Speakers
Albert Frantz
Photo: Mr. Frantz performing in the Hofburg Palace in Vienna
Photo credit: Ouriel Morgensztern
American pianist Albert Frantz discovered his musical talent and classical music at the unusual age of seventeen, thanks to preparatory teacher Nancy Lou Pellett. Despite his late start, under the tutelage of Dr. Steven H. Smith at Penn State University he went on to win local, state and national piano competitions. As the first pianist to be awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to Vienna in nearly a decade, he studied with Prof. Roland Batik at the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna. In Vienna, he was mentored by the distinguished pianist Paul Badura-Skoda and worked extensively on 19th-century performance practice with Sally Sargent. His other teachers include Jörg Demus in Vienna, Professor Marylène Dosse of Penn State University, and Dr. Harvey Wedeen of Temple University.
Albert is one of the few official Bösendorfer artists, and his recordings feature different types of Bösendorfer
pianos. His debut album, of virtuosic works by Romantic composer Charles-Valentin
Alkan, was an official jury nomination for the German Record Critics'
Award. His solo album of Liszt's complete Transcendental Etudes, is
planned for release together with his book Transcend. In 2023 he
released a chamber music album, Sonus, to critical acclaim. He has also recorded for Österreichischen Rundfunks (ORF), one of the main Austrian radio stations.
As a teacher and entrepreneur, Mr. Frantz has also created a uniquely interactive software platform called Key-Notes to help both children and adults to learn piano, chords, ear training, and music theory anywhere in the world. Key-Notes features innovative apps and courses which contain hundreds of instructional videos.
An
international keynote speaker, he speaks on issues of children's rights
worldwide at venues including the Austrian Parliament, the World
Congress for Family Law and Children's Rights, and the United Nations.
In November 2024, Albert will perform the Concert for Children's Rights
at Vienna's City Hall, together with the Vienna Boys' Choir and Vienna
Girls' Choir. Albert is among the most frequent contributors to the TEDx
platform as both speaker and performing artist. He has performed and delivered speeches in the Austrian Parliament, Vienna's City Hall, the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, and the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.
A passionate amateur athlete, Albert has run many marathons, completed Ironman triathlons in the Alps, and trained with Mercedes AMG and Aston Martin Racing. Upon crossing the finish line of the 2023 Vienna City Marathon, he performed a closing piano recital in Vienna's City Hall in support of Train of Hope, a nonprofit that supports Ukrainian refugees.
Albert's unique story was the subject of a documentary by dreama.tv, and he was the cover story for Toastmaster Magazine in 142 countries.
Some Videos of Albert Frantz in Action
Photo Credit: Philip Meissner
Photo Credit: Philip Meissner
Albert Frantz @ TEDxSalzburg
Albert has given informative lecture-recitals or personal recital-talks at events including TEDx talks spanning from San Francisco to Vienna. At this lecture-recital, Albert introduces the remarkable aesthetic world of music.
Albert Frantz @ Vienna Bosendorfer
Albert has performed and recorded many pieces at the Bosendorfer showroom in Vienna and the Bosendorfer headquarters outside Vienna. In this video, Albert performs Traumerei (Dreaming) by Robert Schumann.
Andrew Chi, M.D.
Dr. Chi had desired to become a visual artist, but his parents dissuaded him as his mother asked him how he could save the art world. After working in 3 research labs at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) of the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA), Dr. Chi switched to study and complete training in neurological and psychiatric subspecialties at 3 medical schools and 3 other institutions with postdoctoral programs.
During his academic years, he was awarded the annual Golden Goose teaching award in Internal Medicine at Dartmouth Geisel Medical School in addition to medical student teaching awards in Psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine.
After extensive training in those fields, Dr. Chi moved beyond to study public health, business, organizational psychology, coaching, and positive psychology. Meanwhile, he has always remained devoted to helping artists and has also grown increasing encouraged by the numerous neuroscience research studies about the arts.
Dr. Chi has always viewed the arts as central to humanity and as vital practices for personal and social well-being.
Dr. Chi has spoken about trauma and the development of nonprofits and businesses at UN Peace Week in Geneva Switzerland. He has helped coach for TEDxSanFrancisco in addition to his numerous coaching roles for athletes, musicians, students, entrepreneurs, and executives over the years. Dr. Chi has also known Mr. Frantz for more than 30 years, and the two of them have collaborated for various social endeavors.
Dr. Chi had trained/worked in these areas primarily with these physicians & psychologists:
- Adult Neurology: Allan Ropper, MD (Executive Vice Chair of Neurology at Brigham & Women's Hospital) of Harvard Medical School
- Pediatric Neurology: Annapurna Poduri, MD, MPH (Director of Neurogenetics & Epilepsy Genetics at Boston Children's Hospital) of Harvard Medical School
- Adult Psychiatry: Marshal F Folstein, MD, Jonathan Schindelheim, MD, Sandra Jacobson, MD, George LK Hsu, MD, Jonathan Adler, MD, and Paul Summergrad, MD (former president of the American Psychiatric Association) of Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM)
- Child & Adolescent Psychiatry: Susan Folstein, MD, Susan Collins, MD, MPH, and Hope Schreiber, PsyD of Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM)
- Geriatric Psychiatry: Marshal F Folstein, MD of TUSM and Tom Oxman, MD & Robert Santulli, MD of Dartmouth Geisel Medical School
- Eating Disorders: George LK Hsu of TUSM in addition to other staff at Boston Children's Hospital and Floating Hospital for Children
- Forensic Psychiatry: Bernard Katz, MD of TUSM and Thomas Gutheil, MD (Director of the Harvard Program in Psychiatry and the Law) at Beth Israel Deaconness Medical Center (BIDMC)
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Anne Hurley, PhD of TUSM
- Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy: Alan Pollack, MD of Boston Psychoanalytic Society & Institute (BPSI)
- Couples Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy: Carolyn Maltas, PhD of Psychodynamic Couple and Family Institute of New England, East (PCFINE)
- Hypnosis: Max Shapiro, PhD of New England School of Clinical Hypnosis (NESCH)