Finalist: Hye-Yeon Park

Hye-Yeon Park has emerged as one of the outstanding pianists from Korea. She made her first public concert at the age of ten with the Seoul Symphony Orchestra performing Beethoven's First Concerto. Since winning the first prize at the Chosun competition in 1994, she has won many of the major honors in Korea such as E-Hwa Competition, Eumyoun Competition, Joongang competition. She also has been selected as Young Artist by the Kumho foundation and “The Most Promising Young Artist” by the Korean Ministry of Education. Internationally, she has been a prizewinner of Oberlin International Competition, USA, 1999, Ettlingen International Competition, Germany, 2002, Maria Canals International Competition, Spain 2003 and Prix Amadeo International Competition, Germany in 2007.

Ms. Park has given concerts extensively as a recitalist and soloist with major orchestras. She has played in Kumho Art Hall, Hoam Art Hall, Seoul Art Center and Sejong Art Hall, the most prestigious concert halls in Korea to perform with Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Seoul Symphony Orchestra and KNUA Orchestra. In recent seasons, her performances led her to numerous venues such as Steinway Hall, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Salzburg Mozart Saal, Palacio de Festivales, Sogakudo Concert hall, Melbourne Hamer Hall and more. Additionally, she has appeared on KBS and EBS television in Korea and national television in Spain and Mexico.

Ms. Park’s music festival credits include Salzburg Mozarteum Summer Festival, Vienna Music Festival, Ishikawa Music Academy, Festival Encuentro de Musica y Academica de Santander and Yellow Barn Music Festival. As an active chamber musician, she won the first prize at Plowman Chamber Music Competition as a member of Atria Ensemble. She has studied chamber music with Peter Oundjian, Donald Weilerstein, David Shifrin, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, Aldo Parisot, as well as with members of the Peabody Trio, Guarneri, and Takacs quartet. Her first duo recording for piano and cello will be released in the summer of 2008 under Mexico Urtext label.

Hye-Yeon Park came to the United States in the fall of 2003, after receiving her Bachelor of Music Degree from Korean National University of Arts in Korea where she received a full scholarship as a student of Daejin Kim. She continued her musical education at Yale University, studying with Peter Frankl, where she received her Master of Music and Artist Diploma in 2006. In 2006-2007, she held a position of Post-Graduate Fellow. Since September 2007, she has been pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Peabody Institute under the tutelage of Yong Hi Moon.

Ms. Park has participated in master classes by Leon Fleisher, Claude Frank, Boris Berman, Richard Goode, Piotr Palczeny, Alicia de Larrocha, Dmitri Bashkirov, Gary Graffmann and John O’Connor.