Gwendolyn Mok is a professor and coordinator of keyboard studies in the College of Humanities and the Arts, School of Music and Dance. A leading expert in the music of French composer Maurice Ravel (1875–1937), Mok received a grant in 1993 from the French Ministry to study in Paris with Vlado Perlemuter, one of Ravel’s former students. Mok has appeared with the London Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Symphony Silicon Valley, and among many others in many prestigious venues. At San Jose State, she says people are driven by their work. “We are all passionate about what we do and that’s what really keeps me going.”