Affiliate Artist of Collaborative Piano
Indonesian-born pianist and educator Isabella Jie currently serves as Affiliate Artist and Coordinator of Collaborative Piano at the ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú. She is also on the faculty at Tacoma Community College and maintains a thriving private studio in Gig Harbor, WA, where her students have won top prizes in local and regional competitions. An active member of the Washington State Music Teachers Association, she is frequently invited to adjudicate competitions, including the MTNA Performance Competition, WMEA Piano Solo and Ensemble Contests, Performing Arts of the Eastside in Bellevue, the Indonesia International Young Musician Awards, and the ORMTA Piano Competition in Canada.
In March 2025, Isabella released her debut solo piano album, Vibrant, performing music by composer Bruce Stark under NAVONA Records. As a soloist, she has performed with orchestras including the Kenwood Symphony Orchestra and the Tacoma Community College Orchestra, and will appear with the Seattle Wind Symphony in the 2025–26 season. She has also performed at venues such as the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in St. Paul, MN, and the Living Arts Center in Mississauga, ON.
During her doctoral studies at the University of Minnesota, Isabella studied under Alexander Braginsky and won several major competitions, including the 18th Annual Masters Concerto and Aria Competition with the Kenwood Symphony Orchestra, the Marvin O. Mechelke Piano Competition, and multiple prizes at the Schubert Club Piano Competition.
She earned both her Master of Music and Performer’s Diploma degrees from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music on a full academic scholarship, studying with Edward Auer and Shigeoka Neriki. At IU, she also taught piano classes to music and non-music majors, and worked in the Young Pianist Program with Dr. Karen Taylor. Isabella completed her Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance at the University of Toronto, graduating with the Most Meritorious Award and the Alexander Kinghorn Scholarship for Gifted Students.
Isabella began piano lessons at the age of three and gave her first public performance at five. She went on to win numerous competitions in Indonesia before moving to Canada at age fourteen to study with Leon Karan and attend Columbia International College.