PD Soros Fellow Hilda Huang: A Voice Across Centuries

Opportunity Details

Fellow Highlights and News

• Fellow Highlights

PD Soros Fellow Hilda Huang: A Voice Across Centuries

September 8, 2026

Photograph of Hilda Huang by Ryan Brandenberg.

Second Prize, MA Competition 2026

2019 Paul & Daisy Soros Fellow Hilda Huang won second prize in one of the most prestigious prizes in historical performance, the 2026 MA Harpsichord Competition.

Her second-prize win at this year’s MA Competition, judged by an elite international panel including Jean Rondeau and Richard Egarr, marks another milestone in an already extraordinary career. But what makes Hilda’s achievement distinctive isn’t just the prize itself. It’s the path that brought her here—a path that defies the conventional boundaries between classical and historical performance.

At eight years old, Hilda entered the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Preparatory Division as its first-ever harpsichord student. She was simultaneously pursuing piano studies, which was an unusual combination that would become the defining feature of her artistic identity.

This early exposure to both the modern piano and the harpsichord’s voice set her on what she describes as “an unusual artistic path.” That path led her to win the Leipzig International Bach Competition in 2014, in the piano division, establishing her as an exceptional performer of Baroque music on the modern keyboard.

Now, with her second-prize finish at Bruges, perhaps the world’s most significant harpsichord competitions, Hilda is one of the few artists who have won top prizes playing both modern piano and harpsichord.

“I’m one of the few artists performing publicly at the international level on both modern piano and harpsichord,” Hilda recently reflected. “Part of my artistic mission is to break the barriers between classical and historical performance.”

Beyond being a professional achievement, Hilda’s work as a dual instrumentalist represents a philosophical stance: that the music itself, whether approached through a Steinway or a Ruckers, matters more than the boundaries that often separate performers and repertoire into siloed traditions.

The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans supported Hilda’s doctoral studies at Juilliard. “It [the Fellowship] gave me the financial freedom and confidence to authentically pursue my musical interests and follow them in whichever direction they would lead me,” Hilda said. Through the Fellowship’s support, she was able to pursue simultaneous degrees: a DMA in solo piano at Juilliard while also studying harpsichord as a friend of the Historical Performance Department.

Writing her essays for the PD Soros Fellowship, which asked her to consider her own immigrant experience and place in music, proved transformative. She found herself examining the same questions when preparing for the Bruges competition: What does it mean to approach interpretive traditions as an outsider?

“Part of my artistic mission is to break the barriers between classical and historical performance.”

Hilda Huang, 2019 Paul & Daisy Soros Fellow

Photograph of Hilda Huang by Bruce Cocet.

“I grew up feeling like an outsider to classical music’s longstanding interpretive traditions,” Hilda explained. “For me, studying the harpsichord is a deeply personal way to enter into the world of historical performance. It was a way to engage with my past and my identity as a musician.”

At the heart of Hilda’s artistic vision is a conviction about representation and voice. “All our voices matter, precisely because of our various backgrounds and the many-layered journeys we take to get to where we are today,” she explained. “What we learn along the way is the knowledge that I feel most confident and eager to share with others.” By succeeding at the highest levels across two distinct keyboard traditions, Hilda is working to demonstrate that there isn’t one “right way” to interpret this music.

“Artistic freedom is the most precious thing,” Hilda said. “It results in unexpected and priceless progress.”

Her second-prize win at the 2026 MA Competition suggests that progress is far from finished. ■

Featured Fellows

Markella Zanni

Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Markella Zanni is the child of immigrants from Greece. Fellowship awarded in 2002 to support work towards an MD in Medicine at Harvard University

Anita Yang Hsu

Senior Vice President and General Counsel, MBK Real Estate Companies

Anita Yang Hsu is an immigrant from Taiwan. Fellowship awarded in 1998 to support work towards a JD in Law at University of California, Berkeley

Kao Kalia Yang

Activist & Professor, Author

Kao Kalia Yang is an immigrant from Thailand. Fellowship awarded in 2003 to support work towards an MFA in Creative Writing at Columbia University

Richard Vidal

Owner & CEO, Newvida Preserve & Cascada Farm LLC

Richard Vidal is the child of immigrants from Cuba. Fellowship awarded in 2003 to support work towards an MD in Medicine at University of Pennsylvania

Share this page

Share on LinkedIn

Share on Facebook

Share on X

Email this Page

Filed under:

• Fellow Highlights
• Music

Keep Exploring

• Fellow Highlights

PD Soros Fellow Hilda Huang: A Voice Across Centuries

Read more: PD Soros Fellow Hilda Huang: A Voice Across Centuries

• Applicant Information
• Fellow Highlights
• Music

Musicians: Applying for the PD Soros Fellowship

Read more: Musicians: Applying for the PD Soros Fellowship

• Applicant Information

Writers: Applying for the PD Soros Fellowship

Read more: Writers: Applying for the PD Soros Fellowship

• Fellow Highlights

Q&A: JD Student Ananya Agustin Malhotra Looks Back At The Fellowship

Read more: Q&A: JD Student Ananya Agustin Malhotra Looks Back At The Fellowship

Discovered from a configured public RSS/Atom feed. Feed-provided descriptive content was normalized safely; incomplete or aggregator-only records remain review-controlled until the official page is verified.