Program

Piano Sonata No. 60 in E-Flat Major, Hob XVI: 52                               Joseph Haydn
     I. Allegro moderato
Andrew Lee


Italian Concerto, BWV 971                                                     Johann Sebastian Bach
     I. Allegro
Wawo Takahashi


The Lark                                                               Mikhail Glinka arr. by Mili Balakirev
Raymond Jiang


Piano Sonata No. 4 in E-Flat Major, Op. 7                              Ludwig van Beethoven
     I. Allegro molto e con brio
Tristen Chen


Three Mazurkas                                                                                    Thomas Adès
Ariel Chien

With “probing seriousness” (Performing Arts Monterey Bay) and “a stunningly beautiful palette of colors” (Peninsula Reviews), pianist Kevin Lee Sun interprets music old and new.

In 2011, Sun won the Silver Medal at the Virginia Waring International Piano Competition in California for his performances of the classical canon. In 2021, for his visionary programming of 20th-century music, he was the sole pianist to be named Finalist of the Berlin Prize for Young Artists in Germany.

Sun balances his performance career with a strong devotion to teaching, and his piano students have achieved numerous successes. While he was an applied piano instructor at the Eastman School of Music, Sun’s students won prizes at the NY State Music Teachers Association State Competition and the University of Rochester Concerto Competition. They gave solo recitals, played in Rochester orchestras and jazz bands, and conducted school-funded research at the Library of Congress. Furthermore, chosen by renowned pianist Alexander Kobrin to be Mr. Kobrin’s teaching assistant at Eastman, Sun mentored students to win prizes at the Bosendorfer USASU International Piano Competition, Weatherford College International Piano Competition, Marian Garcia International Piano Competition, and Chautauqua Piano Competition. Students he has taught have been accepted to summer festivals such as Gijón International Piano Festival, the Amalfi Coast Festival's Piano Program, and Pianofest in the Hamptons, as well as to graduate school programs in various disciplines. In 2023, he joined the piano faculty at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh.

Setting Sun apart from other classical pianists is his research acumen. A native of Sacramento, California, Sun earned his B.A.S. in biology and classics at Stanford University, then his M.M. in piano at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he served as Piano Department Assistant. In the subsequent three years, he was a Stanford Medical School student. With his diverse educational background, Sun has co-authored numerous peer-reviewed journal articles of original research in the fields of psychiatry, student mentorship, and Platonic philosophy. Combining these previous interests with music, Sun’s most recent research has focused on alternative learning modalities for studio class that are inclusive of international and neurodiverse students.

Throughout his life, Sun has been proud to teach and learn from LGBTQ+ community members, neurodivergent transition-age youth, and English language learners. He has advocated for these students annually in national conference presentations for the College Music Society, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Klingenstein Third Generation Foundation.

Sun began his piano studies in Sacramento with Sylvia and Tien Hsieh, who fostered his musical talent. He later studied with Lorna Peters at Sacramento State, Sharon Mann at SFCM, Alexander Kobrin at Eastman, and Thomas Schultz at Stanford.