Biography

“Prodigiously talented–with technique to burn”
-Lani Spahr

Since his solo debuts at Carnegie Hall (Weill Recital Hall) and the Kosciuszko Foundation in New York in 2009, Jim-Isaac Chua has delighted audiences in the USA, Canada, Poland, France, Italy, Austria, Myanmar, Indonesia, and the Philippines. He is regarded by music critics as having “outstanding pianistic mastery and artistry of the most outstanding and demanding literature which seem to reach the limit of pianistic abilities”. This has resulted in him being awarded in several international competitions and his concerts being praised as “a feast for the ears” (Szczecin Radio).

During the Filipino-American pianist’s 2023-2024 season, he performed across the USA, Poland, France, Austria, and the Philippines in over 40 different halls including Three-Rivers Convention Center, Krzysztofory Palace (Fontana Hall), Pacific Maritime Heritage Center, Polish Cultural Center in Seattle, Józef Świder Concert Hall, Kimbrough Concert Hall, Bing Crosby Theater, Gesellschaft für Musiktheater, Wiener-Krakauer Kultur Gesellschaft, CSI Fine Arts Center, Rodelsa Hall, and Fernan Cebu Press Center where the Cebu Arts Society wrote: “[Chua] gifted us with one of the most beautiful piano performance we have ever seen.” His passion for using concerts to benefit non-profit organizations like Grace Clinic, Habitat for Humanity, and The Arc Foundation has also resulted in him being featured on several TV and radio interviews; he has notably been featured regularly on the cover of numerous newspapers across Oregon (The Nugget, Go! Eastern Oregon, The Times Journal, and Central Oregon Daily.) Over the last two years, his concerts have raised over $200,000 USD for humanitarian organizations.

Chua currently resides in Poland where he has regularly performed across the country: (Warsaw (Sala Koncertowa UMFC), Kraków (Sala Koncertowa PSM im. Żeleńskiego, Muzeum Krakowa - Pałac Krzysztofory), Katowice (MDK “Koszutka”, Sala Koncertowa AM im. Karola Szymanowskiego, Miasto Ogrodów - Instytucja Kultury im. Krystyny Bochenek), Rzeszów, Szczecin (Willa Lentza), Sosnowiec (Towarzystwo Muzyczne im. Ignacego Jana Paderewskiego), Jastrzębie-Zdrój (Sala Koncertowa PSM im. prof. Józefa Świdra) and Tarnowskie Góry (Pałac w Rybnej).

Jim-Isaac Chua continues to be mentored and receives artistic direction by Maria Szwajger-Kulakowska after having graduated from the Eastman School of Music (Nelita True), Vancouver Academy of Music (Lee Kum Sing, highest distinction), and the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music (Maria Szwajger-Kulakowska and Zbigniew Raubo). His deep interest in early music has also led him to finish his harpsichord studies (with Marcin Swiatkiewicz) at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music.

jimisaacchua.com