2019 Performers

Dr. Hyunju Hwang


Hyunju Hwang is an award-winning organist who has performed throughout the North America, Asia, and Europe, including Westminster Abbey, Coventry Cathedral, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, and the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Dr. Hwang was born in Seoul, South Korea, and received her Bachelor of Music in Organ Performance from Yonsei University in Seoul, studying with 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 the esteemed Dr. Ladd Thomas and Cherry Rhodes with a full scholarship.

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 Organist at St. Francis Episcopal Church in Palos Verdes Estates, California, and a Collaborative Artist at the University of Redlands in Redlands, California. Previously, she was 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.