SOHEE KWON 

Award-winning Korean pianist Sohee Kwon has been rapidly advancing her career throughout the U.S., acclaimed for her artistry, exquisite pianism, and profound sensitivity. She has garnered top honors in major international competitions, including the First Prize in the 2020 MTNA Chamber Competition, the Second Prize in the 2020 Fischoff National Chamber Competition, the First Prize in the UNT SSI Concerto Competition, the First Prize in the Mason Gross School of the Arts Concerto Competition, and the Third Prize in the Ruth Barr Piano Competition. She has performed extensively as both a soloist and a dedicated chamber musician in prestigious venues worldwide, including Carnegie Hall, The Gordon K. and Harriet Greenfield Hall, Nicholas Music Center, Duncan Recital Hall, Murchison Performing Arts Center, Bates Concert Hall, Homer Rainey Hall, and the University Arts Center.

 

As a devoted chamber musician and founding member of Trío En (formerly known as Trío Rouge), she has graced numerous chamber music concert series and institutions around her current base in Austin as a guest artist. These include Chamber Music International, Salon Concert, Beerthoven Concert Series, Austin Chamber Music Center, International Summer Music Institute at the University of North Texas, and Rutgers University. She has also been featured on radio stations and local newspapers, including "Listen and Local" and "From the Butler School" on KMFA, Austin’s Classical Music Radio Station.

 

In addition to her performance career, she debuted as a music arranger for Piazzolla’s Three Preludes for Piano Trio, originally written for piano solo. This arrangement was accepted as her final thesis project as a doctoral student at UT Austin and premiered by her group, Trío En, at the University of Texas at Austin.

 

With her commitment to collaborating with living composers, she commissioned a double concerto for piano and violin by Tzu Chin Tsu, a distinguished female composer from Taiwan, with an anticipated world premiere scheduled in Taipei, Taiwan in 2025. Additionally, she has commissioned another work for piano and violin by the award-winning composer Joseph Martin Waters, premiering at Beethoven-Haus in Bonn, Germany, in August 2024. Her primary objective in commissioning new musical works is to broaden and enrich the existing piano solo and chamber music repertoire. 

 

Dr. Kwon earned her doctorate degree in Piano Performance at the University of Texas at Austin under the tutelage of Dr. Andrew Brownell. Prior to her time at UT, she attended the Manhattan School of Music and Rutgers for her undergraduate studies with Daniel Epstein and Dr. Min Kwon, supported by a presidential scholarship. She received the Elizabeth Wyckoff Durham Award for Excellence in Keyboard at graduation. Subsequently, she earned her Master's degree with Jon Kimura Parker as a full scholarship recipient at Rice University.

 

Currently, Dr. Kwon serves as a piano and chamber music faculty member at the Austin Chamber Music Center and the International Summer Music Institute at the University of North Texas. Recently, she also appeared in guest lectures, master classes, and performances at prestigious academic institutions such as Rutgers University, the University of North Texas, the University of Kansas, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.