Joseph Choi

Celebrated for his sensitive and sincere artistry, Korean-American pianist Joseph Choi is a versatile and community-driven musician admired for his collaborative expertise.

Equally at home as a soloist, chamber musician, conductor, and coach, Choi currently serves as a teaching artist and pianist for Austin Opera, pianist for the GRAMMY®-winning choir Conspirare, staff accompanist at Huston-Tillotson University, and Organist at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church.

He is the current music director for One Ounce Opera’s Fresh Squeezed Ounce of Opera, an award-winning annual showcase of short contemporary works in Austin. Past collaborators include Inversion Ensemble (Austin), Local Opera Local Artists (Austin), Austin Cantorum, Pflugerville Arts Council’s Classical Artists Concert Series, and the Oak Branch Concert Series (Dripping Springs). More traditionally, he’s enjoyed positions at Concordia University (TX) and the Berlin Choral Festival. He also served as the assistant conductor at the Vienna Opera Academy.

Choi has earned numerous recognitions, including second prize at the NTD International Piano Competition (New York), best performance of a baroque composer at the San Antonio International Piano Competition, and three nominations for outstanding music direction at the B. Iden Payne Awards (Austin). He’s enjoyed performances across the globe—including at prestigious venues such as Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Aspen Music Festival—and has been a featured soloist with the Austin Symphony Orchestra, the Austin Civic Orchestra, and the Aeolus Quartet.

Born in Hawaii, Choi holds a Doctor of Musical Arts and a Bachelor of Music from The University of Texas at Austin, where he studied under Anton Nel, and a Master of Music from The Juilliard School under the tutelage of Jerome Lowenthal and Matti Raekallio.