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Press Releases
New England Conservatory Announces Pianist Minsoo Sohn to Join Piano Faculty in Fall 2023
New England Conservatory (NEC) announces pianist and NEC alumnus Minsoo Sohn will join the piano faculty beginning with the Fall 2023 academic year. Mr. Sohn, a graduate of NEC (’99, ’01 GD, ’04 AD) who studied with pianists Russell Sherman and Wha Kyung Byun, is one of the most sought after performers and pedagogues today.
“I am thrilled and honored to be back at home,” adds Minsoo Sohn. “I inherited the gift of music from the New England Conservatory and it has always been the guiding light of my musical journey. I proudly carry the spirit of Gunther Schuller, Rudolf Kolisch, Katja Andy, and of course, the teachers of my lifetime—Russell Sherman and Wha Kyung Byun. I am eternally indebted to my masters for opening my eyes to a world still unfathomable. They have instilled within me a love and courage to follow my bliss. I am very much looking forward to carrying that torch at NEC.”
“NEC shares the news of Minsoo’s appointment to the piano faculty with a sense of enormous pride,” says Benjamin Sosland, Provost and Dean of the Faculty. “As a consummate artist-teacher, Minsoo embodies the ideals of musical excellence in his playing and his teaching. The foundation of his musical journey was laid here at NEC, and we are simply delighted that he is returning to his alma mater to pass on his expertise and insight to a new generation of pianists.”
First prize winner of the Honens Competition in 2006 and third prize winner at the Busoni Competition in 1999, Mr. Sohn is the recipient of a number of prestigious awards and accolades. His performances and recordings have consistently garnered popular and critical acclaim, with the New York Times praising his Bach’s Goldberg Variations recording as a “beautifully articulated, radiant interpretation,” placing it one of the top classical recordings of 2011.
After teaching at Michigan State University, Sohn returned to South Korea where he has been on the faculty at the Korean National University of Arts since 2015.
Most recently, his student, South Korean pianist Yunchan Lim, took first prize at the 2022 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, making him the youngest prize-winner in the competition’s history.
Visit Minsoo Sohn’s bio on the NEC website: https://necmusic.edu/faculty/
About Minsoo Sohn
Described by the New York Times as “a genuine artist, with a thoughtfully conceived and poetic interpretation” and the Boston Globe as “born to play the piano,” Minsoo Sohn is a Korean-American pianist known for his musical intelligence and masterful virtuosity —qualities that have earned him acclaim throughout the United States, Canada and Korea. His readings of the works of Bach and Beethoven in particular have placed him among the elect in this repertoire, and the inspired ingenuity of his performances of orchestral repertoire have earned him many accolades.
Sohn has toured extensively throughout North and South America, Europe, Israel and Korea and has appeared in important venues and festivals. As a soloist, he has performed with leading orchestras including Boston Symphony, Boston Pops, Calgary Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, Jerusalem Camerata, Holland Symfonia, National Orchestra of Belgium, Cleveland Chamber Orchestra, Korean National Orchestra and KBS Symphony among others and collaborated with leading conductors such as Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Keith Lockhart, Pietari Inkinen, Mikhail Agrest, Sasha Goetzel, Jole Levi, Jane Glover, Jahja Ling and Georges Octors.
Sohn is particularly noted for his interpretation of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, and the New York Times praised his Honens-label recording of the work as a “beautifully articulated, radiant interpretation,” placing it one of the top classical recordings of 2011. His recordings also received critical acclaim by New Yorker Magazine, Plain Dealer, Gramophone, Calgary Herald, and Toronto Star among others.
In 2020, coinciding with the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, Mr. Sohn concluded his four year immersion in the composer’s music, which has included concert series, recordings and writings. Over the course of his Beethoven project, Mr. Sohn performed and recorded the composer’s thirty-two sonatas in series of recitals at Seoul Arts Center and recording sessions at Tongyeong Concert Hall. The recital series also included Beethoven’s monumental Diabelli Variations and Bagatelles. The Sony Classical released the highly anticipated nine-album set of “Complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas” in the Fall of 2020.
Sohn owes much of his success to his mentors, Russell Sherman and Wha Kyung Byun, with whom he studied with at the New England Conservatory in Boston. After teaching at Michigan State University, Sohn returned to South Korea where he instantly became a much sought after performer and pedagogue, as he joined the faculty at Korean National University of Arts. He has also served on the jury at prominent international piano competitions including Honens, Top of the World, and Busoni Competition.
Mr. Sohn continues to expand his reputation as a teacher, performer and a musical thinker. He is currently on his journey to perform and record Bach’s monumental Well-Tempered Clavier.
About New England Conservatory (NEC)
Founded by Eben Tourjée in Boston, Massachusetts in 1867, the New England Conservatory (NEC) represents a new model of music school that combines the best of European tradition with American innovation. The school stands at the center of Boston’s rich cultural history and musical life, presenting concerts at the renowned Jordan Hall. Propelled by profound artistry, bold creativity and deep compassion, NEC seeks to amplify musicians’ impact on advancing our shared humanity, and empowers students to meet today’s changing world head-on, equipped with the tools and confidence to forge multidimensional lives of artistic depth and relevance.
As an independent, not-for-profit institution that educates and trains musicians of all ages from around the world, NEC is recognized internationally as a leader among music schools. It cultivates a diverse, dynamic community, providing music students of more than 40 countries with performance opportunities and high-caliber training from 225 internationally esteemed artist-teachers and scholars. NEC pushes the boundaries of music-making and teaching through college-level training in classical, jazz and contemporary improvisation. Through unique interdisciplinary programs such as Entrepreneurial Musicianship and Community Performances & Partnerships, it empowers students to create their own musical opportunities. As part of NEC’s mission to make lifelong music education available to everyone, the Preparatory School and School of Continuing Education delivers training and performance opportunities for children, pre-college students and adults.
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