Professional
Reviews:
Yuking Chou is a very gifted pianist. She not only has fantastic technique, but also has very intense will of artistic expression, which strongly reflects in her music. This is very rare by young artists. Her playing is spontaneous, refreshing and emotional. Her sound and interpretation are like a full palette of colors, which can express music in indescribable ways.
- Alexander Jenner
Professor Emeritus of Piano
University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna/Austria
Ms. Chou is an excellent pianist, an artist with passion. She has great techniques, and an even greater musical sensitivity.
- Sergei Dorensky
Professor of Piano
Moscow Conservatory, Russia
Yuking Chou Brandenburgh is a pianist of exceptional vitality and athletic facility. She shares her music with an audience through her engaging personality and beautiful communicative sound.
- Elisabeth Pridonoff
Professor Emerita of Piano
University of Cincinnati
College-Conservatory of Music, USA
I have had the pleasure of hearing Yuking Chou Brandenburgh as both soloist and collaborator. She is a pianist of major consequence who projects great intensity, emotion, technical command, and deep musical understanding. The performances that I heard were electrifying and resulted in spontaneous standing ovations.
- Eugene Pridonoff
Professor Emeritus of Piano
University of Cincinnati
College-Conservatory of Music, USA
Dr. Yuking Brandenburgh is a dynamo! She teaches with intensity and energy. Yet she has a great laugh and makes you feel warm and comfortable.
- Dr. Michelle Conda
Professor of Piano
Division Head of Keyboard Studies
University of Cincinnati
College-Conservatory of Music, USA
Client Reviews:
Dr. Brandenburgh is everything that I dreamed of for my children's musical education. Aside from being an extraordinarily accomplished pianist, she is a gifted teacher. Dr. Brandenburgh is fun and dynamic, but also has extremely high expectations for her students. We moved to Cincinnati two years ago, at which time my teenager, who had been taking piano lessons since he was 3, began taking lessons from Dr. Brandenburgh. With her guidance, he progressed exponentially. Having studied the Suzuki method for years, his reading ability and knowledge of theory was not as accelerated as his ability to play. Dr. Brandenburgh incorporates theory into her lessons, and in just a short time, my son's knowledge of theory and his ability to sight-read music developed. Dr. Brandenburgh's patience is never ending. She will spend the time necessary for her students to perfect a piece for evaluations and competitions. In fact, under her guidance, my son earned the highest score at the 2018 OMTA piano evaluation.
In addition to her ability to teach advanced students, Dr. Brandenburgh's spirited nature, and patience, translates perfectly for the beginning piano student. My extremely shy 8-year-old began taking lessons from Dr. Brandenburgh a year ago, and has made incredible progress. Dr. Brandenburgh works with beginning students on all aspects important to making a piece shine. Under her tutelage, my daughter earned a blue ribbon at the 2018 OMTA piano evaluation.
Dr. Brandenburgh goes above-and-beyond for her students. She holds "practice recitals" for her students to perform for each other, as a means to help minimize nerves and tension at public performances. As a result, her students perform extraordinarily well, but they also form a camaraderie not typical of other piano studios. We are eternally grateful to Dr. Brandenburgh for enriching our children's lives (and in turn, our lives as well). Thank you, Dr. Brandenburgh!
-Amanda Dorio
Yuking is passionate about music and it is evident in her enthusiastic and energetic approach and teaching techniques. She applies her global experiences and learnings to make the lesson interesting and FUN. She teaches in such a way that really helps me to become a better pianist. I am very fortunate to be a student of someone who has trained and performed all around the world. I look forward to my weekly lesson with Yuking.
-Anne D.
Dr. Yuking Brandenburgh has been our daughter’s piano teacher for the past nine years. During this time, Dr. Brandenburgh has challenged, inspired and coached her to play the piano with passion. Even when our daughter had down days and felt like giving up, Dr. Brandenburgh encouraged her to keep playing. She is flexible and allows our daughter to choose her own music at times to keep her interest. Our daughter is shy. However, Dr. Brandenburgh inspires her to perform solo recitals and participate successfully in local piano evaluations. Dr. Brandenburgh always approaches the lesson with high energy, great expectations and plenty of laughter. Our daughter regards Dr. Brandenburgh not only as a teacher and mentor, but also as a caring friend. Simply put, we have been uniquely blessed by having our daughter study piano with Dr. Brandenburgh.
-Dr. Mike and Carol Sostok
Dr. Yuking Chou Brandenburgh has been teaching my son since he was eight years old. Although it can be challenging at times to keep my son focused and engaged (and seated - haha), she is always kind, gifted, patient, firm, and encouraging. Yuking takes her time...allowing kids to learn at their own pace and simultaneously motivating them to work hard and grow. She understands kids and how to appropriately push them to help them live up to their potential. Yuking even encourages my son to choose some of his own pieces in order to keep him excited about music and engaged in the learning process. Although she is an immensely talented pianist in her own right, some of Yuking's greatest talents are showcased at her studio recitals. This is when we have the opportunity to witness the growth of her many talented students. I recommend Yuking as a piano teacher to anyone in the learning process, young or old. She is a gift to our family!
- Sarah Rezer
“As a performer, Yuking is flawless, superb, excellent, and accomplished. She translates this performance expertise into her teaching, and the results are astounding. The musicianship of her students is a testament to her ability and wealth of knowledge as a teacher. I have learned tremendously from Yuking in just a short time.”
-Missy
Dr. Yuking Brandenburgh is in one word, fantastic! I knew my 10-year old daughter needed more challenging songs, a more structured lesson plan, and more opportunities to perform in public. Yuking is the hardest-working woman in the piano lesson business. She encourages her students to push themselves to improve and try new things, she is wonderful with children and teens of all ages, including adults. We're lucky to be at CCM, but even more so with Yuking.
- S. R.
Dr. Brandenburgh is a very focused teacher with a positive attitude. She always encourages her students to dig deep and do their best. She shares her experiences both as a performer and as a student, and these stories are inspirational to young pianists. Our young pianist has improved not only technically, but also tonally and musically. We’re very happy with Dr. Brandenburgh’s teaching.
-A. C.
Dr. Brandenburgh is truly a talented pianist and teacher. My son enjoys the music and improved not just in piano but also in patience and discipline. She is such a delightful teacher that myself also started playing piano with her guidance.
-C. H.
Dr. Brandenburgh is an amazing piano teacher. Her talent, enthusiasm, and teaching skills have helped my son move from "messing around on the keyboard" to being asked to play for his high school's all-school liturgies.
-Barbara David
Dr. Brandenburgh is a very professional and patient piano instructor. Our daughter enjoys learning piano and chatting with Dr. Brandenburgh about non piano related topics. Dr. Brandenburgh is also a good performer and we look forward to our daughter learning a lot of piano skills in her classes. We are very thankful and appreciate all the dedication and hard work Dr. Brandenburgh puts into teaching her students.
-Harshal Sanghani
Dr. Brandenburgh is one of those rare individuals who is a gifted musician who can share her deep knowledge of music with her students. I started taking piano lessons after I retired and I wasn’t really sure if I would be able to become competent enough to enjoy playing this late in life. I am finding, with Dr. Brandenburgh’s patient assistance, that I can. Studying with Dr. Brandenburgh enriches my life. I learn something new at every lesson, I appreciate and understand music more and my practice sessions are effective and interesting.
-Teresa Gilligan
Miss Yuking is a great piano teacher because she pushes me to practice and she gives me songs that are difficult. She has faith in me and encourages me to do the work in order to perform the song well even when she knows it's hard. I also enjoy the opportunity to choose songs I like.
- Ethan Rezer, age 12
Dr. Yuking Chou Brandenburgh has taught me many useful techniques over the years that have taken my pianistic skills to new heights. Her love for teaching is evident in every lesson, and it fosters a passion for the piano in her students as well… With the guidance of her expertise, I’ve been able to place at first prizes at a couple of international competitions, and the Tri-State Piano Concerto Competition. I’m very lucky to be one of Dr. Brandenburgh’s students.
- Francesca Harper
Dr. Yuking Chou Brandenburgh is a gifted musician and teacher with superb musicianship and technique. I started taking piano lessons at the onset of the Covid pandemic and our lessons were on-line. At the onset, I was skeptical about the effectiveness and depth of on-line instruction. I quickly adapted, and thrived, all thanks to Dr. Chou’s ease, effectiveness, and professionalism with on-line teaching. Now post Covid, our in-person lessons are a productive mix of piano pedagogy, technique, sight reading, and music theory. I’m not the best student so I appreciate Dr. Chou’s patience and sense of humor. With her insights, hands-on instruction, and encouragement I know I’m making steady progress.
- Thomas C. Umfrid Professor Emeritus of Stage Design University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
Under her guidance, our child has achieved remarkable milestones we never anticipated, such as winning awards at international competitions and receiving an invitation to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Throughout her teaching, Yuking provides positive guidance to the students, imparting not only extensive music theory but also assisting in navigating any challenges that may arise during the learning process. Yuking demonstrates an steadfast sense of responsibility, attentiveness, and dedication…
- C. G.
Dr. Yuking Chou Brandenburgh is my daughter’s first piano teacher and has been teaching my daughter for more than 3 years. We feel so lucky to have Yuking guide my daughter in her music journey. Yuking is passionate, kind and encouraging. We’re not afraid of any difficulties we encounter in learning piano as Yuking will always be there to help and provide valuable suggestions to us. She understands kids and how to appropriately push them to help them live up to their potential. I couldn’t believe my daughter has improved so much in these 3 years, and the impact she got from Yuking to really like and enjoy classic music. She also won an international piano competition, and is invited to have her debut in Carnegie Hall NYC in 2024. Dr Yuking Chou Brandenburgh is a wonderful teacher and is a gift to our family!
- Jiayan Wang
Meeting Dr. Brandenburgh is the best thing happened to my twin boys ! Since we met Dr Brandenburgh, my boys started winning the first place in well known local, regional, and international piano competitions that they only had previously won only the second or third place. One my sons made his debut piano performance at Carnegie Hall in NYC earlier this year thanks to total dedication of Dr Brandenburgh.
I truly believe Dr Brandenburgh has every component of a perfect teacher !
Her background as a pianist and a teacher is unique given her experience in Europe, China, and North America. Most of all Dr Brandenburgh is an amazing human being, she’s kind to everyone, and she’s diligent every time.
- Ruvini A.