Biography
Award-winning pianist Cecilia Chow has established herself as a soloist, chamber musician, collaborative pianist, and pedagogue, with performances across Hong Kong, China, Spain, Italy, Austria, Canada, and the United States. She has been a prizewinner in numerous competitions, including the Internationaler Deutscher Klavierwettbewerb, Steinway & Sons Piano Competition, Toyama Piano Competition, Yamaha Piano Competition, and Asia Open Competition, and was most recently a quarter-finalist in the Canadian Chopin Competition.
Chow has appeared in concerts and recitals at Studzinski Hall, Kilbourn Hall, Galvin Hall, Haydn-Haus, Harris Concert Hall, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, Hong Kong City Hall, and the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. She has collaborated extensively with musicians in the Chicagoland area and served for multiple seasons as a pianist and keyboardist with the Northwestern University Chamber Orchestra, performing under Victor Yampolsky and Robert Hasty. Formerly a member of the piano trio Coalesce, she is now the co-founder and pianist of Trio Émeraude with cellist Étienne Escalmel and violinist Amandine Hanoun. She has also appeared as a guest artist with the Paskke String Quartet.
Chow recently made her highly praised debut with the Mississauga Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Denis Mastromonaco, performing Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major at the 2025 Mayor’s Concert. Her performance was recognized by Mayor Carolyn Parrish, who described it as “an incredible showcase of Chow’s musical sensitivity, dazzling technique, and expressive tone.”
She also performs regularly with the Ontario Cross-Cultural Music Society (OCMS), where she recently appeared as a concerto soloist in Poulenc’s Piano Concerto in C-sharp minor under Joanna Ng, further establishing her presence in both the Toronto and Montréal musical communities.
Her festival appearances include the Aspen Music Festival and School, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Gijón International Piano Festival, Amalfi Coast Piano Festival, and Classical Music Festival. In 2017, she was invited to perform alongside legendary pianist Ann Schein at Harris Concert Hall during the Aspen Music Festival and School. Most recently, she served as an Artist in Residence at Porto Pianofest, where she presented an all-Chopin recital.
Chow received the Howard Hanson Scholarship and Avis D. Vaughan Scholarship to pursue her Bachelor of Music at the Eastman School of Music, studying with Alan Chow and Ann Schein. She completed her Master of Music at Northwestern University with Sylvia Wang and Marcia Bosits, and later earned an Artist Diploma at the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Glenn Gould School under John Perry and David Louie. She has also received pedagogical training from Tony Caramia and Marcia Bosits.
Currently based in Montréal, Chow is pursuing her Doctorate in Music (interprétation piano) at the Université de Montréal under Henry Kramer. A firm believer that artistry is nurtured by everyday beauty, she draws inspiration from the rhythms of daily life, the quiet poetry of plants, and the people she meets along the way.