Committee Member Bio

Farhan Malik is a lecturer, writer, teacher, and critic who has studied recorded piano performance from the beginning of the recording era through the present day while amassing a world-class collection of historically important piano recordings. His articles, reviews, and discographies have appeared in the world’s leading piano journals.  He has worked on numerous recording projects, including the acclaimed “Complete Recordings of Emil von Sauer,” and the 200-CD edition “Great Pianists of the 20th Century”. He has written about Vladimir Sofronitsky, Sviatoslav Richter, Alexander Scriabin, and many Russian musicians, and served on the board of directors of the Scriabin Society of America since 1997.

A passionate lifetime advocate for Scriabin, Matthew Bengtson’s recordings of the complete piano sonatas have received numerous rave reviews: “Has Scriabin ever been played better? Only Horowitz and Richter can compare” (American Record Guide) and “a Scriabinist for the 21st century .. upon whom future generations can rely for definitive interpretations.” (Fanfare) In 2015 he marked the 100th anniversary of the composer’s death with numerous all-Scriabin recitals, including a solo recital in the multi-sensory festival “Scriabin in the Himalayas” in Ladakh, India. Co-author of Alexander Scriabin Companion, he currently teaches piano, fortepiano, and Piano Literature at the University of Michigan.

Sherry Grant is a NZ pianist, cellist, poet and translator. 

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Dr. Dmitry Rachmanov is the Chair of Keyboard at CSU Northridge. Dr. Rachmanov has served on the faculties of Manhattan School of Music, Roosevelt University, and has appeared as a guest artist/lecturer at The Juilliard School, New England Conservatory, Royal Northern College of Music (UK), Beijing Central and Shanghai Conservatories.

Rachmanov has appeared at New York's Carnegie Hall, Washington DC's Kennedy Center, London's Barbican and South Bank Centres, in major halls of China, and was soloist with London Soloists Chamber Orchestra, Ukraine National Symphony, National Orchestra of Porto and Vidin Sinfonietta in Bulgaria, among others.  He has recorded for Naxos, Parma, Master Musicians and Vista Vera labels.

Rachmanov is a founding member and the President of the American Liszt Society’s Southern California Chapter; in 2016 he served as the Artistic Director of the ALS Festival “Liszt and Russia,” hosted by CSUN. Rachmanov is the President of the Scriabin Society of America, and he has given world tours featuring the music of Alexander Scriabin. His April 2014 recital at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall was called “a ‘poem of ecstasy’ in every sense: giant in conception, quantity, quality, execution, thoughtfulness, and sensitivity” by the New York Concert Review.  He has since embarked on a project of recording a video anthology of Alexander Scriabin’s piano works.

Rachmanov is a Co-Director of the ChamberFest @ CSUN Festival.  In 2018-19 he was named the Research Fellow at CSUN’s Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication. In the summer of 2019 he was a resident at the Brahmshouse in Baden-Baden, Germany.