East Central University will host guest pianist Dr. Ji Sook Park for a concert on Sunday, Feb. 17, at 3 p.m. at the Ada Arts & Heritage Center.
The concert is free and open to the public.
Park currently serves as a visiting instructor of music and staff accompanist at Oklahoma Panhandle State University and previously spent some time as a staff accompanist for the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.
After her doctoral program, Park taught at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCCA), a prestigious conservatory as she supervised the entire piano program and concertized with the Faubourgh string quartet regularly. She also served as an adjunct piano professor at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
Born in Pusan, South Korea, Park began taking piano lessons at the age of 4 and, at the age of 17, moved to the United States, where she studied under Bach specialist Dr. Sharon Mann, who is currently on the piano faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory.
While studying with Mann, Park won many of the Bay Area competitions including MTNA, Bach competitions and a concerto competition. She was also selected to work with Robert Shannon and Peter Tackas at the Oberlin International Piano Festival and competition.
Park was accepted to the Aspen Music Festival as a high school student and studied under John and Antoinette Perry. Later, she attended the New England Conservatory and studied with Gabriel Chodos during her undergraduate program, receiving a special piano department scholarship and being accepted on a free tuition scholarship to the Aspen Musical Festival. Park continued at the New England Conservatory and studied with Patricia Zander.
She was accepted to many chamber music festivals as a full scholarship student. Park went on to the University of Wisconsin-Madison for her doctoral degree and studied under Christopher Taylor, majoring in piano performance with a minor in opera coaching/accompanying. During work on her doctoral degree, she was hired to teach at Leysin American School in Switzerland as a piano instructor.
Following the performance on Feb. 17, Park will provide a master class for ECU piano students.