2023 Competition by Composer Judges

We’re honored to have Dr. Jonathan Tsay and Dr. Chih-Long Hu adjudicate our piano competition this year. Their bios follow.


Dr. Jonathan Tsay

 

Soloist, chamber musician, producer, and arts administrator Jonathan Tsay maintains an artistic career as diverse as his interests. Alongside his appointment as Assistant Professor of Piano at the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music at The University of Memphis, Jonathan Tsay served numerous roles in the music community including Head of Collaborative Piano at Conservatory Music in the Mountains, Presenter and Artist for Cliburn in the Classroom, and Artistic Director of Ensemble75, a chamber music series based in the North Texas area.

Recent engagements include performances for The Cliburn, National Recital Hall in Taipei, Blanco Performing Arts, and the Mahogany Chamber Series at Crosstown Arts. Jonathan's performances have been broadcast on WRR Classical, CBC, KDFW Dallas-Fort Worth, Violinist.com, and KMFA Classical. Jonathan's YouTube collaboration with Chloé Trevor performing "Danse Macabre" has garnered over 1.4 million views.

A sought after collaborator, Jonathan has also performed alongside some of the world’s premier musicians, including Chee-Yun, David Cooper (Principal Horn, Chicago Symphony), Jing Wang (Concertmaster, Hong Kong Philharmonic), dramatic soprano Alessandra Marc, and the Cézanne and Ceruti quartets. As a solo recitalist, Jonathan has performed throughout the United States, Canada, and Taiwan.

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Dr. Chih-Long Hu

A native of Taiwan, pianist Chih-Long Hu‘s performance career was launched after receiving honors including the Taipei National Concert Hall Arising Star, the Chi-Mei Artist Award, and prizes from the Mauro Monopoli International Piano Competition in Italy, the Concurs International De Piano D'Escaldes-Engordany in Andorra, the Takamatsu International Piano Competition in Japan, and the International Russian Music Piano Competition in San Jose, California.

An active performer, Hu performs extensively in Asia, Europe, and America appearing as a concerto soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. His recent performance highlights include concerto performances of Rachamninov’s Paganini Rhapsody, Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3, Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 2, solo and chamber recitals in China, Taiwan, Korea, Canada, and throughout the U.S. Hu’s performances have been broadcast in "Performance Today" through NPR stations across the country and televised in Taiwan, China and Japan. His CD albums "Formosa Caprices", “Complete Rachmaninov Etudes-Tableaux”, and “Trifecta Trio” have received critical acclaim. His recording of Bach Goldberg Variations will be released soon.

Named “Teacher of the Year” by the Tennessee Music Teachers Association, Dr. Hu is frequently invited to give lectures and master classes, as well as to judge international and national competitions. Hu is the Artistic Director of St. Andrews Piano Academy and Festival International (New Brunswick), as well as the New York International Piano Festival. 

Hu holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in piano performance from the University of Michigan, a Master's degree from Taipei National University of the Arts, and a Bachelor's degree in civil engineering from National Taiwan University. His piano teachers include Arthur Greene, Hung-Kuan Chen, and Tai-Cheng Chen. Dr. Hu has served on the faculty at East Tennessee State University, and was recently appointed as Sandra G. Powell Endowed Professor of Piano at the University of Tennessee.

University of Tennessee, School of Music Associate Director