Black and white logo for Oregon Piano Institute featuring stylized pine trees and the text 'Oregon Piano Institute' underneath.

Staff

A young man with wavy brown hair, wearing glasses and a gray cable-knit sweater, is smiling softly against a black background.

  • Research & Student Outreach

    Nikita Istratov has been playing piano since the age of 6. He completed high school in Portland, OR with a full IB Diploma and is now beginning his first year at the University of Oregon, studying piano performance under Dr. Dossin. In his time in high school, he completed Level X of the OMTA Syllabus program “With Distinction”, performed at Weill Recital Hall in New York twice, won first prize at the 2021 Pittsburgh International Piano Competition, first prize at the 2021 Oregon State OPUS competition, and won the OMTA Donna and David Eason as well as Francis Virgina Melton scholarships. He was also selected for and attended the 2023 New York University MPAP Summer Piano Intensive. He has taken masterclasses with artists including Filippo Gorini and Julio Elizalde. Nikita loves attending concerts and studying classical music, from analysis to conducting to the psychology of music. Outside of music, Nikita also loves photography and got his pilot’s license last summer. 

  • Housing Coordinator

    Sofie Yang is a tenured violinist of the Eugene Symphony, Opera, Concert Orchestra, and Oregon Mozart Players, where she is also personnel manager and librarian. She holds performance degrees from Lawrence University with Samantha George, where she was featured on public radio, won the concerto competition, played in a fiddle club, and rocked in a heavy metal band, and from DePaul University with Janet Sung, where she was a regular member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago from 2017-2019. Sofie is currently pursuing a Certificate in Nonprofit Management at the University of Oregon along with a DMA in Violin Performance as a Graduate Employee and Promising Scholar studying with Dr. Sunmi Chang. During the summer, Sofie has worked for the Oregon Bach Festival as assistant librarian and orchestra, artist, and conductor liaison and has also been a residential advisor for the UO String Intensive. She volunteers for the Oregon Piano Institute and believes in the necessary work of music nonprofits for the community.

  • Piano Technician

    Michael Reiter joined the staff at SOMD with 42 years of experience in the field of Piano Technology. For 33 years he was the technician at Pacific Lutheran University and the University of Puget Sound maintaining a private clientele along the way. From 2013 to 2016 he was the Piano Technician for Luther College, Decorah IA. Michael brings with him experience in tuning, regulation and voicing at the concert level as well as expertise in harpsichord maintenance.

    Mr. Reiter’s performing experience includes work as church organist at various churches throughout the Puget Sound area of Washington as well as solo harpsichord performances.

  • Composition Award Coordinator

    Steven James is a composer and pianist from Portland, Oregon, and based in Baltimore, Maryland. As a composer, Steven’s work has been performed or commissioned in the United States and Canada, including the SonoKlect Series Music Festival in Lexington, Virgina, the Galiano Island Chamber Music Society and UBC Music in British Columbia, the UGA New Music Festival in Athens, Georgia, the Common Resonance Concert Series in New York City, the University of Oregon piano department, the Oregon Bach Festival Composer’s Symposium, San Francisco’s The Bridge Music Collective, the Baltimore Composer’s Forum, and multiple performances by NACUSA’s Oregon chapter, Cascadia Composers, for whom Steven is an active board member, concert curator, and administrator.

    Steven currently studies Composition at the Peabody Institute with Kevin Puts, where he also frequently performs new music by his colleagues. Previously, he obtained bachelor’s and master’s degree at the University of Oregon in piano, where he performed many recitals with organizations like IMPULSE Ensemble, the U of O Wind Symphony, and NACUSA’s Cascadia Composers, as well as the activities of the American Liszt Society.  His piano teachers have included Alexandre Dossin and David Riley.

  • Communications Director & Student Volunteer Coordinator

    Helen Nebeker is a Taiwanese-American pianist and music educator. She is working on her DMA at the University of Oregon, with previous degrees from the Manhattan School of Music (MM) and the Cleveland Institute of Music (BM). Her teachers include Dr. Daniel Shapiro, Alexandre Moutouzkine, and Dr. Brian Hsu.

    In her career, Helen has performed in venues across the continental United States, Germany, Austria, France, and Taiwan. A few of Helen’s recent career highlights include awards at the 2024 MTNA Oregon State Young Artists Division and the 2022 Eisenberg-Fried Concerto Competition (MSM). Future appearances include presenting and performing at The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025, Context Conference 2025 (Eastman School of Music), and the 2026 MTNA National Conference. As a teacher, Helen currently serves as the president of the UO MTNA collegiate chapter and maintains a private studio in Texas, teaching online and in person. Students from her studio have gone on to attend schools like Indiana University, Stanford University, and Texas A&M University.

    Helen’s artistic goals are to curate solo recital programs with underrepresented Romantic and contemporary composers, and to continue researching four-hand music, solo jazz piano, and the history of pianistic virtuosity. Outside of music, Helen’s hobbies include writing, playing video games, cosplaying, and reading science fiction.