Janet Kao

Pianist Janet Kao, a native of Taiwan, is an accomplished musician with extensive experience as a solo pianist, vocal/instrumental collaborator, and an opera coach. She has performed on many stages including Alice Tully Hall in New York City, Harris Concert Hall in Aspen, Preston Bradley Hall in Chicago, National Concert Hall of Taiwan.  She has been invited to participate in several summer music festivals including Bowdoin Music Festival, the Yellow Barn Chamber Music Festival, and the Music Academy of the West.  She has served as a staff accompanist at the Aspen Music Festival, as a staff coach at Opera in the Ozarks, Arkansas and the American Institute of Musical Arts in Graz, Austria.

She has received teaching fellowships from the Julliard School and the USC Thornton Opera, working closely with renowned conductors, Judith Clurman and Brent McMunn. Her interests in contemporary music have led her to collaborate on new operas including Miss Lonelyhearts by Lowell Liebermann and Powder Her face by Thomas Adès. In addition to opera, she has premiered many contemporary chamber works with the New Juilliard Ensemble, under the baton of Joel Sachs.

Janet received her Bachelor and Master of Music degree in Piano Performance from the Peabody Conservatory with pianist Robert McDonald, and a Graduate Certificate in Collaborative Piano from the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Jonathan Feldman and Brian Zeger.  She completed the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Southern California in Keyboard Collaborative Arts in 2009 under Alan Smith and was awarded Gwendolyn Koldofsky Scholarship Award for three consecutive years. Dr. Kao is currently an adjunct professor and a vocal coach at Fullerton College and Chapman University.