As a solo pianist, Sung’s virtuosity has been marked by notable victories in performance awards. She claimed the top honor in the 2006 Mozart Piano Concerto Competition, captivating audiences alongside the Michigan State University (MSU) Philharmonic Orchestra. In the Annual Graduate Exhibition Competitions at Penn State University (PSU), Sung secured first prize and a cash award twice, in 2002 and 2003, triumphing over competitors from all music and theatre arts categories. Her performances were heard in the master classes with Rebecca Penneys, Steven Glaser, Christine Fisher, and Nicole Narboni. Dr. Sung has concertized as a solo and chamber pianist in the United States, Hong Kong and Macau. She also appeared as a concerto soloist with the Hong Kong Stage Ensemble Orchestra in a Double Concerto for Piano and Clarinet written by a contemporary Hong Kong composer.
While Sung's pianistic mastery was significantly shaped under the tutelage of Prof. Panayis Lyras, Prof. Steven Smith, and Dr. Siu-wan Chair Fang, her mentorship by renowned pedagogues Dr. Timothy Shafer and Dr. Midori Koga has planted new seeds and critical insights in her teaching. This has continually fueled her enthusiasm for state-of-the-art and holistic approaches to guiding students from beginner to professional levels. Actively participating in international conferences, including the Music Teacher National Association (MTNA) and the National Conference of Keyboard Pedagogy (NCKP), Dr. Sung's enhancement in pedagogy also encompasses Dalcroze workshops at the Dalcroze School of the Rockies in 2020 and 2019, the Institute for Jaques-Dalcroze Education, LLC in 2012, Carnegie Mellon University in 2010 and 2006, Tokyo College of Music in 2008, and the University of Michigan in 2003, in addition to involvement in the preparatory piano programs conducted by MSU and PSU.
What sets Dr. Sung apart is her most recent interdisciplinary endeavor into music performance and pedagogy through the lenses of psychology, health science, and neuroscience. The scientific research encountered during her pursuit of the Music & Cognition profile at the University of Ottawa has generated new perspectives that complement intuition and tradition from the great masters with rationality, bridging the gaps between lived musical experience and science in the realms and piano performance and pedagogy. While evidence-based knowledge unlocks new dimensions in addressing practical concerns among musicians, her practical experiences, such as weekly observations of the Dalcroze-based music and movement classes conducted in the hospitals for in-patient and outpatient adults, co-organized by the Music health and Research Institute, also broaden her insights through hands-on application, which meaningfully connects science, music, and real-world issues. Dr. Sung's curiosity persistently drives and refines her music strategies and extends her teaching-related skills to more specialized contexts. Possibilities include addressing concerns related to aging populations through multi-tasking musical interventions that enhance physical and cognitive well-being, tackling performance anxiety with sports and performance psychology, decoding the distinctive impact of piano improvisation training to the brain structure, and supporting students with exceptionalities with more adaptive strategies.
In and beyond academia, Dr. Sung imparts her insights to the community through masterclasses, lecture recitals, adjudicating competitions, examination juries, concert performances, and over 20 years of private studio piano teaching. She has conducted masterclasses in Canada and Hong Kong, performed lecture recitals at the esteemed Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and the Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU), as well as a solo program and interview recorded for Radio Television Hong Kong Radio 4. She also served as a jury examiner for the Education University of Hong Kong and conducted engaging piano pedagogy workshops for budding piano teachers at the Community Arts and Sports School in the Education University of Hong Kong. Her artistic spirit extends to collaborations and recordings with the Youth Ensemble Group in the Hong Kong Children’s Choir. Her role as an adjudicator for music competitions and her concert engagements reflect her commitment to nurturing a vibrant and inclusive musical community. Her other awards include the Certification of Recognition for Dedicated Excellent Music Teaching by the Hong Kong Youth Barclampory Music Festival under the Hong Kong Music for Youth, the CUHK Chung Chi College Dean’s List, the Jackie Chan Scholarships, the Caltex Oil Hong Kong Ltd. Scholarship, the Chung Chi College summer study abroad scholarship for studies at UCLA, several medals from the Hong Kong School Music and Speech Festival, and a 3rd prize for the creative music contest by the Hong Kong Composers’ Guild.
Recently relocated to Vancouver right after a highly praised piano masterclass in Ottawa, Dr. Sung continues to offer premier studio piano teaching that embodies both tradition and innovation. Through engaging students in music’s unique and close-knit interactive processes, she looks forward to creating meaningful impacts and welcoming students of all ages!
Cypress Ambleside Dundarave Hollyburn Caulfeild Westmount
#CypressPiano West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
