Eun-Joo Kwak

• BM, Seoul National University, South Korea
• MM, Chicago College of Performing Arts, Roosevelt University, Illinois
• DM, Northwestern University, Illinois

Dr. Eun-Joo Kwak is an internationally admired concert artist whose performances have led her to Russia, Asia, and throughout the United States, appearing at Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts in Chicago, American Landmark Festival in New York, Taipei National Recital Hall in Taiwan, and Seoul Arts Center in Korea. In addition to winning the Concerto Competition at Northwestern University, she has earned top prizes in prestigious competitions such as the Samick Piano Competition in Seoul, and the International Beethoven Sonata Competition in Memphis. She is also a recipient of the Scholarship of the Korean Embassy of the United States in Washington, D.C., the Performing and Creative Artists Award from the Liberace Foundation in Las Vegas, and the Yule Bogue Young Artists Award in San Francisco. A highly acclaimed concerto soloist, Kwak has performed with numerous orchestras, including the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Chamber Orchestra, and the KBS Symphony Orchestra of Korea. Her performances have been broadcast by KBS-FM in Korea, WFMT-Chicago, Christian Radio of Taiwan, and Wisconsin Public Radio. A chamber musician in high demand, she was a member of the Cheng and Kwak Piano Duo, Bronze Medalists in the Tokyo International Piano Duo Competition, and is founder and pianist of the Clarus Piano Trio. Her recordings are available on the Northwestern Press, Mark Records, and Vienna Modern Masters labels and also the online Naxos Music Library.

A sought-after clinician, Dr. Kwak has given lectures nationally and internationally, with the most recent being the 2016 New York State School Music Association winter conference. She has also presented masterclasses at music schools in Korea, Taiwan, and Serbia, and many colleges and universities. Kwak has judged for piano competitions in the US and abroad, including the Milwaukee PianoArts National Competition, the Music Teachers National Association competition finals, and the International Smetana Piano Competition in the Czech Republic. An avid advocate of contemporary music, she has collaborated with living composers such as Yehuda Yannay, James Crowley, William Wieland, and Andrew Walters. Dr. Kwak’s students have won top prizes at such competitions as the Steinway Young Artists Competition of Chicago, Chopin Competition of Milwaukee, and New Albany Symphony Concerto Competition on Columbus, Ohio, and have attended prestigious music schools such as Oberlin College and Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

Dr. Kwak earned her Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Seoul National University in South Korea, Master of Music from Chicago College of Performing Arts of Roosevelt University, and Doctor of Music from Northwestern University. She studied with Jeong-Joo Oh, Kui-Hyun Kim, Pawel Checinski, David Kaiserman, and Sylvia Wang, and took master classes with such artists as Robert Levin, Ursula Oppens, and Garrick Ohlsson. Dr. Kwak has been on the faculty at Truman State University, Northwestern University, Carthage College, Cardinal Stritch University, and is currently Associate Professor of Piano at Mansfield University of Pennsylvania.