Last modified: Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Chong Wins Jacobs School Piano Concerto Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 10, 2010
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Tina Chong, a first-year Artist Diploma student of Professor Arnaldo Cohen, won the 2010 Jacobs School of Music Piano Concerto Competition and will be featured with the University Orchestra, conducted by Kevin Noe, on Feb. 17 at 8 p.m. in the Musical Arts Center.
The program will include Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Minor, Op. 21, and Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances, Op. 45.
"I am greatly honored to have been given this opportunity to perform one of my favorite pieces with orchestra," said Chong. "The chance to make music with my fellow classmates will be an exciting and rewarding experience."
"Tina is certainly one of the most talented musicians we have, and it is a delight to have her as a student," said Cohen.
Jacobs piano faculty served as judges for the Jan. 29 competition.
About Tina Chong
Hailed as a "paradigm of lyricism" by the Charleston Gazette, Chong has established herself as an upcoming young artist in North America. Since her orchestral debut at the age of nine, she has appeared as a guest soloist numerous times with orchestras throughout the United States, Canada, Brazil and Mexico, including the Calgary Philharmonic, the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra and the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra. Chong has performed recitals in venues worldwide, such as the Sala Chopin in Mexico City and the Sheldon Center in St. Louis. She was most recently invited to perform at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
A native of Banff, Canada, Chong began her musical studies at the age of three. She is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where she received her Bachelor of Music under the guidance of Angela Cheng. She is currently working on an Artist Diploma degree with Arnaldo Cohen at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music, where she holds an associate instructorship post. In master classes, she has worked with such eminent pianists as Sergei Babayan, Marc Durand, Christopher Elton, Marek Jablonski, Anton Kuerti, Jean-Paul Sevilla and John Perry.
A frequent international award winner, Chong's top placements in the Aspen Music Festival concerto competition and the Seneca Chamber Orchestra Competition have led to acclaimed performances. In October 2009, she won second prize in the Jacques Klein Piano Competition in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She is a prize winner of the Corpus Christi Competition, Schmidbauer Competition, Nena Wideman Competition, Jefferson Symphony Young Artists Competition, Canadian Music Competitions and the Music Teachers National Association Competition.
An avid participant in music festivals, Chong has enjoyed her summers at the Music Academy of the West, the Aspen Music Festival, the Banff Keyboard Festival, the Piano Texas Festival and the Bowdoin International Music Festival. These programs gave her the opportunity to study under the tutelage of Robert McDonald, Jerome Lowenthal, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Julian Martin and Arie Vardi.
Always finding pleasure outside of solo piano in her many ongoing ensembles, she has had the opportunity to receive coachings from horn player David Jolley, Takacs Quartet violinist Edward Dusinberre and violinist Jaime Laredo. She has been recognized for her chamber music and accompanying flair with accolades such as the Louis and Annette Kaufman prize. She is currently a member of Musicians Mosaic, a chamber ensemble comprised of a vocal quartet and piano duo.
