Vivian Choi is internationally regarded as one of the most gifted pianists of her generation, lauded for her extraordinary artistry, musical intelligence and expressive intensity. Hailed by Fanfare as “an exemplar of the modern global pianist,” she is in demand for the depth of her musical insight of a wide-ranging repertoire, from classical to contemporary works.
Since her debut performance at the Mostly Mozart Festival at the Sydney Opera House at the age of 12, Vivian Choi has toured extensively throughout Australia, New Zealand, Europe, North America and Asia. She is the recipient of several prestigious honors, among them the New South Wales Premier’s Award for Excellence in Music and the Australian Guild of Music and Speech for Outstanding Achievement. For her contributions to the arts, Ms. Choi was awarded the title of 2003 Achiever of the Year by the Australian-Korean Cultural Council, and, most recently, was honored with the Dame Joan Sutherland Fund grant from the American Australian Association.
In 1992, Vivian Choi performed for the first time with orchestra as the winner of the New South Wales Secondary Schools Concerto Competition, launching her career as a concerto soloist that has taken her around the globe. Her recital debut occurred in 1997 at the Sydney Opera House, a performance that was broadcast nationally. Highlights of Ms. Choi’s recent seasons include tours of The People’s Republic of China and, as part of the Imago Sloveniae Festival, Slovenia and Croatia; a series of five all-Chopin recitals in ChopinFest Australia; the International Celebration of Music at the Sydney Town Hall; the Hopes, Talents and Masters Festival in Bulgaria; the Portland International Music Festival, and the Piano Future Festival in the USA.
Born in Seoul, Korea, Vivian Choi grew up in Sydney, Australia, where she received her earliest musical education. She continued her training at Russia’s Saint Petersburg State Conservatory, graduating summa cum laude. She holds graduate degrees from the New England Conservatory and Carnegie Mellon University. Her principal teachers include Kyunghee Lee, Mira Yevtich, Alexander Sandler, Wha Kyung Byun, and Sergey Schepkin. Ms. Choi’s studies have been generously assisted by the Australian Government through the Australian Council’s Arts Funding and Advisory Body.
Vivian Choi received her initial international recognition at the age of thirteen when she won, as the youngest contestant, Second Prize (Due Pianoforti) from the IX Concorso Pianistico Internazionale “Città di Marsala.” Since then, she has been awarded First prizes from the Marina Yudina International Piano Competition (Russia), Peter de Grote International Music Competition (The Netherlands) and Dobrich-Albena International Music Competition (Bulgaria). She was also awarded the Guido Alberto Fano Prize from the Guido Alberto Fano International Piano Competition (Italy) for the “Best Performance of Fano’s piano music.”
Vivian Choi’s 2010 debut recording, comprising works of Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev and Godowsky, was released on the St. Petersburg Northern Flowers label.
In addition to performance activities, Vivian Choi has served as a juror for numerous piano competitions, including, most recently, the 2015 Louisiana International Piano Competition. She has also conducted masterclasses worldwide for institutions that include Boston University, Italy’s Academia Filarmonica di Camposampiero and Australian International Conservatorium in Sydney.
Vivian Choi makes her home in New York City. vivian-choi.com