Soloist and Conductors

With a diverse educational background and a passion for the piano, Po-Chuan Chiang has contributed to the field through performance, teaching, and adjudication, which have taken him across North America, Asia, and Europe. Currently serving as Staff Pianist Coordinator at Western Illinois University (WIU), he plays a pivotal role in coordinating collaborative piano assignments for ensembles, recitals, and applied studios.

As a dedicated chamber musician, Chiang maintains an active performance schedule, frequently collaborating with faculty and guest artists, and showcasing a wide-ranging repertoire from Brahms and Dvořák to contemporary and cross-cultural works. He has performed on broadcasts such as Classical King FM 98.1 (Seattle), Interlochen Public Radio’s “In Studio A,” and on stages including the Taipei National Recital Hall, as well as various university concerts, chamber

music, and Noon-time concert series. He has been featured at conferences, including the College Music Society, ACDA, and the Illinois Music Educators Association.

Solo performance highlights in his career include Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F with the WIU Wind Ensemble, a recital of French Romantic works in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, and a solo appearance at Ian Hobson’s Piano Institute in Puerto Rico. Passionate about education, he has given masterclasses and guest recitals at institutions such as the Tainan National University of

the Arts, University of South Alabama, and Walla Walla University. He served as a co-director and faculty member of WIU’s 2022 and 2024 Summer Music Institute piano camps and as a temporary piano instructor at Monmouth College.

During summer, Chiang brings his collaborative expertise to programs like Interlochen Center for the Arts, Scuola Italia in Italy, and Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, where he performs in orchestras, recitals, and masterclasses while mentoring young musicians. He also works as the collaborative pianist for the professional vocal ensemble WithOneVoice.

His talent and artistry have led to a number of honors, including First Prize in the American Protégé International Music Competition ensemble group and the Nancy Kennedy Wustman Memorial Award in Vocal Accompanying. His recent CD, Brahms & Franck: Sonatas for Violin and Piano—a collaboration with violinist Qian Yin—received a Gold Medal from the Global

Music Awards in March 2023.

Chiang holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance and Literature from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he studied with Dr. Ian Hobson. He also earned a Master of Music in Piano Performance from The Boston Conservatory and a Bachelor of Music from the Tainan National University of the Arts.

Mike Fansler is Director of Bands and Professor of Music at Western Illinois University, where he has led the university's comprehensive band program since 2001. He has accepted performance invitations and delivered conducting seminars on five continents. A noted scholar of Percy Grainger, he has studied at the Grainger Museum in Melbourne, Australia and twice presented at the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic.

Under his leadership, the Wind Ensemble maintains an active commissioning and recording schedule, providing students and audiences with high-quality performances of both established and emerging repertoire. Dr. Fansler and the Wind Ensemble released The River of Time (Navona Records), featuring David Maslanka’s O Earth, O Stars and Symphony No. 10, works commissioned in part by WIU. His conducting has been praised by Fanfare Magazine and Take Effect critics noting his ability to shape lines and create transparent textures. Reviewers have described his recordings as "meticulously executed" and "of indescribable beauty."

His musical mentors include James F. Keene, Jon Dugle, Daniel J. Schmidt, Larry Clark, Ronald Caravan, Gunnar Mossblad, Merry Fitz-Randolph, and William Meckley. He holds degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Syracuse University, James Madison University, and Schenectady County Community College.

Beyond WIU, Dr. Fansler conducts the Macomb Municipal Band and performs as a saxophonist with the American Legion Post 6 Big Band. He is a member of the American Bandmasters Association, Phi Beta Mu International Bandmasters Fraternity, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. He credits his wife, Abby, and children, Jordan, Jessica, and Juliet with providing him a life full of happiness.

Matt Thomas was appointed as the Associate Director of Bands at the Western Illinois University School of Music in 2010. His responsibilities at WIU include conducting the Concert Band, University Band, Pep Band, and directing the "Marching Leathernecks," as well as teaching instrumental conducting and other courses within the undergraduate music education curriculum.

A native of the Midwest, Dr. Thomas was born and raised in Evansville, Indiana. He attended the University of Kentucky as a trumpet student of Terry Everson, and graduated from the institution with a Bachelor of Music Education degree. He then taught in the Cobb County, Georgia, school district, where bands under his direction gave feature performances at the University of Georgia Middle School Festival and The Midwest Clinic, an International Band and Orchestra Conference.

Dr. Thomas' graduate studies included a Master of Music degree in Wind/Band Conducting and a Ph.D. in Music Education from The Florida State University, where he was a conducting student of Richard Clary. During his time at FSU, Dr. Thomas was an associate conductor with the numerous graduate and undergraduate concert ensembles, taught courses in music education and conducting, and designed drill for the 400 member marching band.

Since arriving at Western, Dr. Thomas has been in high demand as a guest conductor, clinician, adjudicator, and drill designer across the midwest, his biography of Alfred Watkins (former director the Lassiter High School Band in Cobb County, Georgia) was published in the Winter 2015 Peer Reviewed section of the National Band Association Journal, and the WIU Marching Leathernecks performed in front of 400,000 live spectators (and 4 million online) at the 2015 McDonald's Thanksgiving Day Parade in Chicago. Most recently in the summer of 2017, Dr. Thomas completed a one week residency in Costa Rica working with high school and college band programs across the country. He and his wife reside in Macomb with their four children.