Pianist Matthew Hahn, 16, is a Merit Scholarship Fellow of the Music Institute of Chicago Academy, a training center for highly gifted pre-college musicians. He studies piano with Professor Winston Choi, Head of the Piano Program at Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts. Matthew started his piano studies at the age of four with Music Institute of Chicago Suzuki Piano teacher, Christina Tio. Matthew is a 2022 MTNA National Winner, Chopin Award. He is also a Fellow of National Public Radio’s From the Top, where his performance of Chopin’s Ballade No.2 was featured, as well as on NPR’s Daily Joy. He has been praised for his artistry and musical sensitivity and has performed at several prestigious concert venues such as Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Merkin Hall at the Kaufman Music Center, Ravinia Bennett-Gordon Hall, Preston Bradley Hall of the Chicago Cultural Center, Gannon Concert Hall, Alice Millar Chapel at Northwestern University, Warner Concert Hall at Oberlin, Nichols Concert Hall, and Unity Temple.
Matthew made his solo orchestral debut at age 11, with the Trinity Community Philharmonic Orchestra, where conductor Eli Chen described Matthew as someone who “possesses a fine sound, musical touch, and nuanced sense of phrasing.” As a winner of the DePaul Concerto Competition, Matthew performed with the Oistrakh Symphony of Chicago Orchestra, conducted by maestro Mina Zikri.
Matthew has won top honors in several regional, national, and international competitions, including Walgreens National Concerto Competition, Chicago International Music Competition, Paderewski International Music Competition, Chopin International Competition in Connecticut, Sejong Cultural Society Competition, Chopin Youth Piano Competition, Illinois State Music Teachers’ Association Competition, US New Star Piano Competition, International Grande Music Competition, and Classics Alive Young Artists National Competition. As a first place winner of the International Grand Virtuoso Competition, Matthew was invited to perform at the Beethoven House in Bonn. Additionally, Matthew was selected as a soloist for the Young Steinway Concert Series. Most recently, Matthew was awarded Grand Prize winner of the Future Stars International Piano Competition, as well as being a gold medalist for the American Association for Development of the Gifted and Talented (AADGT) International Festival. In addition to performing as a soloist, Matthew enjoys playing chamber music as part of the Luminos Piano Trio, a
semifinalist ensemble of the 2023 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Matthew has performed in masterclasses for renowned professors and world-class pianists, including Dang Thai Son, Jerome Lowenthal, James Giles, Sylvia Wang, Alan Chow, Christopher Harding, Mariann Hahn, Marina Lomazof, Edward Auer, Jorge Federico Osorio, Jeffrey Biegel, Emile Naoumoff, Asaf Zohar, Jon Kimura Parker, among others. Outside of music, Matthew enjoys participating in math competitions and is an officer of his school’s Future Business Leaders of America organization. His hobbies include skiing, playing ping pong and chess, and hiking with his dog.
