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!
- Musician profile: Monica Chew
- Composers: Shostakovich, Uzoigwe, Gebru, Erkin
- Instruments: piano
- Musician profile: Monica Chew
- Composers: Shostakovich, Uzoigwe, Gebru, Erkin
- Instruments: piano
Past groupmuses (16)
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Wednesday, Nov 2, 2016 7:30 PM PDT
- Neighborhood: Southwest Berkeley, Berkeley
- Price: $5 to reserve, $20+ at event
Happened almost 8 years ago
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Friday, Oct 28, 2016 7:30 PM PDT
- Neighborhood: Overhill/Glorietta, Orinda
- Price: $5 to reserve, $20+ at event
Happened almost 8 years ago
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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
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Wednesday, May 25, 2016 7:30 PM PDT
- Neighborhood: Southwest Berkeley, Berkeley
- Price: $5 to reserve, $20+ at event
Happened over 8 years ago
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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