Samantha Cho

Pianist Samantha Cho returns to perform at Old First Concerts for an exciting program of solo piano. Featuring classic repertory as well as beautiful music that is less-often played, the evening features French composers Germaine Tailleferre and Claude Debussy and ends with the virtuosic piano sonata by Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg. Tailleferre was a gifted composer and the only female member of Les Six—a group of composers who became famous for the perception they gave to the public of rejecting Wagner and Debussy. Rebellious against her father’s wishes to give up music and continuously finding her own voice, Tailleferre wrote character pieces for piano up until the end of her life aged 91. Ms. Cho presents four of Tailleferre’s works at Old First Concerts: Hommage à Debussy, Pastorale, Romanza and Rêverie. The program continues with familiar gems by Debussy and ends with the youthful and spirited sonata by Edvard Grieg. Born in Los Angeles, pianist Samantha Cho is a music instructor at Los Angeles Southwest College. She has performed in Seattle’s Northwest Focus Live, Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert in Chicago Cultural Center, San Francisco’s Noontime Concert Series, Los Angeles Harbor College, and more. Her upcoming engagements include National Christian Church (DC) and Live from WFMT (Chicago). An avid chamber musician, Samantha has collaborated with members of the San Francisco Symphony, San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra and Houston Symphony, and she has also performed with Kenwood Symphony as winner of the 19th Annual Master’s Concerto & Aria Competition. Her performances have been broadcast on radio and television in Chicago, Seattle and Seoul, Korea. Samantha joined the piano faculty at Los Angeles Pierce College and Los Angeles Southwest College in 2019, and she has coached pre-college chamber music groups at San Francisco Conservatory of Music since 2016. Samantha received her Bachelor of Music at Northwestern University, Master of Music at Cleveland Institute of Music, and Doctor of Musical Arts at University of Minnesota. Her childhood teacher, Robert Turner, was renowned as protegee of the Lhevinnes at the Juilliard School. She continued her studies with the following teachers: Paul Schenly, Kathryn Brown, Sylvia Wang, and Alexander Braginsky.