ELAINE KWON

is a prize-winning concert pianist, martial artist, and a Lecturer in Music at Massachusetts Institute of Technology whose diverse talents have placed her in a category of her own. She is also Co-founder and Artistic Director of the immersive music pairing series, Savor Your Senses®, which has delighted audiences world-wide with sensory music experiences of wine, food, spirits, and more. 

As soloist, she made her orchestral debut with the Washington-Idaho Symphony at age 15 and has performed solo, concerto, and chamber music concerts throughout the US and internationally, at renowned venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Boston Symphony Hall, George Weston Recital Hall, to name a few. She received standing ovations at her sold-out Carnegie Hall benefit concerts for Best Buddies New York (2008-2016), as well as her solo concerto performances with the Toronto Philharmonia Orchestra, Slovak Sinfonietta, Finger Lakes Symphony, New York Chamber Virtuosi, Union Symphony, and National Music Festival Orchestra. An active chamber musician with groups such as OCTET, Forecast New Music Group, Light and Sound Water Trio, Hebert/Kwon piano duo, she currently concertizes as the pianist in Piazzolla Trio and Oda Quartet.

As collaborative pianist, she has performed with musicians of all genres, including multi-Grammy winning drummer/producer, Questlove (Roots, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Hamilton), multi-Tony/Grammy winner, David Bryan (keyboardist of Bon Jovi, composer of Memphis), legendary rock singer, Melissa Etheridge; Broadway’s Hamilton star Christopher Jackson; members of Freestyle Love Supreme, and many others. 

As a composer/arranger, she has created numerous works, including an original score for the highly-acclaimed Shakespearean play, Corsetless, which premiered in Buffalo, NY, was showcased in Carnegie Hall, toured through Ireland in 2009, and was made into a feature film. 

During the pandemic, she wrote a composition dedicated to essential workers titled, “Thank You,” which was inspired by her shelter-in-place experience in New York City and the nightly 7 pm cheering. She created an orchestral version, and a special tribute video involving 30 musicians from 6 continents was commissioned by Pfizer directly to celebrate their 80,000 global employees for creating the Covid vaccine. This video won numerous awards including a “Best in the World” Global SABRE award, North America SABRE Award, two Big Apple awards among others.

She has recorded on Naxos and Artist's Choice Recording labels. Her recording of Anton Rubinstein's Piano Concerto no. 4 with conductor Kerry Stratton and the Slovak Sinfonietta was released in January 2012. Her latest recording on Naxos with chamber ensemble OCTET, hit #1 on Amazon Hot New Releases in Classical Music, and was featured in iTunes New and Noteworthy. 

Elaine received a Doctorate of Musical Arts from Boston University; a Master of Music from New England Conservatory with highest honors and the Distinction in Performance Award; and a Bachelor of Music from University of Texas in Austin with highest honors and the Academic All-American award. Former teachers include Anthony di Bonaventura, Leonard Shure, Danielle Martin and Jerome Lowenthal.

As an avid martial artist, Elaine holds a second-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and is five-time US National Tae Kwon Do Champion in Traditional and Creative Forms (1994, 1997-2000). She currently studies Shaolin Kung Fu at the USA Shaolin Temple in New York with Sifu Shi Yan Ming. She represented Nike in Asian ad campaigns, has appeared in Vogue, Elle, InStyle, Runner's World, Prevention, and numerous other magazines, ads, videos, books, including Women’s Health, Big Book of Exercises, and Big Book of 15-Minute Workouts. She hosted the 2006 action/urban adventure/martial arts TV show: "The Lounge--Shaken 'n Stirred" on ImaginAsian TV.

Elaine has been a featured guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show, StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson, and was named one of Boston’s “Most Alluring Women” by Boston Magazine and Chanel, and one of “Ten Toughest Bostonians” by the Improper Bostonian Magazine. New York Moves Magazine honored her as a 2008 Power Woman: celebrating women of substance and influence. A documentary of her life aired on the TV series: Dream It: You Are the Next Generation, which was broadcast internationally to over 89 million households on Arirang TV. Dr. Kwon was profiled on the Better TV Show segment, "Women Who Inspire," and showcased in the ALIST Magazine Female Leaders Issue, highlighted in Road Trip Nation’s book, Road Map, and will appear in the 2024 20th Anniversary of Power Women: 20 Years of Progress Coffee Table Book.

A dedicated educator, Dr. Kwon taught music theory and piano lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for over 22 years. She lectures and is hired as a speaker / facilitator as the creator of LifeChord - Passion, Health, and Purpose®, a lifestyle platform to help foster high performance through music. She was Piano Mentor at the National Music Festival for two seasons, and a Joanna Nichols Visiting Artist in Residence at the Taipei American School in Taiwan. She was a Visiting Professor of Piano at the Conservatory of Music in Wuhan, People's Republic of China, and performed concerts and taught master classes at the music conservatories in Wuhan, Chengdu and Tianjin.

Elaine traveled around the world for a year and a half before making her home in New York City, where she continues to explore ways to align and communicate her passion for music, martial arts, creative education and optimal living.

ORGANIZATIONS / BRANDS / PARTNERS

for more partners click on www.savoryoursenses.com