TPP team had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Ching-Wen Hsiao and Dr. Konstantinos Valianatos—Concert Pianists, Valianatos-Hsiao Piano Duo, & Faculty Members at the Tianjin Juilliard School—for Season 2 Episode 10!

During the interview session which took place a few days before Chine New Year 2022, we got to hear:

• Ching-Wen and Konstantinos’ exciting careers as solo and duo pianists.
• The time when they were students at the Juilliard School in the U.S.
• The inside scoop of The Tianjin Juilliard School
• What’s like to live in China during/after the pandemic

🤩 Did you know that Juilliard opened its first overseas campus in Tianjin, China, in the fall of 2021!?

🧐 Where is Tianjin—how far from Beijing?

🤓 What programs do they offer at TJS?

[Dr. Ching-Wen Hsiao: Steinway Artist]

Dr. Hsiao has performed extensively as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia in venues including Carnegie’s Issac Stern Auditorium and Weill Recital Hall, David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center, Rubinstein-Saal at Munich Steinway Haus, and Taiwan Concert Hall. She made her concerto debut at the age of 16 with the Cebu Youth Symphony in the Philippines with four performances of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1. She was the first prize winner at the Taiwan Piano Competition, Juilliard’s Gina Bachauer Piano Competition, Steinway's Solo Piano, and Concerto Competitions. Dr. Hsiao also received an “Outstanding Scholarship” Award from Southeastern University, a Big 12 Faculty Fellowship from West Virginia University, and the “Rising Star Award” in Taiwan. She currently serves as an ensemble coach in graduate studies and piano faculty at a pre-college division at The Tianjin Juilliard School.
 

🌐 Dr. Hsiao’s Website: https://www.chingwenhsiao.com/

👩‍🏫 Dr. Hsiao’s Profile on TJS website: https://www.tianjinjuilliard.edu.cn/index.php/faculty/ching-wen-hsiao

🎹 Ching-Wen and Tianjin Juilliard Ensemble: https://youtu.be/sTSEiChoLiE
 

[Dr. Konstantinos Valianatos: Soloist & Chamber Musician]

As an award-winning musician, Dr. Valianatos won first prizes at the International Seiler Piano Competition, the International Ibiza Piano Competition, the Senigallia International Piano Competition, the San Gemini International Piano Competition, and the Aspen Music Festival Competition, among others. As an advocate for new music, Dr. Valianatos works with living composers and has premiered their works, such as Christos Hatzis’s piano work, Face to Face. He has also collaborated with numerous orchestras and performed in venues such as the White House, Salle Cortot in Paris, Carnegie Halls, Benedict Music Tent, and Harris Concert Hall in Aspen. He was honored by the President of Greece, Kostis Stefanôpoulos, with the highest accolade from the Academy of Athens in Greece for his work and artistic integrity. Dr. Valianatos currently serves as a piano faculty member and ensemble coach at a pre-college division at The Tianjin Juilliard School.
 

👨‍🏫 Dr. Valianatos’ profile on TJS website: https://www.tianjinjuilliard.edu.cn/faculty/konstantinos-valianatos

🎹 Konstantinos, Tianjin Juilliard Ensemble, and Shenyang at Tianjin Grand Theater: