Dr. Estrella Hong

Dr. Estrella Hong joined the Academy as an adjunct faculty member at George Mason University, teaching Keyboard Skills and Oral/Musical Communication (MUSI 251).

Dr. Hong’s musical journey began in her native Korea when she was three years old. When her family moved to Argentina, she studied piano with Prof. Maria Teresa Criscuolo at the Carlos Lopez Buchardo National Conservatory of Music in Buenos Aires. She performed in the Escuela de Arte San Telmo, where she was interviewed by Cable Vision and recorded Maurice Ravel’s “Miroirs” for cable channel TV. She was also the winner of the Young Artist Piano competition of Fundación Jrimian.

Dr. Hong has been fascinated with both music and science throughout her life. After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from the University of California at Los Angeles, she was chosen for collaborative research at Harvard University in the Whitesides Research Group of the Chemistry Department. Her outstanding work at Harvard resulted in three patents.

During her studies at Mason, Dr. Hong performed as a solo pianist for the annual Grand Piano Celebration concerts, Arts By George celebrations, and School of Music Honors Recitals in 2017 and 2019. She was also selected as a winner of the Mason Concerto Competition in 2016 and performed as a piano soloist with the Mason Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Dr. Dennis Layendecker. She performed at the 2017 Spotlight on the Arts Performance at Old Town Hall in Fairfax and for the Asian-American Society concert on the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center. Additionally, Dr. Hong performed as a piano soloist for Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy with the Mason University Singers, Chorale, and Symphony Orchestra in 2019 for A Musical Feast celebratory concert in Mason’s Center for the Arts.

In addition to her Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from UCLA, Dr. Hong has also earned three degrees in music from George Mason University as a piano student of Dr. Linda Monson. These degrees include a Bachelor of Arts in Music (2016), Master of Music in Piano Performance (2017), and Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance (2020). Her doctoral dissertation was entitled “Musical Geometry of Chords and Melodies based on Atomic and Molecular Models.” While graduating Summa Cum Laude, Dr. Hong was honored with Outstanding Achievement Awards in both Graduate Academic Studies and Graduate Performance. In addition to her classical piano performances, Dr. Hong performs actively with The Trifilio Tango Music Ensemble. She is a fluent speaker of English, Spanish, and Korean.