Achievements of Current Students & Alumni
Jiwon April Hong
Violinist and violist Jiwon April Kim has received Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School where she studied with Prof. Hyo Kang and Dr. I-Hao Lee. She has graduated from Stony Brook University where she received a doctorate degree studying under Emerson String Quartet, Jennifer Frautschi, and Nicholas Cords. An avid chamber musician and new music performer, Jiwon has appeared at venues including Carnegie Hall, Elbphilharmonie, Lincoln Center, Spectrum, and National Sawdust. Her world premiere performance of Roberto Sierra’s Duo Concertante for violin and viola as part of Summergarden series at the Museum of Modern Art in 2014 was reviewed by The New York Times and New York Classical Review as “high-energy” and “high quality.”
During her studies at Juilliard, Jiwon has been mentored by Andre Emelianoff, Lewis Kaplan, and Joseph Kalichstein among many others. As a member of Juilliard Orchestra, she has worked with celebrated conductors such as the late James DePreist, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Alan Gilbert, and Robert Spano. She also has participated in masterclasses by James Ehnes, Garth Knox, Tokyo String Quartet, Anner Bylsma, and Joseph Silverstein at international summer music festivals. Jiwon has performed at Lucerne Festival Academy, Toronto Summer Music Festival, and New Music for Strings Festival as principal violist. In the past seasons, she has been invited to Banff Chamber Music Residency and Starry Nights Chamber Music Series.
Jiwon has served on the violin and viola faculty of New York Music School and Concordia Conservatory. She has also served on the judge panel of Camerata Artists International Competition, Prima Volta Music Competition, and Stony Brook Pre-College Concerto Competition. Jiwon's current and former students have been accepted to Juilliard, Manhattan School of Music, and Mannes Pre-College programs, and youth orchestra programs such as New York Youth Symphony, NJSO Youth Orchestra, Region & All-State Orchestras, Manhattan String Orchestra, Bergen Youth Orchestra, and Camerata Youth Orchestra. They also have won top prizes at international music competitions including Camerata Artists International, Rondo Young Artist, Little Mozarts, Crescendo International, International Grande, New York International, and VIVO International Music Competitions and have performed at Carnegie Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, DiMenna Center, Bruno Walter Auditorium, and Symphony Space.
Yoon Be Kim
A native of South Korea, Yoon Be Kim began violin studies at the age of five and moved to the United States when she was 15. Ms. Kim has appeared as a soloist with Busan Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Korean Philharmonic, Kyoto Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, Waterbury Symphony Orchestra and Czech Virtuosi Orchestra where she made her international debut at age 13. She has won 1st prizes at Los Angeles Korean American Musicians Association Competition, NEC Bales Violin Competition and Waterbury Symphony Concerto Competition.
An avid chamber musician, Ms. Kim has performed at numerous music festivals including New York String Orchestra Seminar, Sarasota Music Festival, Pacific Music Festival and Aspen Music Festival. She has also served as concertmaster of Colburn Chamber Orchestra, NEC Philharmonia, NEC Chamber Orchestra, Yale Philharmonia and MSM Sinfonia Nova. Ms. Kim holds a Bachelor of Music degree from New England Conservatory, Master of Music and Master of Musical Arts degrees from Yale School of Music, and a Professional Studies Certificate from Manhattan School of Music. Her teachers include Frank Huang, Koichiro Harada, Hyo Kang, and Malcolm Lowe. Ms. Kim is currently a faculty member at JCC Thurnauer School of Music.
Jihyang Jennifer Seo
Dr. Jihyang Jennifer Seo began her violin career under the guidance of Junsu Jeong at the age of 10. She pursued her education at Kyung Hee University in South Korea before earning a full scholarship to Stony Brook University, where she had the privilege of studying with violinists Soovin Kim, Philip Setzer, Jennifer Frautschi, Arnaud Sussman, and the Emerson String Quartet. She won several competitions at Saegaeilbo, Emakchunchu, Kyung Hee University, and Stony Brook University, performing Mozart, Brahms, and Sibelius with multiple orchestras, and achieving the distinction of being the youngest violinist in the Gwacheon Philharmonic Orchestra in Korea. Dr. Seo participated in the Seoul International Music Festival and Music Academy of the West, where she studied with Katherine Winkler and had masterclasses with Gil Shaham, Glenn Dicterow, Midori Goto, and Cho-Liang Lin. Under the guidance of Carmit Zori, she served as the concertmaster of the Rutgers Symphony Orchestra and was honored with the A. Kunrad Kvam Award in Music, recognizing her excellence on a stringed instrument. In 2022, Dr. Seo earned her Doctoral of Musical Arts in Violin Performance from the Mason Gross School of the Arts. Currently, she contributes her expertise as a faculty member of the New York International Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, inspiring and mentoring young musicians.
Simon Juny Jung
Simon Jung, pianist, gave a solo debut at Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall and has played chamber music internationally including his debut at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center. He is currently a staff pianist of the Mannes school of Music and has served in the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival in Vermont and Hyo Kang's Summer Music Camp in New Jersey. He has been a pianist for Dalton Baldwin's masterclass at the Korea Music Foundation and for the Sejong Soloists. He has appeared on NPR and WQXR. A graduate of the Mannes School of Music with a major in solo piano, he received the Master of Music Degree as a collaborative pianist from the Manhattan School of Music, and a Certificate in collaborative piano from the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California.
Yoona Park
Yoona Park is currently pursuing her Bachelor’s degree at The Juilliard School under the mentorship of Heidi Castleman and Hsin-Yun Huang. Named a YoungArts National Competition winner, New York Virtuoso International Competition winner and more, she has performed as a soloist with orchestras with works such as Walton, Hindemith, Stamitz, and Hoffmeister Viola Concertos. As a dedicated orchestral musician, Yoona has held the principal viola position in several acclaimed orchestras, including the Grammy Award-winning New York Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Aspen Chamber Symphony of Aspen Music Festival & School. Additionally, Yoona has been a guest artist at the New World Symphony for the past two years. A passionate chamber musician, she frequently collaborates with distinguished artists in various chamber music settings.