Students Win at Annual Women's Advisory Board Competition

Beatrice Khor, a pianist from the studios of Dr. Kevin Lee Sun and Dr. Alton Merrell won first place and an accompanying $8,000 scholarship. Clarinetist Abbey Herbage, who studies with Ron Samuels took second place and a $2,000 scholarship. In addition, all other contestants received $100 participation awards. Videos of Beatrice and Abbey performing at the competition are included below.

Born and raised in Malaysia, Beatrice Khor is an exciting young pianist performing across multiple genres as a soloist and collaborator. Beatrice began her musical journey at the age of three and has won over thirty awards, including first place at the 2025 Keynotes Scholarship Competition and the 2024 MTNA Pennsylvania State Competition. As a jazz pianist, Beatrice has toured Ohio and Pennsylvania with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and Jukebox Saturday Night. Beatrice relocated to the US upon accepting a Chancellor’s Award at Duquesne University.

Abbey Herbage is a classical musician from Trinity, Florida, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in clarinet performance with a minor in communication studies at Duquesne. She has performed in master classes and festivals with world-class faculty and has been selected for multiple honors ensembles. Passionate about the arts community, she interned with the Pittsburgh Symphony, and serves as a captain for the university’s music ambassador program. When not making music, Abbey enjoys paddleboarding and reading!

Thank you to our judging panel—Michelle Hembree (Second Horn, Pittsburgh Symphony), Dale Jeong (Associate Principal Cello, Pittsburgh Symphony), and James Lesniak (Associate Coach/Pianist, Pittsburgh Opera). Following the performance, the judges offered feedback to all performers.

In order to compete in the WABSC, students must be juniors (qualified by completed credit hours) and maintain a GPA of 3.5 or higher. Our music faculty then choose the most outstanding representatives in their area from this list of qualified students, and these individuals are then invited to participate in the competition. Herbage and Khor competed against seven other MPSOM musicians including:

• Cameron Ancell, percussion (studios of John Soroka and James Benoit)
• Hannah Bedeck, violin (studio of Charles Stegeman)
• Isaac Fleury, voice (studio of Kelley Krepin DeFade)
• Julia Myers, flute (studio of Rhian Kenny)
• Andrew Ripper, guitar (studios of Alex Price and Eric Susoeff)
• Anna Schmidt, trumpet (studio of Dr. Chris Wilson)
• Jane Sundy, voice (studio of Dr. Meghan DeWald Althouse)

“The Women’s Advisory Board has been tremendously supportive to music students here at Duquesne for decades,” said David Allen Wehr, Dean of the Mary Pappert School of Music. “All of the contestants—whose performances exemplify the highest level of musicianship—benefit from not only the experience of this competition and the feedback they received from the judges, but from private instruction from a world-class music faculty. I’m proud of each one of them and congratulate them on their performances!”

Since 1980, the Women's Advisory Board has worked very hard to raise funds for scholarships to support students of the MPSOM, and we are incredibly thankful for their efforts over the years. Their efforts have benefited many students over the last four decades by offsetting the costs associated with the second-to-none education they receive from our immensely talented faculty.

Congratulations, Beatrice and Abbey!

*photos courtesy of Nicholas Todorov