Ian Duh

Ian Duh’s musical abilities show signs of multiple personalities and commitment issues, though more entrepreneurial colleagues and advisors have preferred to call it “versatility.” His multi-faceted musical career began with piano and violin studies at the ages of six and eight, respectively, and continued in youth competitions throughout Pennsylvania and the Eastern Division as both a pianist and violinist (often simultaneously), winning various first and second prizes and earning praise for “professionally presented music” and “exceptional technical facility.” Especially significant competitions have included the Williamsport Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition, Ann Keller Concerto Competition, Vera Kochanowsky Piano Competition, the MTNA Eastern Division Senior String Performance Competition, the Amadeus Competition, and the Phyllis Triolo Music Competition. He recently completed the Professional Performance Certificate in Violin (2020) at the Pennsylvania State University with major teacher James Lyon and the Master of Music degree in Piano Performance at the University of Maryland (2019), where he studied with Mikhail Volchok, Bradford Gowen, and Mayron Tsong and studied chamber music under Rita Sloan. He plans to continue his violin studies as a teaching assistant pursuing a second Master of Music degree in Violin, also at Penn State with Professor Lyon. Previously, he graduated with honors in music from the Schreyer Honors College at Penn State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance (under major teachers Drs. José Ramón Méndez and Steven Herbert Smith) and a Bachelor of Science in General Science. At Penn State, he consistently earned various jury honors and distinctions, such as chances to represent the piano area at Undergraduate Recognition Recitals and the Undergraduate Exhibition, as well as a finalist position in the Penn State Concerto Competition. His undergraduate curriculum also included coursework in conducting, composition, and voice. Also at Penn State, he was an active leader in student organizations; he founded, music directed, and served as principal arranger for No Strings Attached and its affiliate ensemble Ulterior Motive which were, at the time, the university’s only non-auditioned group and at the time its only vocal band, respectively. With the latter, he competed in the 2015 ICCA. Other endeavors as music director include the Happy Valley Chinese School Chamber Orchestra and productions of Meredith Willson’s The Music Man, Next to Normal, and 1776. On the weekends, he can be found teaching out of his home studio as well as leading worship or teaching Sunday School at the State College Chinese Alliance Church. Various customized short-form bios, repertoire sheets, and CVs are available upon request.

You can find Ian’s performance here.