In 1996, Ching-Yun Hu moved United States to attend The Juilliard School's Pre-College Division. She attended the Aspen Music Festival in the following year and won the Aspen Concerto Competition, performing the Prokofiev Concerto No. 3 with the Aspen Concert Orchestra. The same season, she won the Philadelphia Orchestra Greenfield Competition, which resulted in her debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra, where she performed the Grieg Piano Concerto in a sold concert. She debuted in Europein 1999 at the Chopin International Music Festival in Duszniki-Zdrój, Poland and gave a recital at the Kleine Zaal of Concertgebouw in Amsterdam in 2000. She made her recital debut at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center in 2007, and subsequently returned in 2009. In 2008, Ching-Yun Hu won the top prize of the 12th Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition in Tel Aviv, playing with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in the Semi-Final and Final. She was also awarded the Audience Favorite Prize. A week after the completion of the competition, she stepped in for Helene Grimaud in Beethoven Concerto No. 1 with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, In the two seasons after winning the Rubinstein Competition, she debuted at the Wigmore Hall in London, Klavier-Ruhr Festival, Herkulesaal in Munich, Tel Aviv Opera House, Salle Cortet in Paris, Rubinstein Hall in Lódz Poland, and at the Great Hall of Liszt Academy in Budapest, an invitation from conductor and pianist Tamas Vasary. She was a soloist with the Israel Symphony Orchestra, Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan. Following the Rubinstein Competition, Ching-Yun Hu won the 2009 Concert Artists Guild International Competition in New York, and signed a contract under CAG Artist Management. In the following seasons, she performed in many prestigious concert series in the United States and abroad, including her debut at Carnegie Hall's Weill's Recital Hall, her orchestra debut in Sao Paulo, across Europe at Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, UK and Munich's Gasteig, and gave a ten-concert tour of South Africa. Throughout her career, Hu has been supported by the Puffin Foundation in United States, Chi-Mei Foundation in Taiwan, Solti Foundation in Belgium, Hattori Foundation in London, and the Education and Cultural Committees in Taiwan.
Ching-Yun Hu released her debut album "Ching-Yun Hu plays Chopin" under Taiwanese label ArchiMusic in April, 2011. The album was nominated for two Golden Melodies in 2012 for "Best Performance" and "Best Classical Album of the Year. It won the Golden Melody "Best Classical Album of the Year."
Yun-Hsiang International Music Festival
Enthusiastic in promoting Taiwanese musicians, music and helping young artists from her country, in 2011, Ching-Yun Hu founded the Yun-Hsiang Foundation and Yun-Hsiang International Music Festival in 2011. The first festival will be held in Taipei in November, 2012. The Festival hosts 16 masterclasses by the festival artists, the Yun-Hsiang Concerto Competition, four concerts of solo and concerto programs at the National Theater and Concert Hall, Taipei. The festival's goal is to promote classical music in Taiwan and help bridge a connection between world-class musicians to young talents in Taiwan, by giving young artists opportunities to study and perform alongside great masters. The artist roster of the 2012 Festival includes pianist Sergei Babayan, violinists Grzegorz Kotow, Daniel Shien-Ta Su, cellists Adrian Brendel, Ouyang YiLing, conductor James P. Liu of the Wuhan Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Evergreen Symphony Orchestra, in addition to performances by Hu.
Awards and recognitions
1998 Silver Medal & Most Potential Pianist Award - Taipei International Piano Competition
2008 Silver Medal & Audience Favorite Prize - Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition, Israel
2008 Honorary Award - Taiwan National Cultural Ministry, Taiwan
2009 Winner - Concert Artists Guild International Competition, New York
2012 Golden Melody - Best Classical Album, Taiwan
Discography
Ching-Yun Hu Plays Chopin is Hu's debut CD, released in April 2011, was nominated for two Golden Melody Awards for "Best Performance" and "Best Classical Album of the Year." It won the Golden Melody for "Best Classical Album of the Year."