Seokyoung Hong is from South Korea and currently studies at the Walnut Hill School for the Arts and New England Conservatory Preparatory School with Professor Haesun Paik.
His awards and prizes include First Prizes at the Korea Steinway Competition, the Ehwa and Kyunghyang Concours, and the Dong-A junior Music Competition; Second Prizes at the Jeune Chopin International Youth Piano Competition and the Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Competition for Young Pianists; and honorable mention at the University of Minnesota School of Music 2001 e-Piano Junior Competition.
Seokyoung writes: “When I was young, I wanted to play and enjoyed listening to ‘fast’ pieces like études. But the tempo of a piece does not feel like an important aspect for me nowadays. I now prefer pieces that are emotional and ‘musical’, as studying piano has helped me realize that performances only focused on tempo do not really make sense. Furthermore, I also realized that how fast a piece is does not determine how good the piece is.”
An avid composer as well, Seokyoung treats the act of writing music as a meditational practice, selecting each note after careful consideration to create a holistic work. He is thrilled to be a contestant in the Cleveland International Piano Competition for Young Artists.