Chan Mi Jean is the Lecturer in Music at the University of Tennessee at Martin, where she specializes in Collaborative Piano. She serves as the Co-Director/Chair of the Collaborative Piano at the Vilacello String and Piano Festival. Jean is an emerging solo pianist, chamber musician, and opera coach who has made international appearances including performances in Austria, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, Italy, South Korea, Thailand, and the United States. Jean won numerous national and international competitions, including the 8th New York International Music Concours and as a result, she made her debut in January 2023 at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.
In addition, Jean was the winner of the Irving Shain Woodwind-Piano Duo Competition with Oboist Emily Knappen and has received an Honorable Mention in the American Prize Instrumental Solo Competition for her recent recording with former UT Martin Tuba Professor Steve Darling. At the end of 2024, she will be recording an album with violinist Bartholomew Fortino-Shields on the Sheva Label in London, England. Their debut album will be available in the BBC Music Magazine, Naxos Music Library and online at http://www.shevacollection.co.uk/.
Jean is also an active educator, and her passion for young musicians has led to participation of diverse music initiatives both nationally and internationally. Prior to joining UT Martin, Jean served as the Apprentice Coach for the Virginia Opera for both main stage productions and the educational outreach program. For the past two summers, Jean served as the Music Director of the Young Singer Program for the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival and worked intensively with selective international high school singers. She also was the Apprentice Coach for the Tyrolean Opera Program in Austria during the summer of 2015, and there worked with young musicians from around the world. Jean is extremely excited to meet and work with students at Vilacello and is ready for another wonderful season in August 2024.
A native of Seoul, Korea, she received her D.M.A. in Collaborative Piano from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with a minor in Opera Coaching; M.M. and P.D. in Piano Performance from Indiana University.