Biography
Described as a “poet with titanium fingers” by the Vancouver Sun, Malaysian pianist Melody Quah has performed extensively on stages across Asia, Europe, Australia, and North America. Her multifaceted career spans solo and collaborative performances, chamber music, education, adjudication, and artistic direction.
A prizewinner of the 7th International Paderewski Competition held in Bydgoszcz, Poland, she has appeared in recital at Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, and as chamber musician at the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theatre. She has appeared as a soloist with orchestras internationally, including the Ku-Ring-Gai Symphony and Central Coast Symphony in Australia; the Pomeranian Philharmonic in Poland; the Richmond Philharmonic, Academy Philharmonic, and various ensembles in Canada and the United States, such as the Vancouver Philharmonic, West Coast Symphony, Penn’s Woods Festival Orchestra, Williamsport Symphony, and Altoona Symphony Orchestras. In her native Malaysia, she has performed with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra at the Dewan Filharmonik PETRONAS.
Quah has premiered more than two dozen works by living composers and has commissioned works for solo piano by Adeline Wong and Tazul Tajuddin (Malaysia), Parisa Sabet (Iran/Canada), Sidney Boquiren (Philippines), Marisa Hartanto (Indonesia), Emily Koh (Singapore), and Piyawat Louilarpprasert (Thailand). She has recorded music by Tom DeLio and Baljinder Sekhon on Neuma Records and the Blue Griffin label.
Quah currently serves as Assistant Professor of Piano at Penn State University and on the faculty of the Euro Arts Festival (Poland). She recently served as Artist Faculty at the Nanyang International Piano Academy festival (Singapore). She has presented masterclasses at University Sedaya College International and Universiti Teknologi MARA (Malaysia), at Medan Musik School (Indonesia), Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (UK), and for universities throughout the USA. An active adjudicator and presenter, she contributes regularly to the Music Teachers National Association and the College Music Society. She currently serves on the board of the Pennsylvania Music Teachers Association as vice president and co-conference chair.
Quah earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University as well as graduate degrees from the Yale School of Music and The Juilliard School. She received her Bachelor of Music from the Vancouver Academy of Music and completed her high school education at the Australian Institute of Music in Sydney. Quah’s principal teachers included Boris Slutsky, Peter Frankl, Matti Raekallio, Lee Kum Sing, and Snezana Panovska.
Quah is a Yamaha Artist. Please visit www.melodyquah.com for more information.