Pianist Rachel Cheung, hailed as “a poet, but also a dramatist” displaying “the most sophisticated and compelling music-making” —Dallas Morning News. She won over audiences and critics alike as a finalist at the 2017 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition with “stunningly imaginative” (Musical America) interpretations marked by “flights of both beauty and virtuosity” (Theater Jones) and was awarded the Audience Prize by online vote. As a Young Steinway Artist, she continues to build a reputation for an elegant stage presence, giving sensitive and refined performances across three continents.

Rachel has appeared with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Jerusalem Symphony, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Sydney Symphony, London Chamber, and Fort Worth Symphony Orchestras, collaborating with conductors including Edo de Waart, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Jaap van Zweden, Leonard Slatkin, Sir Mark Elder, Christopher Warren-Green, and Nicholas McGegan. Rachel is also interested in play/conducting; following her Prix du Jury win at the 2017 Play-Direct Academy for her performance of Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto with the Orchestre de chambre de Paris, she play/conducted the same concerto with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in March 2019.

She has performed in recital at the Auditorium du Louvre in Paris, Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Steinway Hall in London, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Richmond Hill Centre for Performing Arts in Toronto, the Philharmonie de Paris, and in other cities across the United States, Europe, and Asia. As an active chamber musician, Rachel has worked with world-renowned musicians including violinists Latica Honda-Rosenberg and Ning Feng, violist Vladimir Mendelssohn, cellists Jan-Erik Gustafasson and Trey Lee, mezzo-soprano Virpi Räisänsen, clarinetist Michel Lethiec, the Brentano String Quartet, and Quatuor Leonis. She also enjoys community residencies and outreach events, which allow her to make a deeper connection with audiences and share her passion of storytelling through music.

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Rachel graduated with 1st class honors at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts under the tutelage of Eleanor Wong, and later studied with Peter Frankl at the Yale School of Music, where she was awarded the Elizabeth Parisot Prize for outstanding pianists. Additional competition honors include prizes at the Leeds, Chopin, Horowitz, Gina Bachauer, and Geneva International Piano Competitio