Abigail Koo brings musical experiences from podiums around the world, including Lucerne, Salzburg, Moscow, Seoul, and throughout the US. Equally at home with various musical media, Koo is a recipient of numerous awards and scholarships, including the Lauren Dilsner Choral Conducting Scholarship, Bertlesmann’s World of Expression Award for Composition, Young Artist Competition winner for piano, and Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society Competition winner.
Koo began her musical studies as a pianist at age six and continued for two years. Afterwards, she taught herself to play major repertoire and entered LaGuardia High School of Music and Arts & Performing Arts, where she began her formal musical training. A prolific solo pianist, chamber musician, orchestral violinist, and conductor, Koo has performed in major concert halls, including Carnegie Weill Hall, Carnegie Isaac Stern Hall, 92nd Street Y, Cami Hall, Alice Tully Hall, New York Steinway Hall, and Avery Fisher Hall.
Koo is a graduate of Manhattan School of Music with a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance under the tutelage of Jeffrey Cohen. She continued her piano study with Menahem Pressler at Indiana University with a full-tuition Merit Scholarship for a Master of Music degree and went on to a Performance Diploma for post-graduate study. Koo received another Master of Music degree from Western Michigan University for violin performance with a full scholarship under Sophie Junqi Tang. After three degrees in piano performance, Koo undertook doctoral studies in orchestral conducting as a Dean’s Merit Scholarship recipient. Koo has studied and worked together with eminent conductors, including David Effron, Arthur Fagen, Leonard Slatkin, Bruno Weil, Herbert Blomstedt, and Bernard Haitink.
Passionate about serving marginalized people, Abigail Koo founded a music school in Battambang, Cambodia, and launched an annual music camp for refugees on the Thailand-Myanmar border. She continues to work with NGOs to provide relief for Cambodia and Myanmar through music education, scholarships for young women, and humanitarian aid assistance. Prior to joining the faculty of Indiana University South Bend, Dr. Koo served as an assistant professor of music at Sahmyook University and as an assistant teaching professor and director of orchestral studies at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Abigail Koo
