index

applications
rules
required repertoire

past competitions

2025 Sejong Music Competition Judges

Violin
Final Round Judges: Soyoung Bae | Eleanor Bartsch | Cornelius Chiu
First Round Judges:: Lina Bahn | Christina Bouey

Piano
Final Round Judges: Young Hyun Cho | Susan Chou | Chi-Chen Wu
First Round Judges - Senior Division: Stijn De Cock | Jihea Hong-Park 
First Round Judges - Junior Division: Yi-Yang Chen | Aya Hagelthorn 
First Round Judges - Elementary Division: Laehyung Woo | Katherine Wenyi Xiong 

A native of Busan, South Korea, So Young Bae is an active soloist, chamber musician and orchestral player in the United States and South Korea. Music Director Riccardo Muti appointed her to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in July 2012.

Bae began violin studies at the age of seven. At 18, she was honored with the rare distinction of early admission to Seoul National University. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Juilliard School, where she was a student of Stephen Clapp and Sylvia Rosenberg. Bae has won many awards, including first prize in the Busan Music Festival Competition; second prize in the Korea-America National, Nanpa and Taegu Broadcasting Corporation music competitions; and the gold medal in the Sejong University Music Competition. She also is the recipient of the Joseph Fuchs Scholarship, Knafel Askin Violin Scholarship and Samuel Gardner Grant.

As a chamber music performer, Bae has collaborated with such artists as Colin Carr, Christina Dahl and members of the Emerson Quartet. She also has performed with the New York City Ballet Orchestra and the New World Symphony Orchestra, and toured Europe with the Juilliard School Orchestra under the baton of James DePreist in 2005 and China under Xian Zhang in 2008.

So Young Bae has participated in many festivals, including the Aspen, Verbier and Sarasota music festivals; Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival; Juilliard ChamberFest; and the Music Academy of the West, where she was a fellowship recipient.

 

back to top

Praised for her “clarion tone and technical aplomb” (Chicago Classical Review), violinist Eleanor Bartsch enjoys a dynamic career as a chamber musician, orchestral musician, concertmaster, soloist, educator and entrepreneur. Bartsch was appointed to the first violin section of the Chicago Lyric Opera orchestra in 2024. She is additionally first violinist of the Kontras Quartet, with whom she has toured the US and Europe, appeared as a regular guest on 98.7 Chicago Classical WFMT radio, released two studio albums and held residencies at many US higher learning institutions. Bartsch is Professor of Violin and Head of Strings at Elmhurst University.

The Kontras Quartet is a beloved Chicago-based ensemble known for its vibrant and nuanced performances, accessible audience relations and diverse repertoire spanning centuries, genres and continents. In addition to a robust national and international touring schedule, Kontras enjoys exploring genre-bending collaborations including a unique and ongoing partnership with the folk/bluegrass ensemble, the Kruger Brothers. The Kontras-Kruger pairing regularly tours together and has championed and recorded a wide array of classical/bluegrass crossover chamber works.

Bartsch has appeared as a soloist with many regional midwest orchestras including the Chicago Philharmonic, Elgin Symphony, Dubuque Symphony, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and many others. Solo/concerto highlights in recent seasons (2022-2026) include performances of Bruch's “Scottish Fantasy," Piazzolla's “Four Seasons of Buenos Aires,” violin concerti of Samuel Barber and Gerald Finzi and the world premiere of “Nightingales” by Laura Schwendinger. Bartsch co-founded Madison, Wisconsin’s Willy Street Chamber Players, an award-winning ensemble and summer festival with an emphasis on creating community through classical music. Willy Street’s “Community Connect” initiative brings free high-quality concerts to hundreds of community members and young summer camp attendees each year. She is a frequent guest at chamber series and festivals nationwide.

A sought-after orchestral performer and leader, previous to her appointment at the Chicago Lyric, Bartsch was Concertmaster of the Dubuque Symphony and Associate Concertmaster of the Elgin Symphony. She has additionally led the Chicago Philharmonic (where she also served on the board of directors from 2022-2025) , Joffrey Ballet Orchestra, Chicago Opera Theater Orchestra, and many others. She has appeared as a regular guest in the violin section of many of the nation’s premiere orchestras including the Minnesota Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Nashville Symphony, Grant Park Orchestra, Music of the Baroque and the Knights. Bartsch was a tenured member of the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra for eight seasons and five seasons, respectively.

A passionate music educator and advocate, Bartsch was appointed Professor of Violin and Head of Strings at Elmhurst University in 2023. Previously, she was an artist in residence and chamber music coach at Western Michigan University. She has given masterclasses and clinics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Chicago (school of music and Booth School of Business), University of California-San Diego, University of Oregon School of Music and Dance and Western Michigan University. Over the years, she has taught and mentored hundreds of music learners of all ages through private lessons, orchestral and chamber coaching, pre-concert lectures and involvement in many meaningful community engagement initiatives.

Born into a family of professional musicians and music educators, Bartsch began violin lessons at the age of 4 in her hometown of St. Paul, MN. She received her master’s degree in violin performance with a certificate in business entrepreneurship from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music studying violin with David Perry as a Paul Collins Distinguished Graduate Fellow. Bartsch also received her bachelor’s degree from UW-Madison with Perry. During that time, she was a recipient of the Kato Perlman chamber music fellowship and spent three summers at the Aspen Music Festival studying with Paul Kantor. Her previous teachers are Ellen Kim and Young-Nam Kim.

Bartsch plays a fine violin by Giuseppe Gagliano, Naples, Italy, 1775.

 

back to top

Cornelius Chiu joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1996. Born to Chinese parents in Ithaca, New York, he began violin lessons at the age of six. His older brother, Frederic, is a successful concert pianist and Yamaha recording artist with whom Cornelius collaborates on a regular basis.

A Starling Foundation full-scholarship recipient, Cornelius received bachelor’s and master’s degrees with high distinction; a performer’s certificate; and a coveted fellowship from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where his primary teachers were Josef Gingold, Franco Gulli, Nelli Shkolnikova and Yuval Yaron. He also studied chamber music with Rostislav Dubinsky of the Borodin Quartet and baroque violin with Stanley Ritchie. The many acclaimed artists with whom Cornelius has worked include Joseph Silverstein, Miriam Fried, János Starker and Menahem Pressler. He received special recognition from Isaac Stern after a performance in his honor.

A winner in the Irving M. Klein International String Competition and the National Arts and Letters Competition, Cornelius has performed as a soloist with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Washington Chamber Orchestra and at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Recent solo performances include appearances with the Sinfonietta DuPage orchestra and the Drake University Symphony Orchestra.

An avid chamber musician, he frequently appears with his colleagues on the CSO Chamber Music series at Northwestern University, Wheaton College Conservatory of Music and Roosevelt University. He has performed at the Sarasota and Aspen music festivals, the Rencontres Musicales Festival, Ravinia Festival’s Steans Music Institute for Young Artists and with the Ensemble Villa Musica in France and Germany.

A dedicated teacher, Cornelius Chiu has maintained a private studio for more than thirty-five years. A former faculty member at Wheaton College, he currently teaches at Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts. Cornelius and his wife Inah, a pianist on the faculty of the Music Institute of Chicago, have performed together as the Corinah Duo on many Chicago concert series. He is especially proud of his three musician children: Krystian (Indiana University/Rice University), Karisa (the Curtis Institute of Music, Cleveland Institute of Music, and Julliard and substitute violinist at the CSO), and Cameron (Carnegie Mellon University).

 

back to top

Lina Bahn is a violinist who has a keen interest in collaborative and innovative repertoire, and has been called “brilliant” and “lyrical” by the Washington Post. Her most recent publication of Axolotl for violin and electronics on Neuma Records was released with high acclaim, “proves not only her technical brilliance, but also her flair for innovative musical narratives”. Her first solo album, Mean Fiddle Summer on the Naxos Label was hailed by the ClevelandClassical.com, “From start to finish, the violinist demonstrates her adroit technical facility, kaleidoscope of colors, and consummate musical taste.”

As a committed educator, she was on the faculty at the University of Colorado-Boulder from 2008-2015, and has taught masterclasses and lessons throughout the world, including those at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory in Singapore, the Sydney Conservatory, Hong Kong University, Renmin University in Beijing, The Glenn Gould School at the Royal Conservatory of Music, among others. She was on the faculty of the Sierra Summer Academy of Music, the Institute of the Palazzo Rucellai in Florence, Italy, Green Mountain Chamber Music Summer Festival, the Borromeo Music Festival, the Mostly Modern Festival, and the Atlantic Music Festival. Currently, she teaches at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where she was twice awarded the Thornton Teaching Award, along with the Dean’s Teaching Award. Lina has been the adjudicator for the Dallas International Violin competition, the Young Concert Artists, among others.

Chamber music collaborations include those with Matt Haimovitz, Kathleen Tagg, and David Krakauer at the Oregon Bach Festival, and guest performer with the Takacs Quartet at Strathmore Hall, Concertgebouw Hall, Carnegie Hall, the Mariinsky Theater, and Queen Elizabeth Hall. She was a member of the award-winning Corigliano Quartet, lauded by the Strad Magazine, and whose Naxos recording was selected by The New Yorker magazine as one of the year’s “Best 10 Recordings”. She is a founding member of MoVE (Modern Violin Ensemble), a group of four violinists dedicated to social change, and served as the Executive Director and violinist with the VERGE Ensemble in residency at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. In 2023, she was a participant in the International Gugak Workshop in Seoul, Korea.. Her degrees are from the Juilliard School as a student of Dorothy DeLay (BM), University of Michigan with Paul Kantor (MM), Indiana University with Paul Biss and Miriam Fried (DM), and early training was under the guidance of Almita and Roland Vamos.

 

back to top

Canadian/American violinist, Christina Bouey, is hailed by the New York Times for playing “beautifully,” the New York Post, “When violinist Christina Bouey spun out that shimmering tune, I thought I died and went to heaven,” and by Opera News, for playing “with exquisite, quivering beauty.” She is praised by Seen and Heard International, “Bouey responded with the kind of beguiling poetry that technical brilliance alone cannot liberate.” Christina most recently won 1st prize at the Waldo Mayo Violin Competition which resulted in her concerto debut at Carnegie Hall. Other prizes include the Grand Prize at the Vietnam International Chamber Competition, 1st Prize at the Schoenfeld International String Competition in the chamber division, Grand Prize at the Fischoff Competition, 1st place in the American Prize, and 2nd prize at the Osaka International Chamber Competition. Among her other top awards include the “Rooted to the Island Award” from Music PEI, Hugo Kortchak Award for outstanding achievement in chamber music, Heida Hermann International, Canadian National Music Festival, Queens Concerto Competition, and the Balsam Duo Competition. In addition, her ensemble, the Ulysses Quartet were Lisa Arnhold Fellows at the Juilliard School, serving as the School’s Graduate Resident String Quartet, from 2019-22 as well as Quartet-In-Residence at WGBH from 2023-25.

Christina made her solo debut in Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium playing Tchaikovsky Concerto with the Senior Concert Orchestra of NY in the fall of 2022 under the baton of Maestro David Gilbert. She has performed as soloist with the Sinfonia Toronto, Greenwich Symphony, Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, Salina Symphony, River Cities Symphony, Symphony of the Mountains, Tonkünstler Ensemble, Metro Chamber Orchestra, Bergen Symphony, Prince Edward Island Symphony, Cornell Chamber Orchestra, Ithaca College Orchestra and the Banff Orchestra to name a few. Her solo and chamber highlights in the United States include Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Gilder Lehrman Hall, Schneider Series, Rockefeller Tri Noon Series, Naumburg Orchestral Concerts, Merkin Concert Hall, National Gallery of Art in DC, Jordan Hall, Dame Myra Hess series, La Jolla SummerFest, Chamber Music San Francisco, Chamber Music Concerts in Ashland, Chamber Music Society of Williamsburg, William & Mary Presents!, Feldman Chamber Music Society, Kneisel Hall Festival, Highlands-Cashiers Music Festival, Music Mountain, Chamber Music Maryland, Chautauqua Institution, Buffalo Chamber Music Society, Syracuse Friends of Chamber Music, Friends of Chamber Music Kansas City, Rhode Island Chamber Music Concerts, Red Bank Chamber Music Society, Chamber Music Society of Bethlehem, Eastman School of Music, Westchester Chamber Music Society, Chamber Music Troy, Mayfest at Cornell University, and the Kansas International Music Festival. Christina has also been invited to perform internationally in the Esterházy Palace in Austria, Taiwan National Recital Hall, Harbin Grand Theatre, Beijing Modern Music Festival, Premiere Performances Hong Kong, Wigmore Hall, Fundacion Juan March in Madrid, Sociedad Filarmonica de Bilbao, Ciclo De Camara y Solistas in Salamanca, Sociedad Filarmonica de Vigo, Picasso Museum in Malaga, Premiere Performances Hong Kong, Vietnam Connection Music Festival, Kanagawa Kenmin Hall in Yokohama, Emilia Romagna Festival in Italy, Teatro Mayor Julio Santo Domingo in Bogota, Sala Nezahualcoyotl in Mexico City, Campos do Jordão Winter Festival in São Paulo, Festival Casals in Puerto Rico, Cemal Resit Rey Concert Hall in Istanbul, Winnipeg Virtuosi Concerts, the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Cecilia Concerts in Halifax, Montreal Chamber Festival, Kelowna Community Concert Association and the Under The Spire Music Festival. She toured as a soloist for Prairie Debut during the 2021-22 season and Debut Atlantic during the 2017-18 season with pianist Pierre-Andre Doucet.

Christina has collaborated with artists such as Molly Carr, David Chan, Jeremy Denk, Lynn Chang, Robert DeMaine, Simone Dinnerstein, Steven Doane, Emerson Quartet, Clive Greensmith, Marc-André Hamelin, Toby Hoffman, Chee-Yun Kim, Yura Lee, Max Levinson, Cho-Liang Lin, Paul Neubauer, Bright Sheng, Fred Sherry, Lara St. John, Ben Verdery and Orion Weiss.

Christina graduated from Manhattan School of Music (2013) with a Professional Studies Certificate in Orchestral Performance, studying with Glenn Dicterow and Lisa Kim as a full scholarship student, (2012) with a Professional Studies Certificate, studying with Laurie Smukler, and in 2011 she received a Master of Music, while studying with Nicholas Mann. Her Bachelor of Music (Magna cum laude) is from The Boston Conservatory; where she studied with Irina Muresanu as a full-scholarship student.

As well as being a professional violinist, Christina is also a coloratura soprano and composer. In June 2014, as part of the 150 year celebrations on PEI, Christina was commissioned to compose a solo violin piece for professional dancers from Ballet Jazz de Montreal and performed her own work for all eight performances while being intertwined with the choreography. Christina was recently appointed concertmaster of the Albany Symphony, is currently serving as concertmaster of the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, plays as guest concertmaster of the American Composers Orchestra and is a member/founder of the Ulysses Quartet. In addition, Christina is Assistant Professor of Violin at Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. She plays a 1790 Storioni violin on generous loan from a private donor. Christina is very excited to announce her debut album being released later this year including the premiere of her own composition “Orpheus Romps Through The Underworld.” To keep up to date with Christina, you can follow her website www.christinabouey.com.

 

back to top

Young Hyun Cho has performed throughout the world, from the Vienna Musikverein to the Berlin Philharmonic Concert Hall, from the Smetana Hall in Prague to the Solti Hall of the Liszt Academy in Budapest, and at the Seoul Arts Center in her native Korea. Young Hyun has appeared as a soloist with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Euro Sinfonietta Wien, Filarmonica della Calabria of Italy, North Czech Philharmonic Teplice, Budapest Symphony Chamber Orchestra M.A.V., Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic, Korean Broadcasting System Symphony Orchestra, Korean Symphony Orchestra, Seoul National Symphony Orchestra, and the Eastman Symphony Orchestra. She is an associate professor of piano at Michigan State University College of Music, following her tenure as an associate professor at the University of Texas at Arlington.

Young Hyun's recordings have received worldwide critical praise: The music publication Textura noted that "Cho's complete set of Beethoven's sonatas would be well worth requiring," "She impresses whether she's playing something from the Classical, Romantic, or contemporary repertoire," "Cho would appear to be the perfect pianist for the project, given her impeccable technique and the clarity of expression and articulation." A composer and critic, Steven Kennedy, lauded her "great command of dynamic shading" and "precision of the performances," and Fanfare music magazine praised "each note articulated with absolute clarity" and "beautifully limned with phrasing." A critic from the Aachen newspaper in Germany described her live concert as a "blessed interpreter of Beethoven," noting "the strength and fullness of her touch, the sensitively rendered legati of the cantilena were alive with expressiveness, passion, and temperament."

Young Hyun Cho has shared her expertise as a guest faculty artist at various institutes and universities, from the International Piano Festival in Poland to the International Music Festival Armonie della sera in Italy, and from Piano Texas International Academy to Southern Methodist U., Baylor U., Texas Christian U., Henderson State U., West Texas A&M U., Levine School of Music, Virginia Commonwealth U., California State U. at Long Beach and C.S.U. at North Ridge, Humboldt State U., Louisiana State U. at Baton Rouge, Missouri State U., Bowling Green State U., Auburn U., North Carolina State U., South Carolina State U., U. of Central Oklahoma, Oklahoma City University, Northwestern College, Morning College, and Briar Cliff U; Seoul National U., Yonsei U., Busan U., Sookmyung Womens U., Kookmin U., Chonnam U., Mokwon U., Chosun U., Sunchon U., Honam Theological Seminary, Seoul Arts High School and Daejeon Arts High School in Korea; University-College Sedaya International in Malaysia; Goethe Institute in Thailand; China Conservatory of Beijing, Xinghai Conservatory of Guangzou, Hanshan Normal U., Jiaying U., Guangzhou Open U., and Shantou U. in China.

She was born into a non-musical family in Korea and introduced to Western classical music at a young age. Her father, an anesthesiologist with a passion for classical music, sparked her love for the piano. After her formative years at Yewon School, Seoul Arts High School, and Seoul National University in Seoul, she continued her musical journey in the United States. She earned her Master of Music and Graduate Performance Diploma from the Peabody Conservatory and her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Eastman School of Music.

Young Hyun's personal life is as vibrant as her professional life. She is married to the distinguished nuclear physicist Dean Lee, head of theoretical nuclear science at Michigan State University and the founder of the Advanced Studies Gateway program at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB). Together, they direct the FRIB Concert Series as part of the Advanced Studies Gateway. Deeply compassionate animal advocates, they share their home with three rescue dogs and a cat. She speaks English and Korean and enjoys swimming and exploring new languages in her spare time.

 

back to top

Susan Chou was born in Taipei, Taiwan. She immigrated to the United States at the age of sixteen and earned her bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from Northwestern University, where she also studied piano with Alan Chow.
After graduation, she was awarded a full scholarship to pursue piano performance with Menahem Pressler at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where she completed both her master’s and doctoral degrees.

Dr. Chou has given numerous solo recitals and appeared as a soloist with orchestras such as the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra, Symphony of the Mountains, Taipei Philharmonic Orchestra, and Taipei Symphony Orchestra. She also enjoys performing chamber music recitals.
Between 2010 and 2019, she traveled extensively as an American cultural ambassador, teaching and performing with Trio Chicago and Friends.
Dr. Chou is a devoted teacher in the Chicago area. She currently serves as Assistant Professor of Music and Coordinator of Piano Studies at North Central College and maintains a private piano studio with over 30 young students.

 

back to top

As a pianist active in performing, recording, teaching and research, Dr. Chi-Chen Wu is equally at home in the worlds of contemporary and classical music as well as historical performance practice. Recently making her Carnegie Hall debut, Wu has appeared as recitalist, chamber musician, and concerto soloist in the United States, Canada, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Japan, Taiwan, China, Thailand, among others. She has performed at numerous festivals including Aspen, Monadnock, and the Boston Early Music Festival Fringe Concert Series. Her live performances have been broadcast on NPR’s live performance programs Simply Grand Concert Series, From The Top, and many others. Chi-Chen’s musical collaborations include performances with Augustin Hadelich, Karl-Heinz Steffens, Jonathan McPhee, Zuill Bailey, Guy Johnston, members of the Juilliard String Quartet, Takács String Quartet, and musicians from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

A native of Taiwan and prize winner of several Taiwanese national piano competitions, Wu came to the United States for graduate study at New England Conservatory of Music where she received two master’s degrees, (piano performance and collaborative piano) as well as a doctorate. Upon her graduation, with Distinction in Performance and Academic Honors, she was appointed Assistant Professor at National Taiwan Normal University. In 2007, Dr. Wu accepted a position of visiting scholar at Cornell University, where she taught piano, studied fortepiano with Malcolm Bilson, and conducted research on historical performance practice with Neal Zaslaw. As part of her research activities, in the summer of 2012 she presented a paper on Schumann’s metronome markings at the World Piano Conference in Serbia. This paper received “Diploma of Excellence” from the World Piano Teachers Association, the highest accolade of this organization. Her paper “Pianist as Portrayer of Imagery in ‘En Sourdine’ by Fauré and Debussy” was published as the featured article in the Journal of Singing.

As an interpreter of contemporary music, Chi-Chen Wu was the pianist of Aggregate, a Boston-based composer group. She premiered the piano version of John Harbison’s The Great Gatsby at Jordan Hall, The Poet and the War by Norber Palej, and Ralf Gawlick’s Herzliche Grüße Bruno, a one-hour electro-acoustic composition. Recent notable contemporary music performances include Piano Concertino by George Perle and Malcolm Williamson’s Concerto No. 2 as soloist with Pacifica Chamber Orchestra in Seattle. Chi-Chen’s album of Schumann Fantasie and Carnaval on a Graf fortepiano won an award for Best Classical Album in the Global Music Awards. Her recording of Schumann’s complete sonatas for piano and violin also on a Graf fortepiano received two gold medals from the same competition. American Record Guide selected it as one of the top recordings of this repertoire and recommends its readers to “Stick with Kremer and Argerich or DiEugenio and Wu.” It was also named in the Top 10 “Best Classical Recordings of 2015′′ by The Big City, New York. Her recital and discussion with Malcolm Bilson on piano collaboration are featured on his DVD “Performing the Score” released in 2011. Some highlights of her recent professional activities include a recital with Augustin Hadelich, performances as soloist in Wölfl’s Piano Concerto No. 1 as well as Gershwin Concerto in F, and a concert at the Nuremberg Symphony Hall in Germany. In Fall 2021, Chi-Chen was invited by the composition department of the University of Florida to conduct a residency, where she worked with their composers and recorded 6 pieces written for her duo with cellist Sam Ou. Recently, she started a 5-year project of commissioning and recording new works by BIPOC woman composers. She is also recording a piece by Chris Shelton for piano and interactive software. In addition to working on contemporary compositions, she and violinist John Fadial recently finished recording the complete duo works by Gabriel Fauré on an 1865 Pleyel in collaboration with Cornell Center for Historical Keyboards. In the fall of 2023, Dr. Wu joined the faculty at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, School of Music as Associate Professor of Piano and Keyboard Area Chair. Previously, she served as Associate Professor of Piano and Collaborative Piano Coordinator at the University of Wyoming. Her students have been prizewinners in international competitions and have been accepted for graduate study to the Juilliard School, New England Conservatory, McGill University, Conservatoire de Paris and other such institutions. As a teacher of top winners, she has received Excellence in Teaching Awards from Great Masters International Piano Competition and Taiwan International Classical and Traditional Music Awards, among others.

 

back to top

Hailed for his passionate and virtuosic piano playing by the East Hampton Star, internationally acclaimed pianist Stijn De Cock maintains an active musical career as a soloist, chamber musician, and teaching artist in the US and abroad. His playing has been described as “alternating between the stormy and sublime, while getting to the heart of the music” and was praised for its ability to create “a most compelling musical narrative (Amalfi Festival concert review).”

In recent years, De Cock’s concert seasons have included concerts on four continents, from the US to Europe, Asia, and Africa. In recent concert seasons, De Cock has appeared in Kenya, Macau, Taiwan, Canada, Italy, France, Belgium, Poland, the Czech Republic, Greece, and Spain, in solo, chamber, and collaborative capacities. He has performed in prestigious music festivals around the world, a selection of which include the Amalfi Coast International Music and Arts Festival, PianoTexas, Pianofest in the Hamptons, the XIV NewSound Festival, the Interventions New Music Festival at the Great Gallery of the Toledo Museum of Art, the Prague International Piano Masterclasses, and the Gijón International Piano Festival. De Cock has also been a major prize winner in multiple competitions, including the Los Angeles International Liszt Competition, the Ann Arbor Society for Musical Arts Young Artist Competition, the Poland International Music Festival Piano Competition and the Prix des Jeunes and Lions Club music competitions in Belgium.

As the founding director or the Brancaleoni International Music Festival, De Cock has created a summer festival that offers a unique, intensive, and integrated artistic learning environment to the aspiring young pianists, singers, and string players from around the world in the beautiful Marche region of Italy. Also a sought after teaching artist, De Cock has presented masterclasses and lecture-recitals in Naples, Amalfi, and Maiori, at the Amalfi Coast International Music and Arts Festival in Italy, the Charles University in Prague, the Pardubice Conservatory in the Czech Republic, Tangaza College and the Conservatoire de Kenya in Nairobi, Kenya, Wah Yan College and Lasalle College in Hong-Kong, China, and Tunghai University in Taiwan. De Cock has taught and held faculty positions at the State University of New York Fredonia, the University of Michigan, Schoolcraft College, Albion College, and the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point. He currently serves on the piano faculty of Florida State University as Assistant Professor of Piano.

As a student, De Cock was admitted to the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels at the unusually young age of fifteen in the studio of Evgeny Moguilevsky. He was trained in the tradition of Russian pianism, as Moguilevky himself is a former student of Moscow Conservatory’s legendary teacher, Heinrich Neuhaus, whose formidable students included Sviatoslav Richter, Emil Gilels, and Radu Lupu. De Cock graduated from the Royal Conservatory with a Premier Prix, and holds a Master’s Degree and Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Michigan, which he pursued under tutelage of Logan Skelton. De Cock has also received guidance from artists such as Claude Frank, Robert McDonald, Yehoved Kaplinsky, Julian Martin, Matti Raekallio, Boris Slutsky, Malcolm Bilson, Martin Katz, Margot Garrett, and Marilyn Horne.

De Cock is an active member of the American Liszt Society, the College Music Society, and MTNA. His students have won prizes at state and international piano competitions, gained admission to competitive undergraduate and graduate college programs and participated in international music festivals. For a current schedule of events, visit stijndecockpiano.com, and for information on the Brancaleoni International Music Festival, visit brancaleonifestival.com.

 

back to top

Korean American pianist Jihea Hong-Park enjoys a versatile and vibrant career as a soloist, chamber musician, and collaborative pianist. She has performed at major venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Merkin Hall, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Steinway Hall, The Kosciusko Foundation, the Bar Harbor Music Festival, and the Caramoor Summer Music Festival. She has appeared on concert stages internationally, including performances at the International Symposium and Festival of the Centre of Intercultural Music Arts at the University of Cambridge (England), Seoul Arts Center (South Korea), Yun I-Sang Concert Hall (North Korea), Komae Ecorma Hall and Niigata Performing Arts Center (Japan), Stockholm Cathedral (Sweden), Maarja-Magdaleena Lutheran Church (Estonia), and Riga Dome Cathedral (Latvia). Most recently, her solo and chamber performances were broadcasted on Orfeo TV, Korea's premier classical music channel. Moreover, Ms. Hong-Park has performed at notable academic institutions such as Tokyo College of Music, Seoul National University, Yonsei University, University of North Texas, UCLA, University of Southern California, College of William and Mary, and Rutgers University. Enthusiastic about contemporary music, she has premiered works by internationally acclaimed composers including Sophia Serghi, Jean Ahn, Steven Ricks, Gui Sook Lee, and Eric Sessler. In 2019, Ms. Hong-Park co-hosted a series of five New York Philharmonic Young People’s Concerts alongside the Omaha Symphony’s music director, Thomas Wilkins, at David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center.

Ms. Hong-Park currently holds the position of Associate Professor of Piano at Brigham Young University. Her students have won numerous awards in international, national, and regional competitions including first-place prizes at the Emory Young Artist Piano Competition, Walgreens National Concerto Competition, International Keyboard Odyssiad & Festival Competition, Medici International Music Competition, Radda Rise International Piano Competition, Utah Symphony’s Salute to Youth Concerto Competition, Utah Music Teachers Association (UMTA) Concerto Competition, BYU Concerto Competition, BYU Piano Competition in Collaboration with Classical 89, and Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Piano Competition at the Southwest Division progressing to the National Finals. Many of these awards resulted in student performances with the Utah Symphony, BYU Philharmonic Orchestra, BYU Symphony Orchestra, Timpanogos Symphony Orchestra, the Utah Philharmonic Orchestra, American Fork Symphony, and American West Symphony. Furthermore, Ms. Hong-Park’s dedicated mentorship has led students to present academic research at the MTNA National Conference, National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy, MTNA National Collegiate Symposium, and the College Music Society Regional Conference. Her strong commitment to teaching is reflected by her previous faculty appointment at The Juilliard School, which she held for fourteen years.

Through guest masterclasses, Ms. Hong-Park has worked with students from across the world, including Showa University, Kobe College, Osaka University of the Arts, Wuhan Conservatory of Music, Missouri State University, Grand Valley State University, Loyola University New Orleans, Weber State University, Eastern Mennonite University, Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts, Ohio University, pianoSonoma Music Festival, Ernest So Masterclass Series (Hong Kong), and Gitameit Music Institute (Myanmar). During the summers, she serves on the artist-faculty at Brevard Music Center in North Carolina, one of the country’s elite summer festivals for gifted music students.

An avid researcher, Ms. Hong-Park has presented at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)’s UNITWIN International Arts Symposium, National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy, the College Music Society National Conferences, MTNA National Conference, and International Teaching Artist Conference. She has also appeared as a frequent guest speaker at prestigious institutions including the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Palmetto International Piano Festival, Peace & Life Zone (PLZ) Music Festival @ DMZ Korea, Socially Engaged Musicians Network Forum of Korea, Youth Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and New York City Department of Education. In November 2023, she delivered the keynote address at the UMTA Annual State Conference. Her scholarly interest includes career development for musicians, entrepreneurship and leadership in the performing arts, interdisciplinary arts collaboration, Asian American studies in classical music, the music of women and composers of color, and social consciousness, activism, and advocacy of the arts.

Ms. Hong-Park is deeply committed to providing access to and education for the arts. As a lead teaching artist of the New York Philharmonic, she led a faculty of conservatory-trained musicians and taught in the nation’s largest orchestra-school partnership residency program serving over 3000 students across the five boroughs of New York City. She has also organized numerous projects to raise funds for non-profit organizations and established community concert residencies to bring arts to underserved communities. In recognition of her leadership in community engagement and arts education, she has been featured in select interviews and documentaries on the Educational Broadcasting System (EBS) TV network in Korea.

Ms. Hong-Park received her B.M. and M.M. degrees at The Juilliard School and pursued five years of postgraduate studies at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her principal teachers include Julian Martin, Jacob Lateiner, and Bruce Brubaker. Upon her graduation from Juilliard, she received the school’s highest award, William Schuman Commencement Prize, for her exceptional achievement, leadership, and service in music.

Ms. Hong-Park has served as a juror for the MTNA Eastern Division Competition, UMTA Piano Concerto Competition, Weber State University Piano Festival and Competition, International Virtuoso Competition, Encore Keyboard Competition, and MEANJ Piano Competition. She has served as the chair of the MTNA/UMTA Piano Performance Competition for the past three years.

 

back to top

Dr. Yi-Yang Chen shot onto the international stage with back-to-back victories in the 2018 Sussex International Piano Competition, 2017 Washington International Competition, and the Warning International Piano Competition. The Worthing Herald music critic Richard Amey praised his recent performance “flair for the unusual and his technical and artistic capacity to deliver,” as well as his “musical and emotional intelligence, dexterity and virtuosity,” listening to Chen as soloist in Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No.5 “Egyptian” with the Worthing Symphony Orchestra. His vibrant playing at the Pacific International Piano Competition (Canada) was recognized by the judges, who selected him for the first prize (“…Yi-Yang showed an impressive breadth of emotional investment and natural affinity for the music he played. The informed individuality and command of his performance was immediately compelling to the judges. We feel this young man has a fine future as an artist. He seems to ‘own’ the piano as he plays, and this makes his performance extremely powerful” – Dr. Robin McCabe).

Yi-Yang Chen is an assistant professor of piano at the University of Kansas and the Artist Director of the Orbifold Music Festival in California. Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Chen has been playing the piano since the age of 8. Yi-Yang completed his Doctor of Musical Arts And Bachelor’s of Music at the Eastman School of Music with Douglas Humpherys, and his Master’s degree at The Juilliard School with Robert McDonald and Jerome Lowenthal. He also has solo/chamber masterclasses with Itzhak Perlman, Emanuel Ax, Daniel Pollack, Joseph Kalichstein, Glenn Dicterow, Thomas Sauer, and with members from the Cleveland, Shanghai, Borromeo, Brentano, Ying, and Guarneri String Quartets.

Yi-Yang has captivated audiences worldwide with his flamboyant playing. He has performed on five continents in acclaimed venues, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center in New York, Melbourne Recital Centre, National Concert Hall in Taipei, Banff Music Centre in Canada, ZK Matthews Great Hall in South Africa, and the Assembly Hall in Worthing, UK, with such orchestras as the Worthing Symphony Orchestra, Brevard Music Center Orchestra, Avanti Orchestra, Eastman Philharmonic Orchestra, National Chinese Orchestra, and the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra. He has appeared at the Perlman Music Festival, Taos School of Music Summer Chamber Music Festival, Banff Music Centre, Music Academy of the West, Four Seasons Winter Workshop, and Brevard Music Center.

A wealth of experience enables Chen to become an outstanding teacher and performer. As the winner of the 2012 MTNA National Young Artist Piano Competition, Chen was given a Steinway piano and two concerts in Miami sponsored by the Chopin Foundation (USA) as his prize. In a review of his 2017 solo recital at Carnegie Weill Hall, New York Concert Review wrote, “He negotiated this difficult work with what appeared to be the greatest of ease. The passagework was sparkling, and the energy never flagging. Mr. Chen held the line and momentum throughout, challenges which many players struggle with in this work […]. It was a powerhouse performance. His bold, take-no- holds approach was all that one hopes for in this work. It is a high-risk proposition that demands a large technique, and Mr. Chen delivered. I’ve heard many performances of this sonata, and Mr. Chen’s ranks among the best. “ Chen also received top prizes at the Hilton Head International Piano Competition, American Prize (Professional Division), UNISA International Piano Competition (South Africa), Kerikeri International Piano Competition (New Zealand), Seattle International Piano competition, Thailand International Piano Competition, San Jose International Piano Competition, Roberto Melini International Piano Competition (Italy), Five Towns Piano Competition, Schubert Club Competition, Thousand Islands International Piano Competition, and Chopin International Piano Competition in Hartford.

Yi-Yang Chen is a member of the Music Teachers National Association, College Music Society, and Mu Phi Epsilon. He enjoys swimming, biking, traveling, and composing. Yi-Yang is currently working on a recording project with Champs Hill label (UK); the release is scheduled for 2025. Before joining KU (University of Kansas), Yi-Yang served on the faculty at East Tennessee State University as a tenure-track professor.

 

back to top

Aya Higuchi Hagelthorn is a Lecturer of Piano Pedagogy and serves as the Director of Collegiate Class Piano and Coordinator of the Piano Pedagogy Laboratory Program at the University of Michigan. She is also a member of the College of Examiners at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.

Her musical journey has spanned Japan, Italy, Prague, and the United States, where she has been lauded for her solo and collaborative performances. An active researcher, she regularly presents her findings in piano pedagogy at various conferences. Her recordings of Chopin’s compositions feature in films, documentaries, and educational materials, and are available on MuseOpen.org and IMSLP.org.

Hagelthorn is committed to advancing music education by integrating innovative teaching methodologies with cutting-edge technologies. She bridges traditional performance practices with forward-thinking educational approaches in immersive learning environments. Her research interests include music technology integration, immersive learning, performance pedagogy, and digital media in music education.

Recently, Hagelthorn received a project grant from the University of Michigan’s Center for Academic Innovation to collaborate with their XR team. The goal is to develop an immersive performance environment for piano students using the Apple Vision Pro, exploring the potential of extended reality in music education. As the social media coordinator for the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance (SMTD) Piano Department, she highlights departmental achievements and innovative projects like the Michigan Recording Project, enhancing the visibility of student and faculty work through strategic digital storytelling. Hagelthorn holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano with a minor in Computer Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Michigan. Her dedication to pushing the boundaries of musical instruction and performance through technological innovation underscores her commitment to advancing the field of piano pedagogy.

 

back to top

Born in Seoul, Republic of Korea, Dr. Laehyung Woo made her debut at the Kumho Arts Gallery as the grand finalist for the Kumho Prodigy Audition at the age of fourteen. She graduated cum laude from Seoul National University and continued her studies in the United States, earning a master’s degree from the New England Conservatory under Alexander Korsantia as a merit-based scholarship recipient. She pursued her Artist Diploma at Texas Christian University under Tamás Ungár, and completed her Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) at the University of North Texas under Pamela Mia Paul, where she held both a Graduate Assistantship Tuition Scholarship and a Teaching Fellowship.

Dr. Woo’s passion for music has taken her across Europe, Asia, the United States, and Canada, performing in numerous distinguished venues including Carnegie Weill Hall, The Kennedy Center, New York University, Williams Hall in Boston, Pepsico Recital Hall in Fort Worth, Seoul Arts Center, and Kumho Arts Hall, among others. She was a winner of the IBLA Grand Prize at the Bartók–Kabalevsky–Prokofiev International Piano Competition, and has been recognized at competitions such as the Washington International Piano Festival Competition, Schlern International Music Competition, San Antonio Young Artist Competition, and the Jacob Flier Piano Competition at New Paltz. Her festival appearances include Banff Piano Masterclass, PianoTexas, Washington International Piano Festival and the Mozarteum Summer Academy in Salzburg.

Throughout her career, Dr. Woo has collaborated and studied with many distinguished artists from institutions including the New England Conservatory, University of North Texas, Texas Christian University, and The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. She has also participated in masterclasses at leading Korean institutions such as Seoul National University, Korea National University of Arts.

Dr. Woo currently serves on the piano faculties of the University of North Texas and Tarrant County College, where she continues to inspire students through her artistry and pedagogical dedication.

 

back to top

Hailed by the American pianist and educator Dr. Marilyn Nonken, “Katherine Wenyi Xiong is an exciting young artist whose pianism is filled with color, drama, and honest emotional expression. She brings thoughtfulness and passion to every performance.”

Dr. Xiong’s educational contributions include the Lecturer of Collab-orative Piano, Substitute Professor in Piano, and the Social Media Manager in the Piano Department at Pennsylvania State University, the Adjunct Faculty in Piano at New York University, the Co-Coordinator for the Music Teachers National Association Pennsylva-nia State Competition, the Artistic Director for the Bay Area Piano Competition, and as an Adjudicator for the Music International Grand Prix Competition in NYC, the Charleston International Music Compe-tition, and the Music Teachers National Association Pennsylvania State Competition for two consecutive years, where she judged the Senior Piano Division in 2024 and the Young Artist Piano Division in 2025.

Dr. Xiong has performed in solo recitals and collaborative concerts across the United States, Europe, and Asia. She is a laureate of several competitions, having won second place at both the Fifth Finland In-ternational Piano Competition and the Eighth ENKOR International Piano Competition in England. In addition, she received first prize at the Charleston International Music Competition, first place at the 37th Annual Graduate Exhibition at the Pennsylvania State University, and the Director’s Distinguished Performance Award at Penn State Uni-versity for two consecutive years (2022-2023). Moreover, she won first prizes at the Ann Arbor Camerata Concerto Competition, the Yamaha Asian Music Scholarship Competition, the World Chinese Piano Competition, and the Toyama Asia Youth Music Competition. She also achieved third prize at both the “Xing Hai Cup” National Pi-ano Competition in Beijing and the Fifth Shenzhen Piano Open Com-petition.

Dr. Xiong's recent highlights include piano recital serials on the East Coast of the United States, a lecture recital at the 2025 Pennsylvania Music Teachers Association Conference, the annual Honors Recital at NYU, the piano solo recitals at NYU Steinhardt and NYU Tando School of Engineering, the world premiere of New Music at the annu-al Tutte Le Corde concert in New York City, piano recitals in the NYU outreach series, an Artist Guest Recital at Capital University in Ohio, and a concert at City Hall in North Carolina. Additionally, Dr. Xiong has performed Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor with the University of Michigan Orchestra in Ann Arbor and showcased the Yellow River Piano Concerto with the Changsha Sym-phony.

Dr. Xiong holds degrees in piano performance from the Sichuan Con-servatory of Music (High-school Diploma, Bachelor of Music, and Master of Music), University of Michigan (Master of Music), Penn-sylvania State University (Doctor of Musical Arts), where she won one of two competitive three years of graduate assistantships, and New York University (Artist Diploma). Her principal teachers include Manuel Laufer, Timothy Shafer, and Christopher Harding.

 

back to top