Sookkyung Cho, Piano

Biography

A recent graduate of The Juilliard School’s Doctor of Musical Arts program as a C. V. Starr fellow, pianist Sookkyung Cho has performed throughout North America, Europe, and her native Korea. She has appeared in venues such as Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, Steinway Hall New York, Sarasota Opera House, Baltimore Museum of Arts, Beaux Concerts de la Relève in Quebec, Château de Fontainebleau in France, and Zhejiang University in China, among others.

Ms. Cho has been featured in major music festivals including the Yellow Barn Festival, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, and the Sarasota Music Festival. In 2010, she was a Performing Associate at Bowdoin International Music Festival, where she taught as an assistant to Boris Slutsky, her long-time mentor. An avid chamber music player, she has performed with such eminent musicians as cellist Michael Kannen, violist Maria Lambros, and pianist Christina Dahl, and is a founding member of the New York-based Almava Trio.

An emerging performer-scholar, Ms. Cho was selected to present a lecture-recital, entitled “Understanding Editorial Issues – Schubert’s Sonata D. 959, II. Andatino” by the College Music Society for its biennial International Conference in 2011. Her passion for Schubert’s music is also evident in her dissertation, “Schubert’s Sonata in B Major, D. 575, Reimagined,” which was accepted for her doctoral degree in May 2013.

With her passion for teaching, she is currently on piano and chamber music faculty at New England Conservatory Preparatory School and Continuing Education and adjunct faculty in theory at Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. She has also served as a Teaching Fellow in both the Piano Minor and Music Theory departments at Juilliard and as a Graduate Assistant in the Theory department at Peabody.

Ms. Cho began her musical training in Korea, where she started composing at age six, and her vocal performances were seen on major broadcasting systems. After moving to the U.S., she attended New England Conservatory Preparatory School, and subsequently earned degrees from The Juilliard School and the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, under the tutelage of Boris Slutsky, Julian Martin, and Matti Raekallio.

She has garnered a number of honors, including the John Erskine graduation prize from Juilliard, the Career Development Award and Grace Clagett Ranney Prize in Chamber Music from Peabody, and top prizes at international competitions.  For more information, please visit www.sookkyungcho.com.