Join us for a special evening showcasing the winners of the 2025 Heida Hermanns International Music Competition. Since taking top honors last fall at MoCACT, these already exceptional pianists have gone on to impressive achievements, performing on major stages and earning recognition at worldwide competitions.

Ye-Eun Hyun, a native of South Korea, began her musical journey at the piano at just five years old. Her early promise was confirmed when she won top prize at the TBC Broadcasting Piano Competition and made her orchestral debut with the Daegu Philharmonic while still in high school. She went on to earn her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at the Korea National University of Arts under Minsoo Sohn, supported by a full Samsung Foundation scholarship, before relocating to the United States in 2021 to complete her Master of Music at New England Conservatory with Academic Honors under Wha Kyung Byun. Her achievements include the Korean Honor Award from the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, top honors at the Vienna International Piano Competition, and the special contemporary music prize at the Knoxville International Piano Competition. She will soon make her Carnegie Hall debut in Weill Recital Hall, and is currently pursuing her doctorate with Deborah Moriarty at Michigan State University on full scholarship.

Zhu Wang has been celebrated by the New York Times’ Anthony Tommasini, who praised his performances for pairing lyrical warmth with crisp clarity. A First Prize winner of the 2020 Young Concert Artists Susan Wadsworth International Auditions and Gold Medalist at the 2024 New Orleans International Piano Competition, Zhu was also a finalist at the Clara Haskil International Piano Competition and a prizewinner at the 2024 Cleveland International Piano Competition. Legendary pianist Fou Ts’ong once described him as an “excellent pianist with a natural sense of harmony and imagination.” Recent seasons have brought appearances with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the New York Youth Symphony at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, and orchestras in Columbus, Kansas City, Spokane, Memphis, and Richmond. The upcoming season includes Grieg’s Piano Concerto with the Louisiana Philharmonic, recitals at the Kaufman Music Center and Broman Concert Series, chamber performances at Big Arts and Chesapeake Music Festival, and a North American and European tour with violinist Randall Goosby. Born in Hunan Province, China, Zhu began playing at age five, inspired by his grandfather’s love of music. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and The Juilliard School, he studied with Emanuel Ax, Robert McDonald, and Zhe Tang, and now lives in New York City with his wife, Chloe, and their two cats, Chaz and Tùzi.