Athena Deng is a Chinese-Canadian pianist who made her orchestral debut at age 11, performing Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra. She also has appeared as a featured soloist with the National Philharmonic in Washington DC, the Volgograd Philharmonic Orchestra, the Uzbekistan National Symphony Orchestra, and the Richmond Orchestra in British Columbia. Athena has been awarded the first prizes at the Virginia International Piano Competition in 2015 and the Canadian Music Competition in 2017, as well as the third prize at the William Knabe International Piano Competition in 2021. Most recently, she received the second prize and a special award for the best Szymanowski performance at the 68th Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin International Piano Competition in March 2024. An avid chamber musician, she received extensive training in the Young Artist Program at the Cleveland Institute of Music from 2017 to 2020, performing regularly in ensembles and particularly in a duo with her younger sister Corina Deng. They have appeared together in concerts at the ChamberFest Cleveland and the Concours Musical International de Montréal. Athena has recently been selected to participate in the 11th International Masterclass Course for young pianists in Radziejowice, and was awarded scholarships to partake in others such as the Frost Chopin Academy in Miami, Vancouver Chopin Academy, Lake Como Summer Academy, Beijing International Music Festival and Southeastern Piano Festival. Athena is currently studying under Professors Dang Thai Son and Stanislav Ioudenitch at Oberlin College & Conservatory, where she is also pursuing a minor in East Asian Studies.