Hyae-jin Hwang

Hyae-jin Hwang, a native of South Korea, maintains an active profile across the United States, Europe and Asia as a solo recitalist, concerto soloist and chamber musician in venues such as Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall; Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor, Mich.; The Ringling’s The Historic Asolo Theater in Sarasota, Fla.; and the Royal Palace of Caserta, Italy. Hwang’s recording of William Horne's Bagatelles for Alto Saxophone and Piano for Blue Griffin Records was released in 2021.

Hwang serves as the director of the Piano Preparatory Department at Southern Methodist University, where she leads group classes and private lessons for pre-college students. Her students continue to be frequent prizewinners of competitions at the regional, national, and international levels. Hwang is the co-director of the SMU Institute for Young Pianists, which serves outstanding and committed pre-college piano students. Hwang serves as the lecturer and coordinator of the piano pedagogy program, teaching pedagogy courses for undergraduate and graduate students (including Pedagogy I, II, Piano Pedagogy Practicum and Internship). Hwang taught in the Piano Preparatory Laboratory Program at the University of Michigan, and the Piano Academy at Schoolcraft College as a private, group and masterclass instructor before she joined the music faculty at SMU.

Hwang has won many competitions including top prizes in the Los Angeles Liszt International Competition, the Artist Series of the Sarasota Music Competition, and multiple awards from the Music Teachers National Association Competitions. She is frequently invited as an adjudicator of festivals and competitions for pre-collegiate students.

Hwang received both master’s and doctoral degrees in piano performance and pedagogy from the University of Michigan. While pursuing her graduate studies, Hwang was selected as a recipient of full-tuition academic and music scholarships and the pedagogy award. She holds her bachelor’s degree in piano performance from Florida Gulf Coast University, where she held the Steinway Society Scholarship and Hans and Erna Siebert Excellence Scholarship. Her teachers include Logan Skelton, John Ellis, Michael Baron and Joanne Smith. Her additional studies include masterclasses of Ralph Votapek, Joseph Kalichstein, Jon Kimura Parker, and Yoshikazu Nagai, among many others.