Dr. Jerzy Stryjniak
Dr. Jerzy Stryjniak is a Polish-born concert pianist, the co-founder and President of the New York Conservatory of Music, and the founder of the Chopin Society of New York. He made his Carnegie Hall debut at Weill Recital Hall in 1990 as a winner of Artists International, and The New York Times called his playing “compelling,” “dazzling,” and “impressive.”
A participant in the 1985 International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, he won first prizes at the Polish Piano Festival in Słupsk and the Frederic Chopin Scholarship Competition in Warsaw. He has performed in thirteen countries, at Zankel Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and Steinway Hall in New York, and at Chopin festivals in Poland, Belgium, and Italy. He has recorded Chopin and Liszt albums, and for Polish Radio, Radio Free Europe, and Voice of America.
He holds a Ph.D. and a habilitation from the Academy of Music in Poznań, where he has been a visiting professor, and he was a Fulbright Scholar. Poland has honored him with the Gloria Artis Medal and the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland. He gives master classes in Europe and across the United States, has judged New York piano competitions since 1994, and at the Conservatory teaches a select group of pianists.
Joanna Stryjniak
Joanna Stryjniak is a graduate of the prestigious Jagiellonian University in Cracow, Poland, a school with traditions dating back to the fourteenth century. She received a Master’s Degree in Piano and Musicology. Her specialty is nineteenth-century music. Mrs. Stryjniak began her distinguished teaching career as a music professor at her alma mater.
Her excellent professional qualifications as a teacher are reflected in glowing references from both children and adult students. Mrs. Stryjniak also supervises the other instructors at the New York Conservatory of Music.
Gabriel Stryjniak
Gabriel Stryjniak is the Associate Director of the New York Conservatory of Music and has been part of the school his entire life. The son of its founders, concert pianist Dr. Jerzy Stryjniak and musicologist Joanna Stryjniak, he began studying piano with his parents at the age of three and performed in his first NYCM recital at four.
He went on to study piano at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of the Arts and has since performed in hundreds of concerts, including performances at Carnegie Hall in 2013, 2016 and 2023. Devoted above all to the music of Chopin and Liszt, his repertoire also spans Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Moszkowski, Debussy and Rachmaninoff. Piano remains part of his every day, and he performs regularly in NYCM’s recitals and master classes.
Alongside music, Gabriel studied Biomedical Engineering and Applied Mathematics at Stony Brook University, with a minor in music, and earned a master’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Pennsylvania.
As Associate Director, he oversees the conservatory’s day-to-day operations and knows its many students and families personally. He credits the NYCM community with inspiring him to keep growing as a musician, and calls being part of it one of the greatest fulfillments of his life.
Linda Tao
Linda Tao is a physician who found the New York Conservatory of Music when she set out to begin piano lessons as an adult. What started as a bucket-list wish grew into a lasting musical life and a deep connection with the school.
Studying with Joanna Stryjniak and Professor Jerzy Stryjniak, Linda was inspired by their passion for music. She came to see the piano as a lifelong discovery, one that keeps asking us to listen more deeply, to grow, and to find beauty in both the progress and the pursuit.
Today Linda is one of the Conservatory’s most important advocates. She takes a personal interest in many of its piano students, following and encouraging them through their studies. As a member of the Board, she plays a major role in shaping the school’s direction.
She especially values NYCM’s commitment to excellence at every stage, from first lessons to students preparing for professional careers to its community of adult musicians. She champions the Conservatory’s outreach programs and the belief that music enriches life at every age. Her own experience has shown her that it is never too late to begin something new, to grow as an artist, or to discover a new side of oneself.
She is honored to help guide a conservatory where music continues to inspire, connect, and bring joy at every stage of life.
Michael Harvey
Michael Harvey is a corporate and securities attorney, an investor, and an educator. He graduated with honors from Columbia College and received his law degree from Columbia Law School. He began his legal career at Skadden Arps, became a member of a midtown boutique law firm, and, with two partners, established an elder care business in New Jersey.
Michael’s interest in the stock market began when he was about twelve. More than 25 years ago he founded a New York State registered investment advisory firm and a group of related investment partnerships, and since about 2005 he has taught his approaches to investing and trading.
Besides serving on NYCM’s board and as the Conservatory’s legal counsel, Michael has served on the boards of a symphony orchestra, a child care agency, a Long Island school that teaches children painting, ceramics, and sculpture, and a relief agency serving an impoverished town in Nepal.
In the 1990s he also worked as a professional photographer, specializing in portraits, fashion, and landscape.
He is also, in his own words, Joanna Stryjniak’s proudest and least accomplished piano student.
