PIANISTS 2009

 

 

 

 

 

Yekwon Sunwoo, 20, entered The Curtis Institute of Music in 2005 and studies with renowned pianist Seymour Lipkin. All students at Curtis receive merit-based full-tuition scholarships, and Mr. Sunwoo holds a Gerry and Marguerite Lenfest Fellowship. Mr. Sunwoo began studying piano at eight years old and was chosen out of three hundred students to receive the prestigious Music Achievement Award at Yewon Arts Middle School. He performed as a soloist with the Daegu Orchestra in 2002 and the Yewon Arts Middle School Orchestra in 2003. In February 2009, he won first prize in the Concours International de Piano “Interlaken Classics.” His other awards include first prize in the inaugural 2008 Florida International Piano Competition, where he was the youngest competitor; first prize in the Ewha-Kyung Hyang Competition; and grand prize in the Kukmin-Ilbo/Hansei University Competition.
In 2008 Mr. Sunwoo performed with Curtis President Roberto Díaz on the Bay Chamber Concerts summer series. At the invitation of the Kumho Asiana Cultural Foundation, Mr. Sunwoo performed on tour in Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Panama in 2007. In 2006 he attended the Bowdoin International Music Festival and the Toronto Summer Music Academy and Festival.