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Prize-winning pianist Elaine Kwon made her orchestral
debut with the Washington-Idaho Symphony at age 15 and has performed
solo, concerto, and chamber music concerts throughout the US and
internationally. She received standing ovations at her sold-out,
2008 Carnegie Hall debut concert in Weill Recital Hall as well
as in her 2010 solo concerto appearance with the Slovak Sinfonietta,
the 2009/2010 season opening concerts as soloist with the Toronto
Philharmonia Orchestra and the Finger Lakes Symphony, and most
recently with the New York Chamber Virtuosi at Zankel Hall at
Carnegie Hall. For 10 years she toured regularly as part of the
Hebert/Kwon piano duo and has appeared on public television and
radio in the US, China and Bulgaria. She was a Visiting Professor
of Piano at the Conservatory of Music in Wuhan, People's Republic
of China and performed duo piano concerts (with pianist Sandra
Hebert) and taught master classes at the music conservatories
in Wuhan, Chengdu and Tianjin. As collaborative musician, she
has performed/composed/choreographed productions of piano music
combined with other art forms. Performances in New York include
presentations at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center Rose Studio, Angel
Orensanz Theater, Tenri Cultural Institute, ICO Gallery, Yamaha
Piano Salon and the Knitting Factory. As a composer, she has written
primarily solo piano works. She created an original score for
the highly-acclaimed Shakespearean play, Corsetless, which premiered
in Buffalo, NY, was showcased in Carnegie Hall, toured through
Ireland in 2009 and is now being made into a feature film.
Elaine received a Doctorate of Musical Arts from
Boston University; a Master of Music from New England Conservatory
with highest honors and the Distinction in Performance Award;
and a Bachelor of Music from University of Texas in Austin with
highest honors and the Academic All-American award. Former teachers
include Anthony di Bonaventura, Leonard Shure, Danielle Martin
and Jerome Lowenthal.
As an avid martial artist, Elaine holds a second-degree
black belt in Tae Kwon Do and is five-time US National Tae Kwon
Do Champion in Traditional and Creative Forms (1994, 1997-2000).
As a member of a National exhibition team, Elaine performed for
US soldiers stationed in Korea in the USO Jhoon Rhee Show (formerly
USO Bob Hope Show) in celebration of US Independence Day. She
was named one of Boston's "Most Alluring Women" by Boston
Magazine, Chanel, and Filene's, and appeared as one of "Ten
Toughest Bostonians" in the Improper Bostonian Magazine.
New York Moves Magazine honored her as a 2008 Power Woman: celebrating
women of substance and influence. She has also been a featured
guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show.
Elaine is represented exclusively by Wilhelmina
Models of New York. She will appear in the Men's Health/Women's
Health Exercise Book (due to be released in 2011). She was chosen
to represent Nike in the 2003 Asia campaign as a kickboxer and
has appeared in Vogue, Elle, InStyle, Runner's World, Women's
Health and other magazines, numerous ads, health and fitness videos,
corporate videos and several short films. She hosted the 2006
action/urban adventure/martial arts TV show: "The Lounge--Shaken
'n Stirred" on ImaginAsian TV. Presently she studies Shaolin
Kung Fu at the USA Shaolin Temple in New York with Sifu Shi Yan
Ming.
A documentary of her life aired in Oct. 2010 on
the TV series: Dream It: You Are the Next Generation, which was
broadcast internationally to over 89 million households on Arirang
TV.
Elaine is an Affiliated Artist/Lecturer in the Music
Department at MIT where she teaches music theory and piano lab.
She is co-founder/director of the New York-based chamber group,
Sapphire Ensemble, the Light and Sound Water Trio and the new
concert series, Savor Your Senses. Elaine traveled around the
world for a year and a half before making her home in New York
City, where she continues to explore ways to combine and communicate
her passion for music, martial arts, sports, travel, cooking and
optimal living.
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