Renowned for his “imaginative, intoxicating... high-voltage” playing (Sindelfinger Zeitung) and “wide range of rich colors” (San Diego Story), Korean-American pianist Sahun Sam Hong commands the world’s most prestigious stages with his distinctly magnetic tone and effortless vitality.
Hong is a prize winner of numerous international competitions, including the Naumburg International Piano Competition, Vendome Prize at Verbier, International Beethoven Competition Vienna, and the American Pianists Awards.
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 Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Mount Vernon Virtuosi, and ensemble132 which he co-directs.
Hong’s primary mentors have included John Owings, Leon Fleisher, and Yong Hi Moon. Currently based in New York City, he serves on the faculty of CUNY Queens College. Hong is a Steinway Artist.