Meet the Founder
Dr. Kookhee Hong, Executive Director & Founder | Dr . Kookhee Hong is an active performer, educator and award winner.After she moved to Los Angeles, she was invited to adjudicate in SYMF, Junior Bach Festival in California, and many festivals. She serves as a director of Junior Chamber Music in Inland Empire Branch, a board member in Music Teachers’ Association of California, and an adjunct professor at Irvine Valley College. There have been competition winners from her private studio including Young Artist Guild in 2013, prize winners from SYMF, Theme Festivals and MTAC competitions. Her students have been successfully getting accepted at major conservatories in the States with scholarship. Before she moved to LA, she was on faculty at the Manhattan School of Music. There, she was an instructor for keyboard requirements, and an assistant of Dr. Solomon Mikowsky in the pre-college and college division, and a guest teacher to help students prepare for juries. At her private studio in New York, she assisted students in preparation for the entrance exams of major conservatories, organized study guides for music history and music theory students, and coached students to succeed at the entrance exams and be admitted to the Doctor of Musical Arts program at the Manhattan School of Music, the University of Maryland, and the University of Michigan.
Over the years, Dr. Hong has played all around the world with many different musicians and received numerous awards. She has given recitals in cities such as New York, Seoul, Paris, Valencia, Barcelona, Lanzarote, Las Palmas, Tenerife, La Palma, Merano, and Panama. Concerto performances include those with the Korean Symphony Orchestra in 2010, Panama National Symphony in 2008, Carlet Symphony in 2006, Gran Canaria Philharmonic Orchestra in 2003, Manhattan Symphony Orchestra in 2002, and Tenerife Symphony Orchestra in 2002. On stage, KookHee is highly acclaimed, and her amount of prizes testifies to this. The most notable competitions and awards she has include the following: second prize and the Public Prize in the Panama International Piano Competition in Panama City, Panama; first prize in the Carlet International Piano Competition in Valencia, Spain; first prize in the Dora Zaslavsky Koch Competition in New York, New York; second prize in the Maria Canals International Competition in Barcelona, Spain; second prize in the Prokofiev Concerto Competition in New York, New York; the Alicia de Larrocha Spanish Prize in the Andorra International Competition in Andorra, Spain; third prize in the 5 Towns Competition in New York; first prize at the Edmonton Kiwanis Festival in Edmonton, Canada. KookHee’s talent is known and acknowledged around the classical music community, and she works to share it and her expertise.
Dr. Hong holds Doctorate of Musical Arts, Professional Studies, Master of Music, Bachelor of Music degrees from Manhattan School of Music, under the direction of Dr. Solomon Mikowsky. She is currently working on her book, The Teaching Legacy of Solomon Mikowsky and will be published in English, Spanish, Korean and Chinese.
Dr. KookHee Hong is an accomplished musician. A consummate performer, Dr. Hong is gifted on stage as a pianist, and the myriad of accolades she has been honored with gives evidence to her aptitude and talent. Not only does she have a gift of music, KookHee also teaches so that she can help pass on her knowledge to her students. Undeniably, Dr. Hong has spent her life devoted to bringing music to others and has enriched the lives of many with her passion for piano.
Over the years, Dr. Hong has played all around the world with many different musicians and received numerous awards. She has given recitals in cities such as New York, Seoul, Paris, Valencia, Barcelona, Lanzarote, Las Palmas, Tenerife, La Palma, Merano, and Panama. Concerto performances include those with the Korean Symphony Orchestra in 2010, Panama National Symphony in 2008, Carlet Symphony in 2006, Gran Canaria Philharmonic Orchestra in 2003, Manhattan Symphony Orchestra in 2002, and Tenerife Symphony Orchestra in 2002. On stage, KookHee is highly acclaimed, and her amount of prizes testifies to this. The most notable competitions and awards she has include the following: second prize and the Public Prize in the Panama International Piano Competition in Panama City, Panama; first prize in the Carlet International Piano Competition in Valencia, Spain; first prize in the Dora Zaslavsky Koch Competition in New York, New York; second prize in the Maria Canals International Competition in Barcelona, Spain; second prize in the Prokofiev Concerto Competition in New York, New York; the Alicia de Larrocha Spanish Prize in the Andorra International Competition in Andorra, Spain; third prize in the 5 Towns Competition in New York; first prize at the Edmonton Kiwanis Festival in Edmonton, Canada. KookHee’s talent is known and acknowledged around the classical music community, and she works to share it and her expertise.
Dr. Hong holds Doctorate of Musical Arts, Professional Studies, Master of Music, Bachelor of Music degrees from Manhattan School of Music, under the direction of Dr. Solomon Mikowsky. She is currently working on her book, The Teaching Legacy of Solomon Mikowsky and will be published in English, Spanish, Korean and Chinese.
Dr. KookHee Hong is an accomplished musician. A consummate performer, Dr. Hong is gifted on stage as a pianist, and the myriad of accolades she has been honored with gives evidence to her aptitude and talent. Not only does she have a gift of music, KookHee also teaches so that she can help pass on her knowledge to her students. Undeniably, Dr. Hong has spent her life devoted to bringing music to others and has enriched the lives of many with her passion for piano.
