Studio Faculty
Dr. Jiwon April Hong
Founder, Violin & Viola Faculty
TL;DR Bachelor and Master from Juilliard. Doctorate from Stony Brook under Emerson String Quartet. Performances at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Elbphilharmonie. Premiered Roberto Sierra’s Duo Concertante at MoMA (praised by The New York Times). Principal violist at Lucerne Festival Academy, Toronto Summer Music Festival. Faculty at New York Music School, Concordia Conservatory. Students accepted to Juilliard Pre-College, MSM, Mannes Prep. Winners at Camerata, Crescendo, Rondo, and more.
Jiwon April Hong is the founder of Cremona Music Studio and the guiding force behind its teaching philosophy. She is a graduate of The Juilliard School, where she earned her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees studying under Hyo Kang and I-Hao Lee, and later received her doctorate from Stony Brook University under the mentorship of the Emerson String Quartet, Jennifer Fautschi, and Nicholas Cords.
Her performances have been heard at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Elbphilharmonie, Spectrum, National Sawdust, and the Museum of Modern Art. An active chamber musician and new music performer, she has collaborated with celebrated artists and appeared in premiere performances recognized by The New York Times and New York Classical Review for their clarity and power.
Throughout her development, Jiwon was shaped by musical figures such as Andre Emelianoff, Lewis Kaplan and Joseph Kalichstein. She has worked with conductors including Esa-Pekka Salonen, Alan Gilbert, James DePreist, and Robert Spano, and participated in festivals such as Lucerne, Banff, and Toronto, often as principal violist or featured artist.
But it is through teaching that her deepest work has taken root. Cremona was founded on Jiwon’s belief that excellence must be nurtured with structure, clarity, and care. Her students have gone on to attend Juilliard Pre-College, Manhattan School of Music Pre-College, Mannes Prep, and top university programs. They have held principal roles in orchestras such as the New York Youth Symphony, NYO2, and All-State ensembles, and have won major honors from YoungArts, International Grande, VIVO, ENKOR, and more. These outcomes reflect Cremona’s tradition; mentoring with intention, teaching with depth, and nurturing each student as both musician and individual.
Jiwon now oversees the studio’s programs and development while continuing to teach select violin and viola students. Her leadership remains at the heart of Cremona, where sound is shaped by both skill and purpose.
Violin Faculty
Yoon Be Kim
TL;DR Debuted internationally at age 13. Soloist with Busan Symphony, Czech Virtuosi, LA Korean Philharmonic. First Prize at NEC Bales, Waterbury Symphony Competitions. Concertmaster: NEC Philharmonia, Yale Philharmonia, MSM Sinfonia Nova. Degrees from NEC, Yale, MSM. Faculty at JCC Thurnauer.
Yoon Be Kim is a violinist whose training, leadership, and artistry reflect the high standards of Cremona. She began violin studies at the age of five in South Korea and gave her international solo debut at thirteen with the Czech Virtuosi Orchestra. At fifteen, she moved to the United States, where she continued her performance career as a soloist with the Busan Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Korean Philharmonic, Kyoto Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, and Waterbury Symphony Orchestra.
She is a first prize recipient of the Los Angeles Korean American Musicians Association Competition, the NEC Bales Violin Competition, and the Waterbury Symphony Concerto Competition. As a chamber musician and orchestral leader, Yoon Be has performed at the New York String Orchestra Seminar, Sarasota Music Festival, Pacific Music Festival, and Aspen Music Festival. She has served as concertmaster for leading ensembles including the Colburn Chamber Orchestra, NEC Philharmonia, NEC Chamber Orchestra, Yale Philharmonia, and MSM Sinfonia Nova.
Her education spans several of the nation’s most respected conservatories. She holds a Bachelor of Music from the New England Conservatory, two master's degrees from the Yale School of Music, and a Professional Studies Certificate from the Manhattan School of Music. Her teachers include Frank Huang, Koichiro Harada, Hyo Kang, and Malcolm Lowe.
Dr. Chieh-I (Candy) Yang
Viola Faculty
TL;DR Doctor of Musical Arts, Manhattan School of Music. Master and Bachelor from Juilliard under Heidi Castleman, Hsin-Yun Huang, Samuel Rhodes. Principal viola, MSM Orchestra. Assistant principal, Aspen Music Festival Orchestra. Violist, Juilliard Orchestra (2016–2022). Winner, viola position with National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra. Performances at Wiener Musikverein, Taipei Music Academy, Aspen Music Festival. Awards include Helen Cohn Award (MSM), Nelly Walter and C.V. Starr Scholarships (Juilliard), and Rising Star Award from International Pacing Art Culture Education. Doctoral thesis on Lionel Tertis and the English Musical Renaissance.
Chieh-I (Candy) Yang is a musician shaped by movement, curiosity, and a deep belief in the power of music to connect across cultures. She began her musical studies on the violin before discovering her passion for the viola at age fourteen. Within a year, she moved to Vienna to study at the Musikgymnasium, where she performed at the Wiener Musikverein with the school’s symphony orchestra. That early experience—immersed in a city of students from around the world—cemented her conviction that music is both mirror and bridge, revealing something essential in every listener and performer.
Candy has performed extensively with orchestras and festivals around the globe. From 2016 to 2022, she was a regular member of the Juilliard Orchestra. From 2022 to 2025, she performed with the Manhattan School of Music Orchestra, serving as principal viola. She won a national audition for the Taiwan Symphony Orchestra in 2020, performing two concerts per week throughout their season, and held an assistant principal position with the Aspen Music Festival Orchestra as a New Horizon fellow. She has also appeared at the Taipei Music Academy and Festival, among others.
She is a recipient of the Nelly Walter and C.V. Starr Scholarships from The Juilliard School and was honored with the International Pacing Art Culture Education Rising Star Award in 2018. In 2025, she graduated with distinction from the Manhattan School of Music, receiving the Helen Cohn Award for excellence as a doctoral student.
Candy earned her Bachelor of Music degree with academic honors from The Juilliard School, studying with Heidi Castleman, Hsin-Yun Huang, and Matthew Lipman. She completed both her Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees under Heidi Castleman and Samuel Rhodes, with her doctoral research focused on Lionel Tertis and the English Musical Renaissance.