Eunmi Ko

Associate Professor of Piano

Email: eko1@usf.edu
Phone: (585) 478-4804
Office: MUS 355

Hailed as “kaleidoscopic“ (San Francisco Classical Voice), “excellent” (Gramophone), and “exceedingly interesting and original” (New York Concert Review) pianist Eunmi Ko recently appeared in the Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, Herbst Theatre, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Festival de Musica Contemporanea (Madrid), Festival Cervantino Internacional, San Francisco International Piano Festival, Chautauqua Music Festival, Seoul Arts Center, among others.  Praised for original interpretations, abundances of piano technique, and interesting programming, she performs a wide range of piano repertoire from premieres of new works by living composers to the traditional and rarely played piano works. Ko frequently communicates with young pianists through recitals and master classes at conservatories and universities. Her artist residency includs Real Conservatorio Superior de Musica de Madrid, EAFIT University (Colombia), Thessaloniki State Conservatory (Greece), Hong Kong Baptist University, Soochow University (Taiwan), Eastman School of Music, University of Maryland, University of Tennessee, among others.

As a sought after collaborator and champion of new music, she works with many dozens contemporary composers, ensembles, and performers. Ko is co-founder and co-director of new music ensemble Strings & Hammers, which has the unusual instrumentation of violin, piano, and double bass. Each year, Strings and Hammers collaborates with different composers for their project and gives several premieres nationally and internationally. The ensemble’s residency includes COMA’16 in Madrid, Eastman School of Music, USF New Music Consortium, McCormick Percussion Group, among others. Since 2015 she has been the resident artist for award winning percussion ensemble McCormick Percussion Group and collaborated with Director Robert McCormick for the Concerti for Piano and Percussion Project. Since 2017, she has collaborated with mezzo- soprano Thea Lobo for Indictus project, which documents and promotes art songs by underrepresented composers.

Ko holds a BM degree from Seoul National University and graduate degrees (MM and DMA) from the Eastman School of Music. From 2013 to 2018, she was on the artist faculty of Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival. In 2011, she was the Assistant Director of  Women in Music Festival (Rochester, NY), which hosted 35 composers and involved over 150 performers annually.

Ko teaches at the University of South Florida as Associate Professor of Piano and she is the co-founder and president of Contemporary Art Music Project.

For more information please visit her website.