Wei-Ning Isabella Ko is a 15 year-old 10th grader in the piano conservatory at the Orange County School of Arts in Santa Ana, California. Isabella started her musical journey at Yamaha Music School when she was 6 years old, and at age 8 was chosen to perform her composition at the Yamaha Junior Original Concert. She started her formal piano training at age 10 with Yu-Hui Jen and developed an affinity for piano performance.
In 2024, Isabella completed her From The Top Fellowship and was featured on Show 444: Sonatas!, performing the second movement, Himno Inca, of Gabriela Lena Frank’s Sonata Andina. She has also won the California Association of Professional Music Teachers Contemporary District Competition and continued on to win 1st Prize at the California Association of Professional Music Teachers Contemporary State Competition, 1st Alternate at the Music Teachers' Association of California State Solo Competition, Merit Prize at The OPUS National Music Competition, and Honorable Mention at the California Association of Professional Music Teachers Honors District Competition. In 2023, Isabella was selected to attend the Boston University Tanglewood Institute Young Artists Pianist Program during the summer, was awarded the Merit Award at The Music Center Spotlight, and won 3rd Place at the Piano Star International Competition. She has also won 1st Place at the International Association of Professional Music Teachers, Carles & Sofia International Piano Competition, and the Music Teachers' Association of California Scholarship Competition, and 2nd Place at the United States International Music Competition, Pacific International Piano Competition, and Aegio International Piano Competition.
Isabella has had the honor of working with expertise in the field of piano performance, such as world-renowned pianist Olga Kern, the Vieness Piano Duo, Professor Kevin Fitz-Gerald from the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, Professor Nina Scolnik from the University of California Irvine, Dr. Hyunjoo Choi from Concordia University Irvine, Dr. Andrew Park from Azusa Pacific University, Dr. Sarkis Baltaian from the Orange County School of the Arts, Professor Dmitri Shteinberg from University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Steinway Artist Ms. Sandra Wright Shen, and Dr. Shun-Lin Chou from the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at California State University Long Beach. Isabella also shares her love of music through collaboration with other musicians. She has worked on piano duets and violin sonatas, such as Igor Stravinsky’s Petrushka and Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 6 in A Major, Op. 30 No. 1, showcasing her ability to communicate ideas with fellow pianists to work towards a common goal. When she is not practicing piano, Isabella enjoys playing tennis and the video game, Crossy Road.
