Hyunju Hwang is an award-winning, classically-trained organist who has performed throughout the United States and Europe, including Westminster Abbey, Coventry Cathedral, Grace Cathedral, and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

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Dr. Hwang was born in Seoul, South Korea, and received her Bachelor of Music in Organ Performance from Yonsei University in Seoul, studying with the esteemed Dr. Myoung-Ja Cho. She then moved to Princeton, New Jersey, to continue her studies at Westminster Choir College. She received her Master of Music (MM) in Organ Performance and Sacred Music from Westminster Choir College, studying with the German organist Stefan Engels.  She next moved to Cleveland, Ohio, to study with the renowned organist Todd Wilson at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she received an Artist Diploma in Organ.  She relocated for the last time to Los Angeles, California, to pursue a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Organ Performance at the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music, studying with Dr. Ladd Thomas and Cherry Rhodes.

 

Dr. Hwang has continued her studies, spending recents summers at the Romantic Organ XXXV International Course in San Sebastian, Spain, and the Smarano International Organ Academy in Smarano, Italy, where she had the opportunity to study with Edoardo Bellotti, Michel Bouvard, William Porter, and Peter van Dijk.  In the past, she attended the International Organ Academy in Haarlem, Netherlands, and studied the harpsichord at the San Francisco Early Music Workshop.

 

Dr. Hwang has received numerous awards and honors.  She won first prize at the John Finley Williams Organ Competition in the United States.  She was a semifinalist at the St. Maurice International Organ Competition in Switzerland as well as at the St. Albans International Organ Competition in England.  While at the Cleveland Institute of Music, she was awarded the Henry Fusner Prize for outstanding achievement, and while at the USC Thornton School of Music, she was awarded the Irene E. Robertson Music Scholarship as well as a departmental award.  Her versatility on keyboard also won her the Greenberg Harpsichord Award from the Early Music Society in San Francisco, California.

 

Dr. Hwang is currently the Principal Organist at The Neighborhood Church in Palos Verdes Estates, California, and a Collabrative Artist at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and Pierce College in Woodland Hills, California.  Previously, she was the the Principal Organist at St. Francis Episcopal Church also in Palos Verdes Estates, and before that, the Principal Organist and Associate Music Director at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Hollywood, California.  Dr. Hwang has taught organ at Shepherd University in Los Angeles, California, and Bethesda University in Anaheim, California.  She is a member of the Long Beach Chapter of the American Guild of Organists.

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Dr. Hwang is a Dean of the American Guild of Organists, Long Beach Chapter, and Director of Organ Encounters of Long Beach 2022.