Howard Na

Howard Na’s gift for music was recognized early in his life.  He made his first public appearance as a pianist at age eleven and, only two years later, he performed Saint-Saëns Second Piano Concerto with the San Francisco Concerto Orchestra at the Diablo Valley Center.  Other achievements include prizes in the Russian Music Competition in San Jose, California in 2001 and 2006 and the National Chopin Competition in Miami, Florida 2005.

In 2008 he won first prizes in the University of Miami Concerto Competition and the Artist Series of Sarasota Scholarship Competition. That same year he attended the Chautauqua Music Festival and won Chautauqua Piano Competition. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of North Texas, where he studied with Vladimir Viardo, and his Master of Music degree at the University of Miami, where he studied with Rosalina Sackstein.  Currently, Mr. Na is completing the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance at the Eastman School of Music.

He studies with Professor Rebecca Penneys; he is her Teaching Assistant and is recipient of the Liberace Scholarship. At Chautauqua he will perform a solo recital and give private lessons.

"Being invited back to Chautauqua as an Alumni performer was incredibly meaningful. It gave me a chance to revisit many people and places and also gave me a chance to introduce both my mother-in-law and 7-year old to the special world of Chautauqua.

As a student I spent many happy summers there, and will always view Chautauqua as a place of wondrous discovery.

As an adult, I still view it as a place of discovery- and revel in sharing it with friends, family, and my students. Returning to the piano department was a delightful and stimulating experience. The students supported one another, and the level of playing was extremely high. Hearing Rebecca speak once again in master classes and seeing and hearing her play inspired me all over again. Nothing had changed! It was a kind of time travel.

Rebecca is a musical treasure, and I believe she gave me the ability to live my life as a performing musician and teacher-- something I wouldn’t trade for the world. She continues to do this in the piano program with an even higher level of motivated and talented pianists, creating her own distinguished legacy within Chautauqua, one that will reverberate for decades to come."

Rose Chancler Feinbloom - Artistic Director, Piano By Nature, 2011 Alumni Showcase Artist