Born in Rio de Janeiro, Virginia Hogan studied under one of Brazil’s foremost pianists, Arnaldo Estrella. She made her professional orchestral debut at the age of sixteen in a televised performance conducted by Isaac Karabtchewsky. After receiving her bachelor’s degree cum laude from the Brazilian Conservatory of Music at age seventeen, Ms. Hogan won a national piano competition and was awarded a full scholarship for Masters Studies in piano performance at the Mendelssohn Conservatory in Leipzig, Germany, where she studied under Adolf Fisher. She was later coached by Bruno Seidlhoffer and Paul Badura-Skoda from the Vienna Conservatory of Music, Vladimir Feltzman at State University of New-York, and Mordehay Simoni in Rio de Janeiro. Ms. Hogan has performed throughout the Americas, Africa and Europe as a soloist. She has also performed as a chamber musician with renowned violinists Aron Krosnik, Bernard Bessler, and pianists Sônia Goulart, Elisabeth Stern and Luli Oswald, the daughter of Arthur Rubinstein.

Ms. Hogan is a frequent celebrity guest on radio and television, and has had her own programs on several public radio stations, including the Ministry of Education Radio Station, Rio de Janeiro; the Federal Station of Johannesburg, South Africa; the Radio Club of Mozambique, Lorenzo Marques, East-Africa; and Stereo 90 in Jacksonville, Florida.

As a teacher, Ms. Hogan has been a guest artist in master classes in several Brazilian and American Universities. She has also donated her talents to numerous fundraising events for charity, including the Arthritis Foundation, the American Cancer Society, and Hospice North East in Jacksonville, Florida. In 1993, Ms. Hogan was named “Southern Woman of the Year” in recognition of her charitable activities. She recently performed at the Maryland Governor’s Mansion in a benefit for United Way, at the Swiss Embassy in Washington for the American Association of University Women. In 2002, Ms. Hogan performed with São Paolo Chamber Orchestra for the LARAMARA Foundation for the Visually Impaired. In June 2006, Ms. Hogan performed with the Orquestra Eleazar de Carvalho at the historic Teatro José de Alencar in Fortaleza, the proceeds of which were donated to the Veronica Bird Foundation supporting children with autism spectrum disorders.

“Immediately, a great silence prevailed. Total receptivity indicated the arrival of a great artist.” Edith Arvelos, O Diarío, Lisbon, Portugal
“Sensitive and extremely musical in the andante and affluent, elegant and very expansive in the fast movements.” Edino Kriegar, Journal do Brasil
“The artist showed serious musical training and all the interpretations were received warmly and with enthusiasm by the audience.” Maritza de Kitras, La Estrella de Panama