Elizabeth Joy Roe, concert pianist Hailed “brilliant” (The New York Times), “an artist to be taken seriously” (The Chicago Tribune), “electrifying” (The Dallas Morning News), “a mature and fascinating interpreter and an artist of intelligence, insight, and a genuine grace” (The Southampton Press), pianist ELIZABETH JOY ROE was named one of the classical music world's “Six on the Rise: Young Artists to Watch” by Symphony Magazine. The recipient of the prestigious William Petschek Piano Debut Recital Award, she has appeared as recitalist, orchestral soloist, and collaborative musician at major venues and festivals around the world, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the 92nd Street Y (New York); the Kennedy Center (Washington, DC); Salle Cortot (Paris); the Ravinia Festival (Chicago); the Seoul Arts Center (Korea); Teatro Argentino (Buenos Aires); the Banff Centre (Canada); and the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Germany). She was selected to perform for members of the United Nations and for notable events celebrating The Juilliard School's centenary at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the New York Public Library. Additional career highlights include the Carnegie Hall premiere of Messiaen’s Visions de l’Amen for the composer's centennial celebration, presentations at leadership symposia like the EG (Entertainment Gathering) and Imagine Solutions Conferences, and an artistic residency sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Argentina.
Ms. Roe has performed with the Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Tucson, Corpus Christi, Lubbock, and Ars Viva Symphony Orchestras; the Juilliard Orchestra; the Chicago and Seongnam Philharmonic Orchestras; and the Milwaukee and Indianapolis Chamber Orchestras, among others. In 2003, she stepped in on short notice to replace the late John Browning for subscription performances of the Barber Piano Concerto—a work Browning had premiered in 1962 at the opening of Lincoln Center—with the Delaware Symphony Orchestra; The Delaware News Journal pronounced her pianism as “astonishing” and “stunning.” Her 1997 orchestral debut with the Chicago Philharmonic elicited accolades from The Chicago Tribune: “Elizabeth Joy Roe supplied scintillation in the Grieg [Concerto] ... A lot of pianists play the Grieg but not many adults twice the age of Miss Roe could make this familiar score sing so poetically or with such spontaneity.”
A Chicago native, Ms. Roe was 13 years old when she won the grand prize at the IBLA International Piano Competition in Italy. Since then, she has been honored by the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, the National Association for Professional Asian Women, the Music for Youth Foundation, the Samsung Foundation of Culture, and the Soros Fellowship for New Americans. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The Juilliard School as a full scholarship student of Yoheved Kaplinsky, graduating with Scholastic Distinction (for her thesis on representations of music in selected works of twentieth-century fiction).
Ms. Roe’s wide-ranging career includes live performance broadcasts and interviews on TV and radio (appearing on NPR, KBS, and WGBH, to name a few), world premieres of new music, and a diversity of artistic projects. A Universal Classics recording artist, her debut album Images Poetiques was released on the Deutsche Grammophon label in 2010. She is an avid chamber musician who has collaborated with such esteemed artists as violist Richard O’Neill, cellist Ralph Kirshbaum, and the Parker Quartet, and she was a founding member of Ensemble ACJW (one of the resident performing groups at Carnegie Hall) and of The Declassified (one of New York's most exciting new collectives). Most notably, she has established a groundbreaking piano duo partnership with Greg Anderson: the Anderson & Roe Piano Duo is known worldwide for their dynamic performances, compositions, and music videos (which have been viewed by millions on YouTube).
Committed to arts advocacy, Ms. Roe was one of the inaugural fellows of The Academy—a program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and The Weill Music Institute. As part of this professional program, she performed regularly at Carnegie Hall with Ensemble ACJW, taught at PS 131Q in Queens, and co-directed the Children's Music Campaign NYC. Additionally, she has participated in an educational residency for the Van Cliburn Foundation, curated an interactive performance project featuring Juilliard pianists, served as an adviser to the PianoArts North American Competition, and given numerous community service concerts and master classes. In recognition of her educational and leadership endeavors, she was awarded the McGraw-Hill Companies’ Robert Sherman Award for Music Education and Community Outreach. She recently completed a two-year teaching fellowship at Smith College as Visiting Artist and Lecturer in Piano.
A Steinway Artist and Soros Fellow, Ms. Roe's mission is to connect with others through the inspiration, joy and essential humanity of music.
Soprano Eunsil Ra Kim, born in Seoul, Korea, began playing piano at the age of five and taking voice lessons at age eleven. She received a bachelor’s degree in voice performance at Seoul National University. While studying at Seoul National University, she was chosen as a soloist for the French Art Song Festival at The National Theatre of Korea and the American Art Song Festival at Seoul Arts Center. Eunsil Ra continued her music studies in Italy at the Academy Jupiter in Genoa and at the National Conservatory of Music, ‘Arrigo Boito’ of Parma majoring in voice and vocal education. While she attended the conservatory, she performed as a soloist at “Pasqua” Concert at San Giovanni Basilica with the Parma Conservatory Orchestra. While she was active as an art song and oratorio soloist in Italy, her talent and training at the keyboard led her to serve as organist at the Evangelical Methodist Church of Piacenza for six years and at the Evangelical Methodist Church of Cremona for three years. 
Mezzo-Soprano Hae-Jung Shin, a native of South Korea, is currently DMA (Doctor of Musical Arts) Student at University of Colorado at Boulder. She is in the studio of Julie Simson and a recipient of the Gregory Philip Ranno Excellence in Music Award. Ms. Shin received the Bachelor of Music degree from the Korean National University of art and the Master of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music. She also was a Professional Studies Diploma Candidate at Mannes College of Music. 
Baritone GhiBong Kim, born in Daegu, Korea, received his Bachelor’s degree in Voice Performance at Seoul National University. Following this, he went to Parma, Italy to study at “Arrigo Boito” Conservatory, the same school for which Renata Tebaldi and Claudio Abbado attended. He graduated with the highest academic honors. He was also the finalist at Tito Schipa Voice Competition in Lecce and Flaviano Lavo’ in Piacenza, Italy. His major teachers include Sherrill Milnes and Inci Bashar.