• Program
• About the Artists
  • Dongwon Lee
  • Jiyoung Choi

Program

About the Artists

Dongwon Lee

Dongwon Lee has been playing the piano since the age of seven. He began his formal training in 2004 at the Music Institute of Chicago with Claire Aebersold and Ralph Neiweem, then continued private lessons with Arthur Greene at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance. In 2012, he was admitted to both Columbia University and Juilliard and attended both institutions simultaneously through a joint program.

At Juilliard, Dongwon studied with Choong-Mo Kang and Hung-Kuan Chen, and is now pursuing a Master’s degree at the Yale University School of Music under Peter Frankl and Wei-Yi Yang. Dongwon has also worked with prominent musicians such as Ludovic Morlot, Richard Goode, Leon Fleisher, Douglas Humpherys, Nelita True, Christopher Elton, Boris Berman, and members of the Brentano and Endellion String Quartets.

Dongwon is a recipient of numerous scholarships and awards, including top prizes at the 5th Eastman International Piano Competition, the 28th International Smetana Piano Competition, the 2012 Seattle Young Artists Music Festival, and was a finalist at the 5th New York International Piano Competition. A 2012 Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist, he has been featured on National Public Radio’s “From the Top” at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. Dongwon has also appeared as soloist with ensembles such as the Juilliard Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic, Philharmonia Northwest, Puget Sound Symphony, and with the Seattle Symphony. An avid chamber musician and collaborative pianist, he and his trio won the “Luigi Boccherini” second prize at the Virtuoso and Bel canto Festival of Lucca, Italy.

Aside from music, Dongwon has an avid interest in psychology. He graduated from Columbia with highest honors in Psychology and co-authored several journal articles in the field of vision research.

Jiyoung Choi

Cellist Jiyoung Choi began her studies at the age of eight and first appeared on stage as a soloist when she was ten. She is currently pursuing her Master of Musical Arts degree and received her Master of Music degree from Yale School of Music, where she is studying with Aldo Parisot. She received her Bachelor’s from Ewha Womans University in Seoul, Korea under the guidance of William Bai.

She has won numerous competitions and awards, such as first prize at both Ewha Womans University Music Competition and the Bucheon Music Competition. Most recently she was a 2017 winner of the Chamber Music Competition at Yale School of Music. She has won additional awards at Guri Philharmonic Competition, Sungshin University Music Competition, Yejeon Competition, Korean Mozart Music Competition, etc.

Recent performances have included recitals at the 2016 Holland Music Sessions, Guilford Performing Arts Festival, and Incheon Music “hic et nunc”. She has participated in many masterclasses and also has appeared as a soloist with the Ewha Philharmonic Orchestra and Young Philharmonic Orchestra in Seoul.

Jiyoung has served as a principal cellist of Ewha Philharmonic Orchestra and Musicalta Festival in France. Additional orchestral experiences include Kyunggi Philharmonic Orchestra with Riccardo Muti, London Cello Orchestra, Symphony Song with Shinik Hahm, and Seoul Youth Orchestra with Chiyoung Jung.