Hee Sung Joo, Pianist
The Korean pianist, Hee Sung Joo, first came to international attention of the winning the first prize in the Dudley International Piano Competition in England in 1995. Chosen from more than 60 pianists, Ms. Joo subsequently gave her London debut in 1996 in the Royal Festival Hall. After the recital, critic Geoffrey Crankshaw wrote in the British Quarterly, Musical Opinion :
“ A fresh talent of high promise came into view at The Purcell Room when Hee Sung Joo, the winner of the 1995 Dudley International Piano Competition, gave her Prize Winner’s recital. From the first bars of Bach, one recognized an artist of genuine stature, someone with something to say, and the ability to say it! A sure sense of style, backed with a truly formidable technique enabled this young artist to take us to the heart of each composer. This was no routine obeisance, but rather a sense of affirmations. I eagerly look forward to hearing this vital talent again.”
Following her success in England where she concertized extensively, Ms Joo went on to become a prizewinner in the U.S. at the Wideman Piano Competition, as well as earning distinctions in both the Cleveland International Piano Competition and the William Kapell International Piano Competition in Baltimore where she won Nancy W. Miller Memorial prize in 1996.
After Ms. Joo took the first place in the 2002 New Orleans International Piano Competition, she made several appearances in the New Orleans area including recitals and performances with Louisiana Philharmonic and Acadiana Symphony Orchestras. Other U.S. appearances have included recitals in Jordan Hall (Boston), the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum, French Library, Harvard Musical Association Hall, Wesleyan College Crowell Concert Hall, and Loyola University. She also had two feature recitals in Connecticut as the first prize winner of Simone Belsky Music Award in 1999.
A native of Seoul, Hee Sung Joo, began piano studies at age of 5. She graduated Yewon, Seoul High School of Arts and received her bachelor degree at Seoul National University in 1992. Winner of the first prizes in the two major piano competitions in Korea, the Dong-A Music Competition and the Hankuk Journals Music Competition, Ms Joo made her debut with Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra in 1990. After the graduation of her bachelor’s degree, she started to study with Prof. Wha-Kyung Byun and Mr. Russell Sherman at New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where she finished her M. M degree and Artist Diploma. Also she continued her DMA course under the guidance of Dr. Paul Rutman at the University of Hartford, but during the course she returned to Korea because she received the full-time teaching position at Seoul National University in 2003.
Since she was employed at Seoul National University, she gave many recitals at Berlin Philharmonie in Germany, Seoul Arts Center, Hoam Art Hall and Kumho Art Hall in Seoul as well as a number of appearances as soloists with orchestras including Korean Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic, Bucheon Philharmonic, Busan Philharmonic and Daegu Symphony. She recorded Chopin’s four ballards and mazurkas for the Korean Broadcasting System FM radio as one of the concert series of 200th Anniversary of Chopin’s Birth in 2010. She was invited as a visiting scholar by Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and gave her recital at the Auer Hall in her sabbatical year, 2011. After come back to Korea, she again gave her recital at Berlin Philharmonie hosted by Interclassic Management and she was also invited several times as a soloist with KBS Symphony orchestra at Seoul Arts Center Saturday Concert Series and performed with SNU Symphony Orchestra at the same venue. She released the CD which has Beethoven’s Sonatas including the “Hammerklavier” sonata labeled by NCM Klassik recently. She is also enthusiastic about chamber music playing and gave many concerts as a member of Tonus Trio and has collaborated with many international musicians like, Nobuko Imai, Laurence Lesser, James Buswell, Philippe Muller, Hsin-Yun Huang, Nicholas Kitchen, Aulos Wind Ensemble, Seoul Chamber Music Society, and Charity Chamber. She also has numerous performances and gave masterclasses at many international music festivals including Auer Summer Music, Amalfi Coast, Beijing, Berlin, Cincinnati, Perugia, Taipei, Busan, Tong-Young, and Jirisan.
She is now teaching as a professor of the Piano Department, College of Music at Seoul National University in Korea.
