Piano Performer, Teacher, and Accompanist
Mihyang Joo attended Ewha Womans University in Seoul, South Korea as a scholarship student, where she received her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees. Continuing her graduate studies in New York at the Manhattan School of Music, she earned a second Master of Music degree. Mihyang Joo obtained her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University, where she studied on a full scholarship. Her teachers have included acclaimed pianist Solomon Mikowsky, Lazar Berman, Susan Starr, Min Kwon, Tong-il Han, and Yung Lim Ham.
Dr. Joo’s impressive array of accomplishments includes winning the Rutgers Concerto Competition; twice winning the Rutgers University Chamber Music Competition; second prize in the Bradshaw & Buono International Piano Competition in New York; and prize winner in the Bergen Philharmonic Competition in New Jersey and the Lillian Fuchs Memorial Chamber Music Competition in New York. She was a finalist in the Hugo Kauder International Piano Competition in Connecticut and the Wiener Pianisten-Wettbewerb, PanMusica Austria, Vienna, Austria; and was a semifinalist in the 12th Missouri Southern International Piano Competition.
As a concert musician, Dr. Joo has had the privilege of performing at prestigious venues in North America, Europe, and Asia. She has performed with the Vienna Residence Orchestra in Marmosaal, Altenburger, Abschluss-Solistengala, and Stift Altenburger Musik Akademie AMA in Austria. In 2007 she made her solo recital debut at Carnegie Hall as a winner of the Artists International Auditions. The same year, she performed Schumann’s A minor Piano Concerto with the Rutgers Symphony Orchestra. She has performed at Nicholas Music Center in New Jersey; Steinway Hall and Donnell Auditorium in New York; the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC; the Strathmore in Maryland; and the Hylton Performing Arts Center in Virginia.
Since moving to Northern Virginia she has been highly sought after as a collaborative pianist, working with the studios of renowned string teachers including Olga Khroulevitch (violin), Ko Sugiyama (Assistant Concertmaster of the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra), James Lee (Cellist of the National Symphony Orchestra), Danielle Cho (Cellist of the National Symphony Orchestra and Washington National Opera), and Chaerim Kim Smith (Violinist of “The President’s Own” United States Marine Chamber Orchestra).
Dr. Joo chairs the Robert Spencer Piano Concerto Competition in Northern Virginia and the YMIC National Gospel Music Competition. She is a member of the Music Teachers National Association, Maryland State Music Teachers Association, Northern Virginia Music Teachers Association, Washington (DC) Music Teachers Association, Fairfax-Loudoun Music Fellowship, and the National Guild of Piano Teachers. She also serves as a pianist at KCPC (Korean Central Presbyterian Church).
Last summer, Dr. Joo’s recording of Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise for piano duet was released in South Korea on the Le Classic recording label.
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