Emerson Fellow Julia Cha '18 will perform Bach, Partita No. 2 in C minor; Mozart, Sonata in B-flat major, K.333; Liszt, Ballade No. 2 in B minor. She is a student of David Deveau.
About Julia Cha
Julia Cha was born in Seoul, Korea in January 1997 and began playing piano at age five. At age eight, she placed in her first national competition, Korean Eumag ChunChu Concours. After the family moved to New York City, she entered Manhattan School of Music (MSM) Preparatory Division at age 9, where she was a student of Natela Mchedlishvili. She was the lead pianist of Stuyvesant High School’s 150 membered Concert Chorus throughout her high school years. During her fourth year, she performed in a piano trio coached by Maestro Jonathan Strasser, conductor of the MSM Philharmonic Orchestra. Following her graduation from MSM Preparatory in 2014, she entered Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she is studying neuroscience. She is currently studying with David Deveau.
Cha has won prizes at the 2011 Chopin International Piano Competition, 2011 New York Music Competition, 2012 American Fine Arts Festival, 2013 International Concerto Competition, and 2013-2014 MSM Chamber Music Competition. She has also received the 2013-2014 Max Reger Foundation of America Endeavor Music Award, 2014-2015 MIT Emerson Piano Scholarship, and 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 MIT Emerson Piano Fellowships.
She was a soloist with the Stuyvesant String Orchestra in 2013 and performed at several Stuyvesant High School graduations. In June 2016, she performed Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Boston Pops Orchestra. She has given solo recitals in 2011, 2012, and 2014 at MSM and performed at New York City’s Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall and Merkin Concert Hall of Kaufman Music Center, Killian Hall and Kresge Auditorium of MIT, and Warner Concert Hall of Oberlin Conservatory. Classical piano is the greatest passion in her life, and she considers it a privilege to convey to an audience the struggles, triumphs, and grandeur built into music.
