Mei-Ting Sun (), born 14 March 1981, is a classical

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

. A native of

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, Sun arrived in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

at the age of nine. He entered the

Professional Children's School The Professional Children's School (PCS) is a not-for-profit, college-preparatory school geared toward working and aspiring child actors and dancers in grades four through twelve. The school was founded in New York City in 1914 to provide an ac ...

and the

Mannes College of Music The Mannes School of Music (), originally called the David Mannes Music School and later the Mannes Music School, Mannes College of Music, the Chatham Square Music School, and Mannes College: The New School for Music, is a Music school, music con ...

, where he studied ear training with Marie Powers, theory with

Robert Cuckson Robert Cuckson (born 1942, UK) is an American composer and pianist. He emigrated to Australia in 1949, studied at the NSW State Conservatorium of Music, and gained a Diploma in piano in 1960. Cuckson followed this with private studies in piano, ...

, and piano with

Edward Aldwell Edward Aldwell (January 30, 1938 – May 28, 2006) was an American pianist, music theorist and pedagogue. He was particularly renowned for his Bach interpretations, and he recorded several albums, most notably the complete Well-Tempered Clavier ...

. He has since received his

bachelor A bachelor is a man who is not and never has been married.Bachelors are, in Pitt & al.'s phrasing, "men who live independently, outside of their parents' home and other institutional settings, who are neither married nor cohabitating". (). Etymo ...

's and

master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

's degrees from the Mannes College of Music. Currently, he is a C.V. Starr Doctoral Fellow at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

, studying with Robert McDonald. Sun was the first prize winner of the 7th National Chopin Piano Competition of the U.S in 2005 and the first International Piano-e-Competition in 2002. Named one of the Musicians of the Year 1996 by the ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Ma ...

'' at age 15, the now 37-year-old pianist has performed in many of New York's concert halls, including

Alice Tully Hall Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The hall is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and Philanthropy, philanthropist whose donations assis ...

, where his performance of

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

's Concerto in G was praised by The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' as a "stunningly fluid reading." Sun has been featured several times on WQXR Classical Radio as part of the ''Young Artist Showcase'' program and on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

as part of the ''Performance Today'' program. He has been heard in recital in much of the United States, Japan, China, France, Spain and Italy. Recent appearances include concert tours of Spain, China, and Japan, and concerto engagements with the

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

and Winnipeg Symphonies, the National Spanish Orchestra, the Macau Orchestra, and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta. Upcoming engagements include a twenty concert-tour of the United States and abroad sponsored by the

Chopin Foundation of the United States Founded by Blanka Rosenstiel in 1977, the Chopin Foundation of the United States provides performance opportunities for young American pianists, exchange and scholarship programs as well as awards. Every five years the Foundation hosts the Nati ...

. Sun is also highly involved in classical music education and outreach. His latest effort, at whitekeys.com, garnered major media attention shortly after its grand opening, and his website has become a model for other musicians' websites. Sun is a

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: People * Torakusu Yamaha, a Japanese businessman and founder of the Yamaha Corporation Companies * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese musical instrument and audio equipment manufacturer ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organi ...

Artist.

External links

Winner of the first prize in the 7th National Chopin Piano Competition of the U.SMei-Ting Sun's websiteA classical music outreach program started by Mei-Ting Sun and friends
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sun, Mei-Ting Living people Chinese classical pianists American classical pianists American male pianists American people of Chinese descent Musicians from Shanghai Year of birth missing (living people)