Hailed as “... a deity of elegance” by the New Brunswick Beacon, Dr. Tina Chong is an international award-winning pianist and teaching artist. A native of Banff, Canada, Tina has been described as, “...mature and yet fresh, imbued with tradition and yet inhabited by individuality, the marks of an artist” (The Herald Times). She currently serves as Assistant Professor of Music at San Diego State University and performs regularly with the San Diego Symphony as principal keyboardist. Tina’s recital career has brought her to such venues as the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, and Sala Chopin in Mexico City. She has been featured in La Jolla Music Society’s Summerfest, the Portland International Summer Festival, and the WFMT Series of Chicago. Under the management of Jeunesses Musicales of Canada, Tina has gone on extensive concert tours throughout Canada. She is the prizewinner of several international competitions, including the Montreal International Musical Competition and the Jacques Klein Piano Competition in Brazil.
An artist of great versatility, Tina performs in a wide range of genres such as classical, jazz, pop, Broadway, and film music in orchestra and chamber ensembles, as well as dance collaborations. Her prowess on piano, harpsichord, fortepiano, celesta, synthesizer, and harmonium have led to projects with artists such as Rachel Barton Pine, Inon Barnaton, Anthony McGill, Stefan Jackiw, and Tyler Duncan. Thisbreadth of creative activity continues to inspire Tina’s engagement and cross-pollination with a wide community of musicians and audiences.
Tina is a passionate advocate of alternatively-sized keyboards and is responsible for the acquisition of two reduced-sized piano keyboards at San Diego State University, the first of its kind in a university on the west coast of North America. She is also an
active clinician throughout North America, giving frequent guest lectures, masterclasses, and adjudications. Tina earned her Doctor of Music degree at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music with a major in piano performance and minors in music education and historical performance practice. Her mentors were Arnaldo Cohen, Peter Miksza, and Elisabeth Wright. Tina is also a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music where she studied with Angela Cheng. She has worked closely with artist-teachers Robert McDonald, Jerome Lowenthal, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Julian Martin, Arie Vardi, and Menahem Pressler at numerous
international summer festivals.
An artist of great versatility, Tina performs in a wide range of genres such as classical, jazz, pop, Broadway, and film music in orchestra and chamber ensembles, as well as dance collaborations. Her prowess on piano, harpsichord, fortepiano, celesta, synthesizer, and harmonium have led to projects with artists such as Rachel Barton Pine, Inon Barnaton, Anthony McGill, Stefan Jackiw, and Tyler Duncan. Thisbreadth of creative activity continues to inspire Tina’s engagement and cross-pollination with a wide community of musicians and audiences.
Tina is a passionate advocate of alternatively-sized keyboards and is responsible for the acquisition of two reduced-sized piano keyboards at San Diego State University, the first of its kind in a university on the west coast of North America. She is also an
active clinician throughout North America, giving frequent guest lectures, masterclasses, and adjudications. Tina earned her Doctor of Music degree at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music with a major in piano performance and minors in music education and historical performance practice. Her mentors were Arnaldo Cohen, Peter Miksza, and Elisabeth Wright. Tina is also a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music where she studied with Angela Cheng. She has worked closely with artist-teachers Robert McDonald, Jerome Lowenthal, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Julian Martin, Arie Vardi, and Menahem Pressler at numerous
international summer festivals.
