Grace Choi

Grace Choi, a native of South Korea, is an active solo pianist and collaborative chamber musician and has appeared in concert venues throughout the world, including a performance at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City and as a selected pianist for the Reenactments of Frederic Chopin’s 1848 Paris concerts at Jordan Hall in Boston, in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of Chopin’s birth.  Grace also performed for a special concert for the 200th anniversary of Haydn at Williams Hall in Boston and was featured on a live broadcast of Minnesota Public Radio, where her performance was heard throughout the state of Minnesota.  She has performed the Schumann Piano Concerto at Ted Mann Concert Hall with the University of Minnesota Orchestra and has given numerous solo and chamber recitals and Gala concerts at Ultan Recital Hall in Minneapolis.  Grace has also appeared in solo recitals at Tongyeong Art Hall at the Tongyeong International Music Festival and was featured soloist with the Hanyang University Orchestra in Seoul, Korea.

She also performs frequently with her husband, pianist Kevin Hobbs, and as a duo the two have been featured on the Artist Series at the University of Minnesota International Piano Camp as well as faculty-artist recitals at North Hennepin Community College.  The duo were also semifinalists in the McKnight Artist Fellowship auditions.

Besides being active currently as an educator in the Twin Cities, Grace is also a strong advocate of musical outreach and has performed in numerous community-based music programs throughout the country.  Some highlighted activities have included community fundraising concerts held through Project Outreach at Music Mansion in Rhode Island, where proceeds were used to help provide emergency assistance to refugee families in need.  Ms. Choi was also a member of Capri Glee, a series of after-school and summer programs held at Capri Theater in North Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she led group piano classes and accompanied choirs for disadvantaged youths.

Grace earned her BM in Piano Performance at Hanyang University in Seoul, Korea and continued her piano studies at New England Conservatory in Boston, where she studied with Gabriel Chodos and earned her MM in Piano Performance.  She completed her DMA in Piano Performance at the University of Minnesota with Distinguished McKnight Professor of Piano Lydia Artymiw as a recipient of the Ude and Centennial Fellowships.  Grace is currently on the music faculty at North Hennepin Community College and also teaches at Macalester College in St. Paul, MN.