Dr. Pei-Hsin Kao is an educator and a pianist who loves sharing the beauty of piano performance. She holds the highest degree in the music field, Doctorate in Musical Arts (D.M.A.) in Piano, from Peabody Conservatory, the music institute of The Johns Hopkins University. During her time at Peabody, Dr. Kao received the Dean's Grant Scholarship, the Frances M. Wentz Tuner Prize (2009), and the Pauline Favin Memorial Prize (2010).  In 2013, she was awarded a position as a piano faculty member with a unanimous vote by the faculty board at Wuhan Music Conservatory in China although she declined this opportunity to stay in the US and served as a piano teacher at the Gilman School (2013-2017), an exclusive K-12 preparatory school for boys in Baltimore, MD. Meantime, she contributed her knowledge and skill serving as music director at Severn and Delmont United Methodist Churches (2012-2017) in suburban Anne Arundel County, Maryland. In addition, she occasionally serves as a lecturer at the Summer Music Lecture Series of the Cultural Center in Penghu, Taiwan as well as consistently serves on the Masterclass faculty at Music-Talented Program at Magong Junior High School. With 30 years of experience on piano, she still practices to improve her piano performance and deepens her understanding in musical arts. 

 

Dr. Kao has performed and won numerous awards in different settings in various countries as both solo and collaborative pianist. As a solo artist, Dr. Kao has performed and participated in concerts, music festivals and competitions in Germany, Russia, Poland, and the United States. She has been recognized as an intriguing persona among intellectual artists and was one of the featured artists of the Taiwan Classical Music Society (2010). Dr. Kao was also the first prize winner of the Regional, and the fifth prize winner of the National Piano Competition of Taiwan.

 

Active as a collaborative artist as well, Dr. Kao welcomes all kinds of musical genres and styles. She plays piano and chamber duos, piano trios, and quintets at the international level. She has collaborated with violinists, violists, and Chinese flutists to win first prizes at the Regional and National Competitions in Taiwan. While working towards a Master of Music in Piano Performance, Dr. Kao was employed by The Peabody Conservatory of Music as a school accompanist for German and Russian diction classes. She performs not only classical idioms, but also popular contemporary music styles such as jazz, gospel, funk, and rock with a choir and praise team. 

 

Dr. Kao’s repertoire varies from the Baroque period to Russian Romanticism and even contemporary music. Her published D.M.A. thesis focuses on eighteenth-century German fantasies. Dr. Kao’s intention is to fuse her life experience into performance by combining the essence of humanity, the influences from different nations, and the understanding of the artistic spirit.

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After moving to Bellevue, WA, Dr. Kao becomes an active member at both Lake Washington Chapter and Eastside Music Teacher Associations. She was elected to be the Secretary of the Lake Washington Chapter Music Teacher Association (2018-2021) and is the current Vice President. She has organized the Masterclass for fellow teachers, and was invited to serve as an adjudicator for Edmonds MTA (2018-2019). Dr. Kao also serves as a piano instructor in the Music Department at Bellevue College. Recently, Dr. Kao was requested by a California publishing firm, Brookside Press, to write an independent piano review for its Magazine Acoustic & Digital Piano Buyer. This piano review has been published as the first featured article in the online Fall 2019 issue, as well as the 10th Anniversary issue. (click to read). 

 

For listening to some of her music recordings, please goes to page Music.