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

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

. A native of

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

, Sun arrived in

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

at the age of nine. He entered the

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

and the

Mannes College of Music Mannes School of Music is a music conservatory in The New School, a private research university in New York City. In the fall of 2015, Mannes moved from its previous location on Manhattan's Upper West Side to join the rest of the New School cam ...

, where he studied ear training with

Marie Powers Marie Powers (1902–1973) was an American contralto who was best known for her performance as Madame Flora in Gian Carlo Menotti’s ''The Medium'', a role that she played on stage, screen and television. Early life On June 20, 1902, Powers wa ...

, 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 in Portland, Oregon – May 28, 2006 in Valhalla, New York) was an American pianist, music theorist and pedagogue. He was particularly renowned for his Bach interpretations, and he recorded several albums, most no ...

. He has since received his

bachelor A bachelor is a man who is not and has never 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 or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

'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 performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

, 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 paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...

'' 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 in the Upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The hall is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and philanthropist whose donations assist ...

, 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'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' 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, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

as part of the “Performance Today” program. He has been heard in

recital A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety an ...

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 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. 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 Artist A Yamaha Artist is a designation bestowed by Yamaha, by invitation, to musical artists, considered to be critically acclaimed in their instruments or genres. Acceptance as a Yamaha Artist is tantamount to a reciprocal endorsement by Yamaha. Like ot ...

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)