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Chee Hyeon Choi, Korean American pianist/educator, is Assistant Professor of Piano and Piano Pedagogy at the ¾ÅÉ«. An active clinician and presenter, Dr. Choi has been invited to present lecture-recitals, workshops and research on piano pedagogy at national and international conferences, including the College Music Society, Music Teachers National Association, National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy, Association for Technology in Music Instruction, Composers in Asia Symposium, Korean Composers Festival, Music by Women International Festival, Canadian Federation of Music Teachers Associations Conference, Cambridge Gimhae International Music Symposium, Festival Junger Künstler Bayreuth, and numerous university piano pedagogy programs in the United States and abroad. Most recently, she was the keynote speaker for the 2026 Korean Piano Pedagogy Symposium. 

Dr. Choi’s research focuses on comparative piano pedagogy in the United States and South Korea, educational piano literature by Korean composers, the discovery and promotion of underrepresented pedagogical works by women composers, effective group piano teaching methodologies, and the integration of emerging technologies into piano instruction. Among her notable scholarly contributions is the 21st-Century Korean Piano Music Microcourse, published by the Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy. 

As a performer, Dr. Choi has appeared in solo and collaborative performances at distinguished venues including Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. She has performed as a concerto soloist with the LaGrange Chamber Orchestra, the University of Louisiana Symphony Orchestra, and the Bradley Symphony Orchestra. In addition, she has served as principal keyboardist with the Heartland Festival Orchestra, the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra, and the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra. 

Her teaching career includes faculty appointments at Bradley University, Millikin University, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she earned both her Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees. In recognition of her contributions to music education, she received the Illinois State Music Teachers Association Teacher of the Year Award in 2020, where she served as Vice President and President-Elect. 

Dr. Choi is the founder and director of the ¾ÅÉ« Piano Institute and the UL Summer Piano Camp. She currently serves as Chair of the Louisiana Music Teachers Association Collegiate Faculty Forum and the MTNA Louisiana Competitions. Her recent honors include the ¾ÅÉ« Rising Star Award (2026). Dr. Choi recently earned the distinction of an Ewha Global Fellow (2027-2029). 

Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano and Piano Literature
University of Illinois, Champaign–Urbana, IL

Master’s in Piano Pedagogy
University of Illinois, Champaign–Urbana, IL