Associate Professor
Email
E.L. Hamm Fine Arts Building, room 531
757-823-8582
Pianist Susie Ha is an active soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral keyboardist throughout the United States. She has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Interlochen Center for the Arts, the Intercollegiate Music Association, the World Piano Conference, the College Music Society, and the National GP3 Conference. Her solo performances have included concerto appearances with the Mason Symphony Orchestra of Michigan, the Shenandoah Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, the New River Valley Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Eastern Shore, and the James Madison University Symphony Orchestra. Other performance engagements include, but are not limited to, "Music and Meaning: Views from the 21st Century," the Blue Lake Arts Festival, Accent 12, the Southeastern Composers League in Louisiana, violin and piano recitals with the associate concertmaster of the Kimpo Philharmonic Orchestra of Korea, the Investiture of the 28th President of the University of Cincinnati, the Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra, New Music Norfolk, Symphonicity, the Neon Festival of Norfolk’s Arts District, the Cantabile Project of Norfolk, and the Ferrara Chamber Music Festival, among others. In Hampton Roads, she frequently performs with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra as a guest keyboardist in Classics, Pops, outdoor, family, and live movie concerts. With Virginia Opera, she participated in a state tour with a program entitled “The Freedom” in celebration of Black History Month. Ha has won numerous prizes in various competitions. Some of the competitions she was recognized include the American Protégé International Piano Competition, The Art of Piano Liszt Competition, Music Teachers National Association competitions, and the Virginia Music Teachers Association Concerto Competitions.
As an arts advocate, Ha has served as the Coordinator of the Virginia Music Teachers Association’s Annual Concerto Competition. While residing in greater Cincinnati, she revived the Challenging Performances Series, which provided performance opportunities for young aspiring musicians, and served as its Artistic Director. Around the same time, she co-founded the Glendale Fine Music concert series, which targeted the local community, and served as a co-Director. She is highly sought after as an adjudicator and has served as a judge for countless competitions. Additionally, she is an official rater for the AP Music Theory Exams by ETS.
Dr. Ha completed her D.M.A. and M.M. in Piano Performance at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, studying with Awadagin Pratt. Her B.M. in Piano Performance with honors is from James Madison University, where she was one of the few students in the university's history to win the Concerto Competition twice as an undergraduate student. She also completed additional studies at the Brevard Music Camp on a full scholarship, serving as a teaching assistant for the program, and attended the Chautauqua Institute on a full scholarship.
At Norfolk State University, Dr. Ha currently is an Associate Professor of Music/Piano. In 2014, she was appointed Coordinator of Piano to revitalize NSU’s piano program. Since then, her students have flourished as professional musicians, with former students becoming university faculty, professional gig musicians, public school teachers, specialists in renowned arts organizations, and more. Recently, one of her students won a $10,000 "Your Future is Now" Scholarship sponsored by the Recording Academy’s Black Music Collective and Amazon Music and was recognized at the 2024 GRAMMYs. Through Dr. Ha's professional network, the Music Division at NSU has been able to host concerts, masterclasses, and lectures by many renowned musicians, including several internationally known artists. Recently, she completed a three-year term as Chair of the Department of Visual and Performing Arts, during which she authored several grants, bringing over $300,000 to the University. Her teaching experiences outside NSU include piano instruction at Blue Lake Arts Center, Lincoln University, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and the Communiversity Program at the University of Cincinnati.
EDUCATION
B.M. Piano Performance, James Madison University
M.M. Piano Performance, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
D.M.A. Piano Performance, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
COURSES AT NSU
Applied Piano
Collaborative Piano
Harmony & Keyboard
Piano Literature
Piano Pedagogy