Society of Peabody Alumni
Citation for the Johns Hopkins University Alumni Association Outstanding Recent Graduate Award
Presented to
Meng Su
January 29, 2018
Meng Su, the Johns Hopkins University Outstanding Recent Graduate Award celebrates exceptional achievement. With it we honor the fact that you have gained international acclaim and built an impressive career as a world-class musician.
You have been playing guitar since the age of five. At an early age, you won a multitude of competitions, including the Vienna Youth Guitar Competition, the Tokyo International Guitar Competition, the 1st Christopher Parkening Young Guitarist Competition, and the Iserlohn International Guitar Competition. You were the first guitarist to have won both the youth and the main Parkening Competition, and were the first female guitarist to both make it to the final round of the main competition and win the Gold Medal.
In 2006, you came to Peabody to study with Manuel Barrueco, who has described you as “one of the greatest talents in the world right now.” In your time at Peabody, you earned a Performer’s Certificate, Graduate Performance Diplomas in guitar and chamber music, and a Master of Music degree.
Your varied recordings have been received with glowing praise. From your debut CD with Yameng Wang as the Beijing Guitar Duo to your recent solo premier CD, you have made an impression on the public.
You also maintain a busy international performance schedule. You gave your Carnegie Hall debut with the Beijing Guitar Duo in 2010, launching the duo’s international concert career. As a duo, you also joined Manuel Barrueco on stage and in an acclaimed recording. You made your solo recital debut in New York last fall, and have collaborated with many distinguished orchestras including the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Adelaide Symphony, and most recently, the China Philharmonic. Ever on the move, your near future holds engagements in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, Denmark, Poland, Serbia, China, and the United States.
And even with such a busy performance life, you have chosen to generously share your knowledge with the next generation of guitarists, having recently joined the faculty of both the Hong Kong Academy of the Performing Arts and St. Mary’s College of Maryland.
Meng Su, we are proud of you and all your accomplishments, and look forward to sharing your future successes. On behalf of The Johns Hopkins University Alumni Association, I am honored to confer upon you the Outstanding Recent Graduate Award.