Pianist Kwon Hyun-jinAfter graduating from Sookmyung Women’s University College of Music and its Graduate School with scholarship, pianist Kwon Hyun-jin earned her Master of Music degree at New England Conservatory of Music with academic honors and her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at University of Maryland at College Park.Kwon has won awards at numerous international competitions including the first place at the New England Conservatory Honors Competition, the Grand Prize and Audience Special Prize at IBLA in Italy, second place at the American Protégé International Piano Competition, and a prize at the Bradshaw & Buono International Piano Competition. She has also performed at international music festivals including the Prague International Piano Masterclasses and the International Keyboard Institute & Festival. As the winner of the NEC Honors Competition, she was invited to perform at Jordan Hall and at the NEC "Bach Music Festival." Kwon has been an active recitalist, performing in Boston, Maryland, and elsewhere including the American Protégé Winners Recital at Merkin Hall in New York.She has performed with the Rouge Philharmonic Orchestra in Bulgaria, the Sofia Ars Chamber Orchestra, and the SM Symphony Orchestra, as well as given recitals on a regular basis at Seoul Arts Center Recital Hall, Kumho Art Hall, and Daegu Concert House since returning to Korea in 2005. In 2008, she was acclaimed for her piano recital at the Yantai Library Music Office and Labor University Recital Hall at the invitation of the China-Korea Cultural Exchange. Kwon has performed at various stages such as Seoul Arts Center, KBS Hall, Kumho Art Hall, Sejong Chamber Hall, Yeongsan Art Hall, and Hoam Art Hall, and has given the Outstanding Newcomer Recital of the Piano Society of Korea, the Regular Concert of the Piano Society of Korea, Lee Hoon-jin & Kwon Hyun-jin Two Piano Recital, Kwon Hyun-jin & Hwang In-jung Duo Recital, Kwon Hyun-jin & Choi Ga-hee Duo Recital, Alumni Professor Son Jung-ae Concert, the concert invited by the Music Education Newspaper, the Concert for Youth with Commentary, and the Grand Piano Concert, the Pianomo Concert, the Chonnam National University Faculty Concert, the Mokwon National University Faculty Concert, the Korean Liszt Society Concert, the GWNU Klavier Society Concert, the Sehan Piano Research Society Concert, Bostonic Ensemble Concert, Nazareth Ensemble Concert, Seoul Piastra Concert, the Alumni Concert for the 150th Anniversary of NEC, the NEC Chamber Society Concert, and the solo recital hosted by the Musical Arts Association. In addition, she has been active as a contemporary music performer by presenting a number of compositions at the Veritas Musicae Festival, the New Music Society Concert, the Seoul International Computer Music Festival, FAC, and Yoo In-jae’s Postmodernism.A former visiting professor at Sehan University and an instructor at Sookmyung Women’s University and its Graduate School, Samyook University, Hanse University, Mokwon National University, Chonnam National University, Gangneung Wonju University, and Kaywon Arts Middle and High School, Kwon currently teaches at Gyeongbuk National University and is a full member of the Piano Society of Korea, the Musical Arts Association, and the Korean Liszt Society.