Chu-Fang Huang, China, 1st prize winner

Chu-Fang Huang enjoys the enthusiast applause of the audience following her winning performance with the Cleveland Orchestra at the 2005 Cleveland International Piano Competition.  Photo by Roger Mastroianni

Chu-Fang Huang, age 23, won first prize at the prestigious Cleveland International Piano Competition in August 2005.  From the original field of 240 applicants, 30 pianists from 17 countries competed in Cleveland through three solo rounds.  The four finalists performed concertos with the world-renowned Cleveland Orchestra.  Ms. Huang's prize package included the Mixon First Prize of $50,000, a recital debut at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center, New York, and numerous professional concert engagements.

Ms. Huang began her piano study at the age of seven in her native country of China.  She attended the Pre-college Division of Shenyang Music Conservatory where she won the first prize at the Chinese Prodigy Piano Competition.  Other prizes won in China include the grand prize from the Southeastern Asia Piano Competition in Hong Kong, as well as the Young Musician Awards for her special achievement in interpreting Chinese modern music.

Ms. Huang also has won numerous top prizes including the California International Young Artists Competition, the Fort Collins Symphony Orchestra Competition, the Missouri Southern International Competition, The Chinese American National Showcase, the Nina Wideman Piano Competition, the Kingsville International Piano Competition, the Grace Welsh Piano Prize, and the Corpus Christi International Competition (2003).  In the summer of 2004, Ms. Huang won prizes in both the Beijing International Piano Competition in China and the Sydney International Piano Competition in Australia, as well as special prizes for her unique interpretation in Haydn and Debussy.  Ms. Huang also was a finalist at the renowned Van Cliburn Piano Competition in Fourt Worth Texas in 2005.  In January, 2006, Ms. Huang was named first prize winner of the 2005-06 Young Concert Artist International Auditions in New York City.

As a solo performer, Ms. Huang has concertized throughout the major cities of China.  Her solo appearances in the US include recitals in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Escondido, Irvine, Pasadena, Joplin, Denver, Cleveland, Chicago, New York (at Weill Hall of Carnegie Hall), Wilmington (NJ) , and Philadelphia.  In Europe, Ms. Huang has played recitals in the Klavier Festival Ruhr in Germany.  In the US, she has appeared as a soloist with The Cleveland Orchestra, the Pacific Symphony, Eastern Symphony Orchestra, Fort Collins Symphony Orchestra, the Hilton Head Orchestra, and the Illinois Philharmonic.  Abroad, she has performed with the Australia Chamber Orchestra, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Liaoning Philharmonic, and the Shenzheng Philharmonic abroad.

On radio, Ms. Huang has performed for the "Young Artists Series" on WQXR, on the Australian Broadcast Cooperation, and with The Cleveland Orchestra on National Public Radio's "Performance Today."  Her performances at the Cleveland Competition will be featured on a syndicated program that will begin broadcasting in January 2006.  She has made recordings for compact disc on the ALPINE label, the CAMUS label, and will soon make a  recording for international distribution on the NAXOS label.

Ms. Huang received her Bachelor's degree in 2004 from the Curtis Institute of Music, where she was a student of Claude Frank.  She currently is pursuing her Master's degree at The Juilliard School as a pupil of Robert McDonald.