Eric Tran, pianist-composer and teacher, graduated from Stanford University and received his MM from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. After his piano duo with Nathan Cheung—infamously known as “Happy Dog Duo”—won 1st prize and the Abild American Music Award at the Ellis Duo Piano Competition, he went on a 2-year performance tour of the US, which included concerts at the Chautauqua Institution and the Pleyel Double Grand Piano (Bettendorf, IA). Tran earned his DMA with Christopher Taylor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he also served as lecturer.

     Dr. Tran has performed in Italy, Korea, China, Canada, and in 20 US states. He won awards from the Wideman International Piano Competition, the American Prize, and invitations to the US Chopin National and Virginia Waring International. Tran was selected for a Gilmore Fellowship and has performed at PianoTexas, Aspen, and Art of the Piano, working with Jonathan Biss, Robert Levin, Leonard Slatkin, and Olga Kern. Tran was a guest pianist in Maria João Pires' first-ever Partitura Project in the US where he worked with and performed alongside her.

     Tran’s compositions have been performed across the US, including by the St. Lawrence String Quartet, Friction Quartet, and Avita Duo. The SF Examiner reviewed his String Quartet as having “a tendency to thwart the usual expectations… fascinating”. It can be heard on Tran’s album “Water” along with other original works.

     Tran has given masterclasses and workshops for the Indiana University Young Pianists program and the National Federation of Music Clubs Conference. His scholarly edition of the Chopin Barcarolle Op. 60 has been advocated for by Kevin Kenner, and it has been downloaded more than 5000 times. Tran’s students have won prizes for piano and composition and have gone on to pursue degrees at UC Berkeley, UCLA, Berklee, and UW-Madison.

     He studied with pianists Sharon Mann, Thomas Schultz, and Christopher Taylor and composers Jaroslaw Kapuscinski and Laura Schwendinger. Tran is also a youth chess coach. He lives in Madison, WI with his wife Emily and dog Alvin.