CAROLINE HONG

The Ohio State University ARTIST FACULTY Session 3: July 14-25, 2026 BM: Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University MM: The Juilliard School DM: Indiana University Caroline Hong, Professor of Piano and Steinway Artist, directs the Franz Liszt International Piano Festival and Competition – Ohio State University (ages 24–40), where she also serves as the chair of the keyboard area. She holds degrees from Indiana University (DM), The Juilliard School (MM), and the Peabody Institute (BM). Dr. Hong has served on the faculties of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Longwood University, Pianale International Piano Academy (Germany), Amalfi Coast Music and Arts Festival, IU Jacobs School of Music Summer Piano Academy, Vianden International Festival (Luxembourg), Piano at Peabody, and joined the Adamant Music Festival (Vermont) in 2025. She is the founding President of the American Liszt Society Ohio Chapter, a member of the Board of Directors of the American Liszt Society, and holds the Reinberger Foundation Chair at the Columbus Symphony. Dr. Hong's career spans work as a soloist, chamber musician, master class teacher, adjudicator, and recording artist. Her performances have been hailed as “expressive and powerful,” “breathtaking,” and marked by “a keen sense of lyricism and the classical style” (Richmond Times, Columbus Dispatch). Pulitzer Prize and Academy Award-winning composer John Corigliano has praised her as “one of the greatest pianists I have ever heard” following her acclaimed performance of his Etude Fantasy. She made her New York debut at Carnegie Weill Recital Hall and has appeared as soloist with orchestras including the Utah Symphony, Columbus Symphony, Richmond Symphony, Indiana University Philharmonic, and West Texas Symphony. She competed in the Van Cliburn International Audition, Robert Casadesus, William Kapell, Beethoven Foundation, D’Angelo International, and others. She was accepted to compete in Concours Musical International de Montréal, was a semifinalist in UNISA International Piano Competition and Concert Artists Guild, She is a laureate of the Palm Beach International Piano Competition, and winner of the Chicago Civic Orchestra Soloist Competition, Southern California Bach Festival, and the Frinna Awerbuch International Piano Competition of New York. Her artistry has been featured on radio and television broadcasts worldwide, including performances for Robert Sherman’s “Young Artists Showcase” (WQXR, New York) and the Sergei Babayan International Piano Academy. Critics have lauded her as a leading interpreter of 20th and 21st-century piano music, with favorable reviews in American Record Guide and other major publications. As a chamber musician, Dr. Hong has performed with renowned ensembles including the Vermeer String Quartet and the Dorian Wind Quintet. She toured extensively in the U.S. as a member of the piano-violin duo, Duo Viardot, and continues to champion collaboration. Dr. Hong’s expertise is sought after as a jury member for major international competitions, including the Mid Atlantic Artists USArtists International, Aarhus International Piano Competition (Denmark), Los Angeles International Liszt Piano Competition, Bartok-Kabalevsky International Piano Competition (U.S.), Princeton Symphony Orchestra International Piano Competition, and the International Young Artists Concerto Competition. Dr. Hong’s musical lineage is distinguished by her studies with luminaries such as Martin Canin, Jerome Lowenthal, Sergei Babayan, Dmitrii Paperno, Ann Schein, Karen Shaw, M. Deitzer, and Fernando Laires. She has also participated in master classes with Claude Frank, John Browning, Leon Fleisher, Gyorgy Sebok, Menahem Pressler, and Charles Rosen. Her first teacher was her mother, Mrs. Koon Ja Hong, with whom she began piano studies at the age of two. Her students continue to secure positions in academia and in international piano competitions.