Praised as an “artist of enormous prowess” (Verbier Festival Newsletter) with a “wide range of rich colors” (San Diego Story) and playing that is “imaginative, intoxicating… high-voltage” (Sindelfinger Zeitung), American pianist Sahun Sam Hong brings his distinctly magnetic tone and artistic vision to recital, chamber, and concerto stages worldwide.
Hong is a prize winner of numerous international competitions, including the Vendome Prize at Verbier, International Beethoven Competition Vienna, and Naumburg International Piano Competition. He was also a recipient of a 2021 American Pianists Award.
Described as a “virtuoso, scaling realms... [with] sheer beauty of tone” (Boston Musical Intelligencer), he has been invited as soloist with the ORF-Vienna, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Budapest Symphony MAV, Azerbaijan State, Fort Worth, Racine, Camerata New York, Richardson, Waco, Galveston, and Brazos Valley Symphonies. Hong has performed at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall, Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, the Vienna Musikverein, Église de Verbier, Merkin Hall, and the Kennedy Center.
A highly sought-after chamber musician, Hong appears regularly on national tours and mainstage concerts with organizations such as Marlboro, Music@Menlo, Ravinia’s Steans Institute, and Four Seasons. He is a member of the Bowers Program (2024–27) at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
In addition to performing, Hong is a prolific arranger and orchestrator, recognized for his innovative transcriptions that are performed worldwide and featured prominently in the touring programs of ensemble132, which he co-directs. Hong’s unique imagination for texture and color has led to ongoing relationships and commissions for orchestras such as the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and Mount Vernon Virtuosi.
Hong’s primary mentors have included John Owings, Leon Fleisher, and Yong Hi Moon. He is currently based in New York City, and serves on the faculty of CUNY Queens College. Hong is a Steinway Artist.