Grand Piano Celebration

Grand Piano Celebration Sunday, September 13 at 3 p.m.

Online

A GRAND PIANO CELEBRATION Celebrating Mason’s All-Steinway School featuring Student and Faculty Artists

Sunday, September 22, 2019 at 3 p.m.

Center for the Arts Concert Hall

MEET THE STUDENT ARTISTS Estrella Sejin Hong was born in Seoul, South Korea, and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Piano Performance at George Mason University in the studio of Dr. Linda Apple Monson. She completed a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music from Mason and a Master Degree in Piano Performance summa cum laude from Mason, also under the tutelage of Dr. Monson. Estrella began playing the piano at the age of three in her native Korea. Eventually she moved to Argentina and studied piano at the National Conservatory of Music in Buenos Aires. Estrella earned a Bachelor Degree in Biochemistry from the University of California at Los Angeles. She also was selected to do graduate research in chemistry at Harvard University, with her outstanding work resulting in three patents and numerous publications. Estrella has performed solo piano works at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, on Cable Vision broadcast, and at the Cultural Association “Helena Larroque de Roffo” and La Scala de San Telmo in Buenos Aires. She performed with the Mason Symphony Orchestra as a winner of the annual concerto competition. A fluent speaker in Spanish, Korean, and English, Estrella currently serves as a graduate lecturer in Keyboard Skills at Mason.

Claire Dantzlerward is a freshman at George Mason University in the piano studio of Dr. Linda Monson. A native of Virginia, Claire has played piano for 15 years and participated in numerous competitions, including the Steinway Chopin Piano Competition (First Place), International Steinway Puerto Rico Piano Competition (Honorable Mention), and the Robert Spencer Concerto Competition (Second Place). She has participated in several festivals, including the International Keyboard Institute and Festival 2019, the Puerto Rico Piano Festival 2017, the Baltimore International Piano Festival 2016, the NSO Summer Music Institute 2015 and 2016, and the New England Music Camp 2013. She has performed in various venues, such as the Concert Hall and the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center, the Polish Ambassador’s Residence, the Junior Soto Recital Hall, and the Alden Theater.

She has studied with the Lee Studio of Music, Lisa Emenheiser Sarratt, and Brian Ganz. She has taken masterclasses with Menahem Pressler, Boris Slutsky, Victor Rosenbaum, and Jose Ramos Santana. Claire is thrilled to be studying with Dr. Monson at Mason and is incredibly grateful for music scholarship support.

Jinhee Im, a native of South Korea, is currently a doctoral student in the studio of Dr. Linda Monson. After graduating from Kyung Hee University of Seoul with a Bachelor of Music Degree, Jinhee continued her piano studies in Europe.

She received her Master of Music Degree from Staatliche Hochschule fur Musik in Stuttgart, Germany. She also received the Performance Graduate Certificate in Piano from the Conservatoire de Strasbourg, France. Jinhee has performed in various countries around the world, including South Korea, Germany, France, Italy, and the U.S. She has been awarded prizes in competition, including Third Prize in the 20th International Competition per Giobani Musiciti in Barletta, Italy 2011, First Prize in the International Concours de piano de Brest in Brest, France 2012, Second Prize in the International Concours Musical de France in Paris 2012, and Third Prize in the Baltimore International Festival Competition 2017. Jinhee is fluent in four languages: Korean, French, German, and English.