Praised for her “thrilling blend of fury and finesse” (San Antonio Express-News) and her “winning combination of passion, imagination, and integrity” (New York Concert Review), pianist Young-Ah Tak enjoys a remarkable career that has taken her throughout the United States, Canada, Austria, Germany, Italy, Korea, and Japan.
Young-Ah Tak made her New York City debut at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts’ Alice Tully Hall with the Juilliard Orchestra. She has since appeared in the United States with the Roanoke, Lansing, Imperial, Venice, North Arkansas, and NEC Philharmonic orchestras. She has appeared abroad with Filharmonia Pomorska (Poland), Oltenia Philharmonic (Romania) and, in Korea, with the Seongnam, Busan, Ulsan, KNN philharmonic orchestras, and the Korean Symphony Orchestra. Other notable performances by Ms. Tak have taken place at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Kimmel Center’s Perelman Theater in Philadelphia, Seoul Arts Center, Jordan Hall in Boston, Columbia University, Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series in Chicago, Ravinia Festival, Music@Menlo, Michigan State University’s Wharton Center for Performing Arts, and The Banff Centre in Canada. She has also appeared at major concert halls and international music festivals in her native Korea, including those of Busan and Tongyeong. Her performances have been broadcast on WQXR (New York City), WMFT and LOOP (Chicago), WBJC (Baltimore), WCLV (Cleveland), CKWR (Ontario), and Korea’s KBS and Arte TV.
Active as a chamber musician, Young-Ah Tak has collaborated with violinist Robert Mann, cellist Bonnie Hampton, the Ma’alot Quintet, and members of The Florestan Trio. She is also a passionate advocate of contemporary music, and has performed at Sequenza 21 and at the Piano Century concert series in New York City.
Young-Ah Tak has been awarded top prizes in numerous competitions including: San Antonio International Piano Competition (also receiving the “Best Performance of a Classical Work” award), Italy’s Valsesia-Musica International Piano Competition, Korea’s Isang Yun International Music Competition, Hilton Head International Piano Competition, Missouri Southern International Piano Competition, Corpus Christi International Competition, and Germany’s Ettlingen International Piano Competition.
Ms. Tak received her Bachelor of Music from The Juilliard School; her Master of Music and Graduate Diploma from the New England Conservatory; and Doctor of Musical Arts from The Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, studying principally with Leon Fleisher, Russell Sherman, Yong Hi Moon, Wha Kyung Byun, and Martin Canin. Ms. Tak was a faculty member at the Preparatory Division of The Peabody Institute, Eastern University, and has served as a Founder/Artistic Director of the Eastern University Piano Festival. She currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Piano at the Crane School of Music at the State University of New York at Potsdam, and is an Artist-in-Residence at Southeastern University in Florida.
Young-Ah Tak’s debut recording of Judith Raiment’s Wizards—Three Magic Masters was released by Albany Records to critical acclaim. Her newest CD—an album of Haydn, Schumann, Liszt and Kirchner—is available on MSR Classics. Ms. Tak is a Steinway Artist.