Young-Ah Tak

Praised for her “thrilling blend of fury and finesse” (San Antonio Express-News) and regarded as “…a polished and serious-minded pianist” (Gramophone), pianist YOUNG-AH TAK enjoys a remarkable international career with performances throughout the United States, Canada, Austria, Germany, Italy, Korea and Japan.

Ms. Tak made her New York City debut at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts’ Alice Tully Hall with the Juilliard Orchestra. She has since appeared with numerous orchestras including the Roanoke, Lansing, North Arkansas, Imperial, Venice, Filharmonia Pomorska (Poland), Oltenia Philharmonic (Romania) and, in her native Korea, with the Busan, Seongnam and Korean Symphony Orchestras. Other notable performances by Ms. Tak have taken place at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Kimmel Center’s Perelman Theater, Seoul Arts Center, Jordan Hall, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series, Ravinia Festival and Music at Menlo. She has also appeared at major concert halls and international music festivals in Korea, including those of Busan, Seoul and Tongyeong.

Ms. Tak has been awarded top prizes in many prestigious international competitions including the San Antonio International Piano Competition, Italy’s Valsesia-Musica International Piano Competition, Korea’s Isang Yun International Music Competition, Corpus Christi International Competition and Germany’s Ettlingen International Piano Competition. Her performances have been broadcast on WQXR (New York City), WRTI (Philadelphia), WMFT and LOOP (Chicago), WBJC (Baltimore), WCLV (Cleveland), CKWR (Ontario), PBS, and Korea’s KBS and Arte TV.

Ms. Tak received her Bachelor of Music from The Juilliard School, her Master of Music and Graduate Diploma from the New England Conservatory as a recipient of NEC’s Presidential Scholarship, and her Doctor of Musical Arts from The Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University. She studied principally with Leon Fleisher, Russell Sherman, Wha Kyung Byun, Martin Canin, Yong Hi Moon and Young Ho Kim.

Active as a chamber musician, Ms. Tak has collaborated with the late violinist Robert Mann, cellist Bonnie Hampton, the Ma’alot Quintet and members of The Florestan Trio.

Ms. Tak currently serves as an Associate Professor of Piano and Head of the Piano Area at the Crane School of Music of the State University of New York at Potsdam. Dedicated to educating the pianists of future generations, she is also the Founding Artistic Director of the Crane International Piano Festival. She previously held faculty positions at the Preparatory Division of The Peabody Institute and at Southeastern University in Florida.

Ms. Tak’s debut recording of Judith Zaimont’s Wizards — Three Magic Masters was released by Albany Records to critical acclaim. Her debut solo CD — an album of Haydn, Schumann, Liszt and Kirchner — is available on MSR Classics. In 2019, Steinway & Sons released her recording of Beethoven's piano sonatas 6, 18 and 23.

Ms. Tak is a Steinway Artist.