Dr. Christie Cho

New York‐born Dr. Christie Cho is an award-winning pianist whose performances has reached across the United States to Korea, Japan, and Germany. Her performances were highly acclaimed and garnered great reviews. Music critic Peter Jacobi praised her performance of Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto for its“freshness of approach that came from a rare combination: youth, innate talent, and a beyond‐her‐years artistic maturity and musical intelligence.” Renowned critic Harris Goldsmith particularly praised her “flowing line, crystalline textures and elegant tone.”

Dr. Cho began her piano studies in Seoul, South Korea when she was 11 years old. Within two years she entered the famed Yewon School, the most prestigious middle school for the arts in Korea, and then continued her studies at Seoul Arts High School. She received her Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance at Seoul National University under Suk Ran Kwon and Hee Sung Joo and Master of Music degree and Performer Diploma at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music under Edward Auer. She completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts under Daniel Epstein.

Among the myriad awards she received during her student years in Korea were First Prize in the Eum-ag Chun-chu Competition, First Prize in the Eum-ak Journal Competition, First Prize in the Junior Chopin Competition, First Prize in the Eumyeon Competition, and the Bronze Medal in the International Chopin Competition in Japan. After coming to U.S., she received the First Prize in the Beethoven Competition at Edward Auer Summer Piano Workshop, First Prize in the Chopin/Schumann Competition at EASPW, and First Prize in the Southern Illinois Young Artist Organization. She also won the Concerto Competition at Indiana University with “a thrilling account” of Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto.

Dr. Cho is also an active collaborative pianist and chamber musician. She previously worked with many renowned professors, including Alice Hopper, Elena Chernova-Davis, Eric Kim, Hurst Lawrence, Mark Kaplan, Otis Murphy, and Peter Stumpf. She recently served as Instrumental Collaborative Pianist for the Interlochen Music Camp and worked with musicians including Margaret Batjer and members of the Detroit Symphony. She currently holds a position as Staff Pianist at University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.

As a dedicated pedagogue, she has taught across the nation. She previously worked with Dr. Karen Taylor, the founder and former director of the Young Pianists Program and Summer Piano Academy at Indiana University, as a faculty member and piano coach for both programs. She later continued teaching in New Jersey and California. She is currently on the piano faculty at UMHB’s Arts Academy and an adjunct faculty at McLennan Community College and Baylor University.

Office: MTA 108 * Phone: (254) 299-8283 * Email: ccho@mclennan.edu