Performing Arts. During this trip, she will visit the Conservatories of Music in Beijing, Hangzhou, and Xi’an to…

Thomas Potter, UCF voice teacher and opera director, will sing the lead baritone role of “Tonio” in Leoncavallo’s famous opera Pagliacci (the clowns) with the Imperial Symphony Orchestra at the Branscomb Auditorium in Lakeland, FL on Saturday, January 21. I am very happy to be able to perform this amazing opera by Leoncavallo. I sing…

Laszlo Marosi, associate professor at UCF, has been honored with several prestigious music awards from international organizations over the past year. Marosi is no stranger to the world. Born in Hungary, where he later studied at the Liszt Academy of Music, Marosi has worked and performed in South Africa, Israel, Japan, England, the United States…