Pianist Shirley Yoo to kick off Randolph’s 2024-25 Guest Artist Series

Shirley Yoo—heralded as a pianist with “extraordinary sensitivity and technical skill” by The Washington Post—will launch Randolph College’s 2024-25 Guest Artist Concert Series later this month. 

Yoo has performed around the world, at venues ranging from the Kennedy Center Concert Hall in Washington, D.C., to London’s Steinway Hall to the Tata Theatre in Mumbai and the Arts Center in Seoul. 

She’s recognized as a top prizewinner for her solo performances at competitions including the Pennsylvania Federation of Music Clubs, the National Society of Arts and Letters, and the Kosciuszko Foundation’s National Chopin Competition. 

Her performance at Randolph is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 29 at 3 p.m. in Wimberly Recital Hall. The program includes works by Geonyong Lee, Leoš Janáček, Domenico Scarlatti, Claude Debussy, and Ludwig van Beethoven.

“She’s performing a range of works that are standards of the repertoire, like Beethoven’s Appassionata sonata, along with pieces people will be less familiar with to help broaden their horizons,” said Emily Yap Chua, Randolph’s Catherine Ehrman Thoresen ’23 and William E. Thoresen Professor of Music and director of the Guest Artist Concert Series.

“It will be really nice to see that representation in the series,” she added. 

Yoo studied at Johns Hopkins University, where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, received a Master of Music degree on a fellowship at the University of Maryland, and completed post-graduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London. 

After earning her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Peabody Institute, she taught at the Conservatory and at Temple Preparatory for several years and worked at Curtis Institute as a staff accompanist. 

She’s also held a professorship in piano and was the artist-in-residence for the D’Angelo Piano Trio at Mercyhurst University. 

Yoo has since returned to teach piano and chamber music at Peabody Conservatory and resides in Baltimore. 

“She and I have a lot of the same philosophies about how piano study helps people discover things about themselves, both personally and artistically,” said Chua, who got to know Yoo when they were both reading for the AP music theory exam. “She’s won all these awards, yet she’s a really approachable person and an amazing musician.” 

Yoo is also passionate about chamber music. She was a founding member of the Annapolis Chamber Players and was a founding core member of the League of the Unsound Sound (LotUS), which is dedicated to performing contemporary and experimental music. She has performed with members of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Alarm Will Sound, and SO Percussion.

Established in 2002, Randolph College’s Guest Artist Series brings musicians from around the world to Randolph College to perform, teach, and enrich our community. Artists engage in educational and community outreach, meet with and teach Randolph students, and perform concerts of the highest musical caliber for the benefit of the greater Lynchburg area.