Heralded by Steinway & Sons for “making classical music exciting and accessible for the masses,” pianist George Ko has encapsulated audiences worldwide with his classical improvisations on the piano, blending Chopin-like virtuosity with the vast soundscapes of cinema. He has been presented at Carnegie Hall 9 times and is a repeat keynote performer for TEDx. George is engaged in a 20-city tour and has given over 200 digital concerts in the past two years. His performances have been broadcasted on ABC and featured in music festivals in Italy, Germany, Luxembourg, and China. As a recording artist, his piano compositions have appeared in films at the Tribeca Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, and Netflix.

George improvises all the songs at his concerts, a practice almost non-existent in the traditional classical world. Each original or cover performed is never the same in a live performance. He often takes daring requests from the audience, including their Spotify favorites, to a custom song inspired by their current mood in real-time.

As a composer, George developed his artistry at Harvard University, receiving his bachelor’s in music with honors. There, George premiered his first composition with the Grammy award-winning Parker Quartet. For his original, “Nectarines,” George received the Gold Prize for Instrumental from the WAM Awards amongst a pool of 5000 composers. George is also an active film composer, often collaborating with multi-platinum and Emmy-nominated producer Dan the Automator. Together, they composed the piano score for the Salt-N-Pepa Biopic on Lifetime in 2021. George’s music can also be heard on records by Foster the People and Handsome Boy Modeling School.

George has given inaugural concerts for the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Bowers Museum, and the Fogg Museum. He also performed at the request of President Joe Biden, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Senator Barbara Boxer. In recognition of his artistic talent, Harvard University awarded George the David McCord Prize. He is also a 5-time laureate of the Bradshaw and Buono International Piano Competition. George also guest lectured at Harvard, the MIT Media Lab, the Berklee College of Music, the Tanglewood Institute of Music, and the viral platform tonebase. George is also a repeat conference artist performer for DoorDash, Amwell, and Oceana.

Currently, George resides in Los Angeles, California. His music is distributed independently on all streaming platforms. George is also a member of the Society of Composers and Lyricists and ASCAP. While not playing the piano, you can find George walking around taking photos of food just before devouring it. He is an avid coffee pour-over enthusiast and collector of Asian American art. French and Japanese boutique Maison Kitsuné outfits George for all his concert wear. George is represented by Polyphony Arts in Europe and is on the SENSE label. George is a Young Steinway Artist.

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Photos by Anna Webber