Kwan Yi

Pianist Kwan Yi has performed throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia in such venues as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kimmel Center, Kennedy Center, Chicago Symphony Center, Mann Performing Arts Center, Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, Library of Congress, Metropolitan and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museums, Großer Sendesaal des Hessischen Rundfunks, Auditorium du Louvre, Teatro Gayarre, Suntory Hall, and Seoul Arts Center.

Yi has appeared as a soloist with the Russian National Orchestra, Houston Symphony Orchestra, Brevard Festival Orchestra, and the North Carolina Symphony under the batons of Hans Graf, Julian Kuerti, Grant Llewellyn, and Mikhail Tartanikov. As a recitalist and masterclass instructor, he has completed residencies at University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Bowling Green State University, Michigan State University, University of Georgia, and University of South Carolina. As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with Itzhak Perlman, Miriam Fried, and Roberto Diaz on national tours and was invited to perform at the Kronberg, Ravinia, Trondheim, and the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern festivals and Carnegie Hall Presents, Curtis Presents, CIM Mixon Hall Masters, and Peoples’ Symphony Concert series. He has recorded for FHR and Hänssler labels with violinist Itamar Zorman. His solo and chamber music albums are expected to be released on Sono Luminus label in 2025. The 2024-2025 season includes performances in China, Guatemala, Korea, Mexico, and Turkey; a solo appearance with the New Carolina Sinfonia in their inaugural concert; a recital tour with a program of Liszt’s Années de pèlerinage and chamber music performances throughout the U.S.

A recipient of many honors and prizes, Yi’s awards include Mieczyslaw Munz Prize, National Federation of Music Clubs Award, and prizes in the Fourth Sendai International Piano Competition.

Yi is a graduate of the Curtis Institute, Juilliard School, and the Peabody Institute where he worked with Leon Fleisher and Robert McDonald. He currently serves as associate professor of piano at the East Carolina University School of Music.