Concert: Cheng and Kwak Piano Duo

Dr. Eun-Joo Kwak and Dr. Chiung-ying Cheng will give a faculty/guest Piano Duo Recital at Commonwealth University-Mansfield on Saturday, March 28, at 2 p.m. in Butler Music Center, Steadman Theatre. Admission is free.

The recital will feature works by Clementi, Schubert, Debussy, Copland, Crowley, and Rachmaninov.

Bronze Medalists at the Tokyo International Piano Duo Competition, the Cheng and Kwak Piano Duo’s performance career spans over three decades. Recipients of the Performing and Creative Artists Award from the Liberace Foundation, the duo also reached the final at the Murray Dranoff International Piano Duo Competition in Florida. 

They have presented numerous duo recitals together in the US, including appearances in Illinois, California, Texas, and Nevada. The duo also had an extensive concert tour in Asia, performing at the Busan Art Center in South Korea, and the National Recital Hall of Taipei, National Hsinchu University, and Taichung Cultural Center in Taiwan. Their performance CD ‘Cheng and Kwak’ Piano Duo’ was released by Northwestern University Press. 

While celebrating their long-standing professional relationship and special friendship together, Chiung-ying and Eun-Joo each maintain separate performing careers as soloists, collaborative artists, and chamber musicians. They are both dedicated music educators and notable piano pedagogues, having taught at colleges and universities for over 30 years. 

Dr. Chiung-ying Cheng earned a bachelor’s degree in composition from National Taiwan Normal University, Master of Music in Piano Performance from the Manhattan School of Music, Doctor of Music in Piano Performance from Northwestern University, and is Professor of Piano at National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan. 

Dr. Eun-Joo Kwak received a BM from Seoul National University in South Korea, MM from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, DM from Northwestern University, and is currently professor of piano at CU-Mansfield.