Biography

Bethany J. Wang, a native of Sacramento, California, began her piano studies officially at the age of four, though her interested was discovered a year earlier with the gift of her first piano from her grandparents, which prompted a desire in her to recreate songs from Disney’s “The Little Mermaid.”   Since then, Ms. Wang has been the winner at numerous competitions including the U.S. Open Music Competition, the Chinese-American Piano Competition, the Open Russian Piano Competition and the Music Teacher’s Association of California’s piano competitions.  She was also a winner at the Menuhin-Dowling Piano Competition, and the American Beethoven Society’s Young Pianist Competition.  In 2005, Bethany was awarded first place at the Ross McKee Piano Competition, and the San Francisco Young Pianist Competition, and she also took first place at the 2005 California Youth Symphony Concerto Competition.  In November of the same year, she performed Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the California Youth Symphony in two concerts under the baton of Maestro Leo Eylar.  In 2006 Ms. Wang won First Prize at the Fremont Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition and performed with them in March 2007 to a full house. Ms. Wang has often been invited to perform in concerts such as the Jr. Bach at Carmel Concert, and the Bay Area Steinway Society’s Young Artists Concert, for which she gained critical praise for her “remarkable poise” and “subtleties of touch and phrasing.”  (Peninsula Reviews)  She has also performed many solo concerts around the Bay Area, such as benefit concerts for the Fremont Symphony Guild.  She has also been asked to participate in the world premier of several new compositions, including Steven Stucky’s Meditation for Clarinet and Piano (2004), and William Bolcom’s Nine New Bagatelles (2006).  Throughout her musical career, Ms. Wang has had the privilege of working with many great pianists, such as Ian Hobson, Marvin Blickenstaff, Leon Fleischer, and Jonathan Biss.  Her previous musical studies include chamber music at the Fair Banks School of Performing Arts in Del Mar, and the Sequoia Chamber Music Camp at Humbolt University, as well as studying with Dr. Jed Galant of Newark, Ms. Tatiana Stignev of Del Mar, Ms. Kai Chi Zhu of Saratoga, and Ms. Sylvia Hsieh of Fair Oaks. Ms. Wang holds a Masters of Music degree in Piano Performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she had the opportunity to study solo performance with Dr. Sharon Mann, and chamber music performance with Yoshikazu Nagai.  She keeps herself busy by giving concerts around the Bay Area as a member of the Music Teachers’ Association of California’s Young Artist Guild, to which she was inducted in 2005, and also frequently gives private performances as both a solo pianist as well as a collaborative artist.   Studies aside, Ms. Wang is also an active volunteer in her community and she is very dedicated to her private teaching studio.