Lauded for being “positively mesmerizing at the piano” by The Times-Tribune, Korean-American pianist Minju Choi has performed throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia as a recitalist, soloist, and chamber musician. She has appeared as a soloist with the Indianapolis Symphony and Shreveport Symphony, the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, and the Music Academy of the West and Juilliard Orchestras. Choi has been presented in recitals in cities in the U.S. and abroad, including Paris, New York City, Philadelphia, and Myra Hess Memorial Series in Chicago. She has performed solo concerts in prestigious venues such as the Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall, Chicago Cultural Center, Studio 54, Cosmopolitan Club of NYC, Salle Franck in Paris, and Steinway Hall. She has been heard as a soloist in live and recorded performances on radio stations around the country including WQXR New York Radio, WFMT Chicago Radio, WQSC Santa Barbara, KDAQ Shreveport, and WICR Indianapolis. Choi was a featured artist at the Vancouver Recital Society’s Chamber Music Festival, in which her performances were broadcast on the CBC Canada Radio.
A strong enthusiast of contemporary music, Choi is recognized for her championship of music by American composers. Her 2018 solo debut album Boundless under Navona Records label garnered her a feature review in the Gramophone Magazine and has been performed on radio stations across North America and Europe. It features music by Philip Lasser, Gabriela Lena Frank, and a commissioned work by Ching-chu Hu. She has commissioned a variety of works that have been written for her by American composers. Notable performances of American works have included David Diamond’s Piano Concerto with conductor Gerard Schwarz and Philip Lasser’s piano sonata “The White Owls” at Schola Cantorum in Paris, which resulted in Choi’s performance of the sonata as the centerpiece of a modern dance work presented at Lincoln Center and at Florence Gould Hall of the French Institute in New York City. She has also worked with American composers Derek Bermel, William Bolcom, and Joel Hoffman.
Committed to the education of young pianists and arts advocacy, Choi has created numerous community music engagement programs and has given masterclasses at universities across the country. Choi has served as a piano faculty at University of Indianapolis in 2010-2017. In 2016, she also served as the Indiana Arts Commission’s Strategic Planning Committee Member.
The South Korean-born, Indiana-bred pianist has been awarded prizes in several competitions including first prize in the Nena Wideman International Piano Competition, the Music Academy of the West Concerto Competition, and the Juilliard Concerto Competition. Choi was also a winner in the National YoungArts Foundation Competition. She earned her bachelor´s and master´s degrees from The Juilliard School under the tutelage of Jerome Lowenthal. She pursued additional studies with Jean-Claude Pennetier at École Normale de Musique de Paris and with Bernd Goetzke at Hochschule für Musik, Theater, und Medien Hannover in Germany. She earned her doctoral degree at Stony Brook University in New York with Gilbert Kalish and Christina Dahl. Choi is currently serving as an Assistant Professor of Piano at Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri.
Ms. Choi will be performing with KCCO at our April 25, 2020 concert.