biography

Chaeyoung Park has been praised as a passionate pianist who “does not play a single note without thought or feeling” (New York Concert Review). Embracing a broad range of classical music literature, her programs feature works ranging from the early French Baroque by Rameau, to Beethoven sonatas, to new music by living composers including South Korean classical composer Unsuk Chin. As a recital soloist, Park has performed at major venues including Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Bravo! Vail Music Festival, Gilmore Rising Stars and Tongyeong International Music Festival. Her recent concerto engagements include performances with the Charlotte Symphony, Israel Philharmonic, Redlands Symphony, and Israel Camerata Jerusalem.

In 2019, Park made history as the first female Korean pianist to win the Hilton Head International Piano Competition, leading to her Carnegie Hall solo debut and a performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 with the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra. In 2022, she was the First Prize winner of Young Concert Artists Susan Wadsworth International Auditions, and Finalist of 2023 Arthur Rubinstein International Master Piano Competition and 2021 Concours Musical International de Montréal. 

An avid chamber musician, she has participated in Ravinia's Steans Music Institute, Yellow Barn, Music@Menlo, YoungArts Week, which awarded her the prestigious Gold Medal in Music. Her chamber music performances have been featured at venues such as WNYC/WQXR’s Greene Space, Tennessee Arts Academy, YCA on Tour and the Harvard Club in NYC. She will also collaborate with cellist Zlatomir Fung as part of the Celebrity Series in Boston in 2025. 

At age 14, Park had her first concerto engagement with the Heritage Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of James Murray. She went on to perform with all leading orchestras across Kansas. She now regularly performs with orchestras around the U.S., including the Maryland Symphony, Eugene Symphony, Mobile Symphony, Topeka Symphony, and others. Recent recital highlights include debuts at Merkin Hall and The Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater, along with performances at the Gina Bachauer International Piano Festival, Rockport Music, and a return to the Schiermonnikoog Music Festival. In 2024-25, she will appear at The Morgan Library & Museum’s Encore Series, Sanibel Island’s BIG ARTS, Dame Myra Hess, Howland Chamber Music series and Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall as part of YCA Finale Concert.

Introduced to the piano in her kindergarten music class, Park immediately showed a love for music, which was deepened by her grandmother’s timely gift of a Yamaha upright piano. After winning her first local competition at age eight, Park’s musical studies became serious. She immigrated to the U.S. at age ten to study with Jack Winerock, to whom she credits much of her musical upbringing, having studied with him for eight years.

She won her first international competition at age 13: 2012 International Institute for Young Musicians International Piano Competition, and was honored to receive the Audience Prize. Within a month, she became the youngest finalist of the 2012 Eastman Young Artists International Piano Competition. Over her years of study with Winerock, she was a top prizewinner in the 2014 Emilio Del Rosario International Piano Concerto Competition, the 2015 Cleveland International Young Artists Competition, the 2015 Yamaha USASU International Senior Piano Competition, and the 2016 Gina Bachauer International Young Artists Competition. 

While pursuing the Bachelor of Music degree at the Juilliard School, Park was awarded the Juilliard Gina Bachauer Scholarship, which offers a full-tuition scholarship for one year. For her Master of Music degree, she was named a Kovner Fellow, a prestigious merit-based fellowship covering tuition and living expenses for outstanding music students who demonstrate potential for leadership in the field and was awarded the Arthur Rubinstein Prize, given to one outstanding graduating pianist, at the conclusion of her degree. She completed her studies at Juilliard with the Artist Diploma and received the Norman Benzaquen Career Advancement Grant upon graduation. She studied with Robert McDonald, who has shaped and inspired the artist she is today.

South Korean-born and raised in Lawrence, Kansas, since age ten, Park returns to Kansas frequently to visit her two cats and share music with her community during visits home from New York City, where she is currently based. She is managed worldwide by Young Concert Artists.