Monica Chew

Piano

San Francisco, CA
16 Played at 16 groupmuses!

Monica Chew

Piano

About

Monica Chew is an Oakland pianist. In 2017 she released her first solo album, Tender and Strange, featuring works by Bartók, Janáček, Messiaen, Takemitsu, and Scriabin. A “gifted player with an affinity for deeply sensitive expression” (Whole Note, June/July/August 2018), her playing is “wonderfully delicate, like tissue” (International Pianist, July/August 2018). She started composing in 2017 and couldn’t be happier about it. She premiered her first songs for soprano and piano in 2018 and completed her first commission for Left Coast Chamber Ensemble’s Intersection 2019 workshop. She loves playing chamber music and received a Zellerbach Family Foundation award for her work with Minsky Duo, which she co-founded in 2016. Prior to 2015, she neglected piano for nearly a decade to work as a principal software engineer on security and privacy at Mozilla and Google after receiving her Master of Music from SF Conservatory of Music and a PhD in computer science from UC Berkeley.

Music

Here are some recitals I played since 2016.

Tender and Strange
Scriabin, Preludes, op. 16
Bartok, Etudes, op. 18
Janacek, In the Mists
Takemitsu, Rain Tree Sketches
Messiaen, Le Baiser de l'Enfant-Jesus
Scriabin, Piano Sonata no. 4

Schumann Storytime
Robert Schumann, Gesaenge der Fruehe, op. 133
Clara Schumann, Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, op. 20
Brahms, Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, op. 9
Robert Schumann, Ghost Variations, op. posth

Fugue This!
J. S. Bach, Prelude and Fugue No. 9 in E Major, BWV 878
Bach, Prelude and Fugue No. 4 in C-sharp Minor, BWV 849
W. A. Mozart, Fantasy and Fugue in C Major, K. 394
Clara Schumann, Prelude and Fugue in B-flat Major, Op. 16 No. 2
C. Schumann, Prelude and Fugue in G Minor, Op. 16 No. 1
Dmitri Shostakovich, Prelude and Fugue in D-flat Major, Op. 87 No. 15
Shostakovich, Prelude and Fugue in B-flat Minor, Op. 87 No. 16
Nikolai Kapustin, Prelude and Fugue in C Major and E minor, Op. 82, no 1 an 10

Videos

Audio

Programs

Host one of these programs in your space!

Past groupmuses (16)

  • West Seattle [North Admiral District] Groupmuse

    Saturday, Aug 5, 2023 6:00 PM PDT

    • Neighborhood: North Admiral, Seattle
    • Composers: Shostakovich, Uzoigwe, Gebru, Erkin
    • Instruments: piano
    • Price: $5 to reserve, $20+ at event

    Happened about 1 year ago

  • Uriah’s groupmuse piano trio

    Friday, May 19, 2023 7:00 PM PDT

    • Neighborhood: Lincoln Highlands, Oakland
    • Composers: Haydn, Beethoven, Arensky
    • Instruments: Piano Trio
    • Price: $5 to reserve, $20+ at event

    Happened over 1 year ago

  • Alisa Rose and Monica Chew - Violin and Piano

    Sunday, May 7, 2023 7:30 PM PDT

    • Neighborhood: Glenview, Oakland
    • Composers: Schoenfield, Pärt, Messiaen, Chew, Rose
    • Instruments: Violin and PIano
    • Price: $5 to reserve, $20+ at event

    Happened over 1 year ago

  • Parnassus Heights/Cole Valley concert with violinist, Alisa Rose and pianist, Monica Chew

    Saturday, Apr 22, 2023 7:00 PM PDT

    • Neighborhood: Cole Valley, SF
    • Composers: Schoenfield, Messiaen, Frank, Chew, Rose
    • Instruments: Violin and PIano
    • Price: $5 to reserve, $20+ at event

    Happened over 1 year ago

  • Echoes of Dance: Classical / Romantic / Impressionist / Tango

    Sunday, Mar 5, 2023 2:00 PM PST

    • Neighborhood: Cathedral Hill, SF
    • Composers: Dvorak, Chopin, Piazzolla, Messiaen
    • Instruments: Violin, Piano
    • Price: $5 to reserve, $20+ at event

    Happened over 1 year ago

  • Centuries of Sound: Piano Extravaganza

    Sunday, Sep 25, 2022 2:00 PM PDT

    • Neighborhood: Cathedral Hill, SF
    • Composers: Ravel, Chopin, Armer, Beach, Chew
    • Instruments: Four Pianists
    • Price: $5 to reserve, $25+ at event

    Happened about 2 years ago

  • Monica Chew Plays Piano in Albany!

    Saturday, Nov 17, 2018 4:30 PM PST

    • Neighborhood: Albany Hill
    • Composers: Schumann, Bach, Debussy, Bartok
    • Instruments: Piano
    • Price: $5 to reserve, $20+ at event

    Happened almost 6 years ago

  • Bach, Goldberg Variations Piano Concert in Redwood Heights

    Friday, Aug 31, 2018 7:30 PM PDT

    • Neighborhood: Lincoln Highlands, Oakland
    • Composers: Bach
    • Instruments: Solo piano
    • Price: $5 to reserve, $20+ at event

    Happened about 6 years ago

  • Monica Chew plays the Goldberg Variations

    Wednesday, Aug 22, 2018 7:30 PM PDT

    • Neighborhood: Southwest Berkeley, Berkeley
    • Composers: J. S. Bach
    • Instruments: piano
    • Price: $5 to reserve, $20+ at event

    Happened about 6 years ago

  • Sunday 'n the hood with Ludwig

    Sunday, Jan 28, 2018 3:30 PM PST

    • Neighborhood: Southwest Berkeley, Berkeley
    • Composers: Beethoven, Liszt, Schubert
    • Instruments: piano
    • Price: $5 to reserve, $20+ at event

    Happened over 6 years ago

  • Monica Chew Plays Beethoven's Diabelli Variations

    Saturday, Jan 6, 2018 3:00 PM PST

    • Neighborhood: Albany hill
    • Composers: Beethoven
    • Instruments: Piano
    • Price: $5 to reserve, $20+ at event

    Happened almost 7 years ago

  • Minsky Duo goes to Russia

    Wednesday, Nov 2, 2016 7:30 PM PDT

    • Neighborhood: Southwest Berkeley, Berkeley
    • Price: $5 to reserve, $20+ at event

    Happened almost 8 years ago

  • Minsky Duo goes to Russia

    Friday, Oct 28, 2016 7:30 PM PDT

    • Neighborhood: Overhill/Glorietta, Orinda
    • Price: $5 to reserve, $20+ at event

    Happened almost 8 years ago

  • Minsky Duo: From Norway to Russia

    Saturday, Sep 10, 2016 3:00 PM PDT

    • Neighborhood: Kensington, CA
    • Price: $5 to reserve, $20+ at event

    Happened about 8 years ago

  • Minsky Duo

    Wednesday, May 25, 2016 7:30 PM PDT

    • Neighborhood: Southwest Berkeley, Berkeley
    • Price: $5 to reserve, $20+ at event

    Happened over 8 years ago

  • A Romantic Evening with Robert Schumann and his Loves

    Saturday, Feb 13, 2016 7:30 PM PST

    • Neighborhood: Kensington, CA
    • Price: $5 to reserve, $20+ at event

    Happened over 8 years ago