What happens to a dream deferred? While some people never see their childhood ambitions realized, Chun Ae Choi (Lim), MM ’24, finally achieved at 69 years old what she had been dreaming of since she was a girl. On November 25, 2024, Choi took the stage at one of the most prestigious performance venues in the world, Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, and began playing Chopin Nocturne No. 13 in C Minor.
“Right before I began to play, I prayed to God to give me strength,” Choi said. “He gave me the comfort I needed to perform, and it was an experience unlike any other.”
The performance marked the culmination of a long journey of overcoming paralysis. Originally from South Korea, Choi contracted polio as a child, leading to nearly total paralysis in her legs. Her dreams of becoming a pianist all but disappeared, since pianists need to use their feet to play the instrument’s pedals. She immigrated to America at age 23 in 1978, settling with her family in Orange County. A month after immigrating, Choi was invited to go to church with her sisters. “I realized how much Jesus loves me and I received the Holy Spirit that day,” Choi said. She became active in her church and began sharing God’s love with others.
A decade after moving to America, Choi met Sung Ho Lim, a pastor at her church’s young adults group, and the two got married the next year. They had two sons, Ben and Stephen, and after raising them, Choi was inspired to go back to school. She had completed her elementary education in South Korea, but was unable to continue because of a lack of support for disabled students. So at 51, she enrolled in Korean cyberschool and completed junior high, high school, and a bachelor’s degree in psychology.
While Choi was proud of her accomplishments, her childhood dream of becoming a pianist lingered, galvanized by a bit of strength she had regained in her left leg. She wanted to earn a master’s degree in music, but since her undergraduate degree was in psychology, she had to complete several music prerequisite classes at Fullerton College, where she met Andrew Park, DMA.
“Dr. Park was a godsend,” Choi said. “He taught me more than I could imagine about playing piano and offered me the encouragement I needed.”
Park taught Choi for two years at Fullerton before advising her to audition for the graduate program at Azusa Pacific University, where he had become an assistant professor. The audition went splendidly, and she was accepted into the Master of Music Performance program. Choi continued growing in her musical skills under Park’s instruction. He was impressed by her tenacity to pursue music later in life, so many years after she stopped playing as a girl.
“Playing piano is not as simple as riding a bicycle,” Park said. “There are really challenging techniques requiring muscles that Chun Ae hadn’t used for many years.”
Perhaps the biggest challenge was learning to use the piano’s pedals. “Pedal use is an art,” Park said. “Not using pedals would be like an electric guitarist trying to play without being connected to an amplifier—it’s that important. Fortunately, she had regained a bit of power in her left foot and she learned pedal techniques. If you just listened to her play piano now, you wouldn’t be able to tell she has a disability.”
Choi approaches her performance with passion, perseverance, and faith. She practiced piano for five hours every day on top of her studies, and her hard work paid off when it was time for her graduate recital, a one-hour performance, in April 2024. Dozens of Choi’s family, friends, and church members filled Munson Chapel to watch her play.
It was such a touching moment. As I watched her play flawlessly for an hour, I realized nothing is impossible with God’s strength.Andrew Park, DMA
Just weeks after her recital, Choi took the stage again, this time at commencement as an APU graduate.
Although Choi had finished her program at APU, she returned to campus a month later to participate in a competition hosted by the International Association of Professional Music Teachers (IAPMT). The competition brought in more than 1,400 participants from across the world, including 80 in the division for musicians with disabilities. Choi’s performance won the grand prize: a brand-new digital piano from Kawai America Corporation, the event’s sponsor. After Choi’s performance, Park, the artistic director for IAPMT, and the competition’s other judges got together and decided to give her something even more valuable: an opportunity to perform at Carnegie Hall: “Sending Chun Ae to play on a world stage was the biggest joy,” Park said. “Words cannot describe how much it meant.”
Choi flew to New York with her husband, eager for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. As she took the stage, seated at a grand piano in front of hundreds, Choi’s heart began to race.
“My emotions were so strong, so I prayed to God that my playing would bring glory to Him,” Choi said. “God took my emotional burden away and the performance was better than I could have imagined.”
At 69, Choi’s dream of being a professional pianist playing on a world stage came true, and she was overjoyed: “I’m so grateful for the constant support of my husband and my sons, the teachings of Dr. Park, and the grace of God.”