Meet the EOIVC 2020 Quarter Finalists
Twenty Quarter Finalists were chosen to compete in EOIVC 2020. They were selected from nearly 70 applicants from 19 countries. The twenty Quarter Finalists who advanced to compete in the Quarter Final Round of the EOIVC range in ages 19-29 and come from 10 countries—Canada, China, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Korea, Russia, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and United States.
The bios below--displayed as submitted--are representative of the EOIVC Competitors who advanced to the Quarter Final Round. Should any of these Quarter Finalists forfeit their space by December 30, 2019 an Alternate will be assigned and the information on this page will be updated.
These biographies were submitted by the EOIVC Competitors prior to the competition and are displayed as they were submitted.
Jacqueline Audas 24 / United States
Jacqueline Audas began studying the violin at age three. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University with a Bachelor of Music in violin performance. As the recipient of the Winifred and Maurice Hirsch Memorial Scholarship, she is currently pursuing her master’s degree in violin performance at Rice with Professor Paul Kantor. Prior to entering college, she studied with the late Arkady Fomin who was a member of the Dallas Symphony and the director of the New Dallas Conservatory.
At the age of 14, Jacqueline made her solo debut with the Meridian Symphony after winning their young artist artist competition. She has been awarded the top prize in multiple competitions including the Young Artist Competition at the
Conservatory Music in the Mountains, the Mika Hasler Competition, the North International Music Competition, and the Shepherd School of Music Concerto Competition. She was a finalist in the Barlassina International Young Talents Competition in Italy, and this past May, she was a quarter-finalist in the Michael Hill International Violin Competition in New Zealand.
In recent years, she has appeared as a soloist with the Shepherd School of Music Symphony Orchestra, the Texas Medical Center Orchestra, the Boise Philharmonic, the Music in the Mountains Festival Orchestra, the McCall Summerfest Orchestra, and the Walla Walla Symphony. Jacqueline has collaborated with a number of conductors including Guillermo Figueroa, Robert Franz, Yaakov Bergman, and Libi Lebel.
Zachary Brandon 21 / United States
Zachary Brandon, age 21, is a 2021 Bachelor of Music candidate at the Colburn Conservatory of Music where he studies with Robert Lipsett. He was the 4th place Laureate in the International Stradivarius Violin competition. He also received top honors as the 4th Prize winner in the Cooper International Violin Competition. He was a two-time finalist and the Bach prize winner in the International Stulberg Competition. He was a semifinalist in the International Princess Astrid Music Competition and finished in the top six. Furthermore, he was a finalist and winner of The Elaine Louise Lagerstrom Memorial Award at the FRIENDS of the Minnesota Orchestra Competition. Additionally, he was a semi-finalist in the Senior division of the 2018 Menuhin International Violin Competition and also in the 2019 Concours musical international de Montréal.
Zachary has collaborated with renowned concert pianist Jean Yves Thibaudet and acclaimed oboist Ramòn Ortega. Zachary has also been invited to perform as a soloist with the New World Symphony, the Lansing Symphony Orchestra, the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, the Fort Wayne Symphony Orchestra, the Birmingham- Bloomfield Symphony Orchestra, the Northbrook Symphony Orchestra, the Kalamazoo Junior Symphony Orchestra, and the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra among others.
Jung Min Choi 25 / Korea
Born in Seoul, Korea, Jung Min Choi started showing immense musical talent from a very young age, which in time led her to win some of the most prestigious competitions in Korea, including Ewha Kyung-Hyang Competition, Music Chunchoo Competition and Hanmi Competition. Jung Min was 12 when she made her recital debut as the Kumho Art Hall Prodigy Series. Jung Min has performed around Asia, Europe, and North America at numerous venues such as Merkin Hall, John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, Verizon Hall, Field Concert Hall, Jordan Hall, A. Mickiewicz University Auditorium and Seoul Arts Center, sponsored by The Kumho Foundation, J&A Beare and The Stradivarious Society. In recent years, Jung Min won a special prize for the Best Performance of Commissioned Work at 2015 Michael Hill International Violin Competition and was named finalist in Stulberg International String Competition. She was also featured in the “Stars of Tomorrow” concert series at the Heifetz Institute. Jung Min has participated in music festivals such as the Heifetz Institiute of Music, Great Mountains Music Festival, Holland Music Festival, and Sarasota Music Festival. She has taken masterclasses from renowned violinists such as Mihaela Martin, Ilya Kaler, Joel Smirnoff, Cho-Liang Lin, Victor Danchenko and Igor Ozim. As a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and the New England Conservatory, her former teachers include Joseph Silverstein, Pamela Frank and Miriam Fried. Jung Min is currently enrolled in the Artist Diploma program at The Cleveland Institute of Music as a student of Ilya Kaler.
Brian Kwan Yeung Choi 25 / Hong Kong
Born in Hong Kong, Violinist Brian Kwan Yeung Choi was a student of famous pedagogue Donald Weilerstein at the New England Conservatory in Boston. He started learning the violin at the age of six. He has won numerous prizes, including the New York International Artists Association (NYIAA) First Prize in 2017, the Hudson Valley Philharmonic String Competition First Prize in 2017, and the Hong Kong Young Musician of the Year First Prize in 2006. He has participated in international competitions, including as a semi-finalist in the Elmar Oliveira International Violin Competition in 2017, the 11th Wieniawski International Violin Competition for Young Violinists, as well as the 6th Tchaikovsky International Youth Violin Competition. Brian has recently performed Sibelius Violin Concerto with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic as the soloist and participated in the Juilliard String Quartet Seminar with the Ceres Quartet in May 2018. He has been invited by the festival Paesaggi Musicali Toscani 2017 as a guest artist, performed a recital in Italy with the legendary pianist Bruno Canino in late August, and made his debut recital in Carnegie Hall as the winner of the NYIAA in September 2017.
Brian is currently the concertmaster of the Gustav Mahler Orchestra (Hong Kong) and substitute violinist with the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra as well as the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. He also served as the concertmaster of the New England Conservatory Chamber Orchestra and Philharmonic.
Cristian Grajner de Sa 24 / United Kingdom
Already well-known to British audiences and many of today’s celebrated performers, Cristian Grajner de Sa is firmly establishing himself as an emerging young artist. After his concerto debut aged 14 at St. James's Piccadilly London, Cristian has been invited to perform in many of the great venues of Europe; notably London's Wigmore Hall, Kings Place, Colston Hall, the Großer & Wiener Saal of Salzburg's Mozarteum, Atheneum of Bucharest and the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam. He has been broadcast live on BBC Radio 3, BBC Television and TVR Romanian National Television. He was most recently the recipient of the Gold Medal with High Distinction at the 1st International Vienna Music Competition, 2019.
Born in December 1994 to Italian and Portuguese parents, Cristian was awarded the Leverhulme Scholarship from the Royal Academy of Music at the age of 13 and commenced his studies with Maurice Hasson. After further studies with Tasmin Little and Maxim Vengerov, with whom he was frequently invited to collaborate with in Vengerov's capacity as the Menuhin chair, he graduated in 2017 with first class honours and was awarded the 'J & A Beare Prize'; the most prestigious award of the Royal Academy of Music. After completing his university education at the Mozarteum University of Salzburg in the class of Pierre Amoyal, Cristian has returned to England where he now studies with Mr. Rodney Friend.
In the rare moments away from the violin, Cristian can be found in his local billiard hall, behind a chessboard or in a fine Italian restaurant.
Agasha Grigoreva 20 / Russia
Agasha Grigoreva was born in Moscow in 1999. She began studying the violin at age 5. She attended the Central Children's Art School in Khimki, under Honored Worker of Culture of Russia L. M. Egorova. Agasha took part and became a laureate of regional, Moscow and International competitions from an early age. International Ohrid Pearls Competition for Young Musicians (Ohrid, Macedonia), 2012 - 2nd prize; International Competition for Young Musicians Z. Bron (Novosibirsk, Russia), 2013 - 3rd prize; Moscow Regional Open Competition “Russian Music” (Dubna, Russia), 2014 - Grand Prix; International Violin Competition “Andrea Postaccini” (Italy), 2014 - 3rd prize. Agasha was a scholarship holder of the V. Spivakov Foundation.
In 2014 she entered the Central Music School at Moscow P.I. Tchaikovsky Conservatory in the class of People's Artist of USSR Eduard Grach. She takes part in Russian and International competitions: International Competition for Violin, Kloster Schontal, Germany, 2015 - 3rd prize and a special prize - violin bow made by Ch. Wanka; 7th International Yampolsky Violin Competition, Moscow, Russia, 2017 - 2nd prize; 8th International Violin Competition, Astana, Kazakhstan, 2019 - Grand Prix and a certificate from the “Global Music Partnership” for the opportunity to perform at Carnegie Hall on February 2020. In 2017 Agasha entered the Moscow State P.I. Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Eduard Grach's class. Agasha has repeatedly participated in International String Mastercourse Keshet-Eilon (Israel) and International Music Festival & Summer Master Classes (Greece).
Agasha constantly takes part in concerts and festivals, performs on the stages of the Moscow P.I. Tchaikovsky Conservatory, Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, Moscow International House of Music. She also participated in concerts organized with the participation of the V. Spivakov Foundation, which took place in the cities of Europe and America.
Igor Khukhua 27 / Russia
Igor Khukhua, was born in Siberia in 1992 and began playing the violin at the age of 4. He has been recognized internationally for performances of charismatic temperament, bright musical expression and sparkling technique. He has won international acclaim as an outstanding young soloist, recitalist and chamber musician having already achieved top prizes in numerous international violin competitions. In 2012 he won Grand Prix at the 4th International Violin Competition in Astana (Kazakhstan). In 2014 he received Second Prize at the 2nd Russian National Music Competition in Moscow (Russia) and in the following year was a participant of the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition. In 2017 he was awarded second Prize at the Hudson Valley Philharmonic String Competition in New York. In 2018 he won First Prize at the Naftzger Artists Competition in Wichita, KS.
Since 2011-2016 studied at the Moscow State Conservatory (BM, MM) under Professor Eduard
Grach. Since 2016 studies in the International Center of Music of Park University (Parkville, Missouri) under professor Ben Sayevich (Artist Diploma in Violin Performance).
Igor Khukhua has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in the Great Hall of Moscow State Conservatory, Moscow International Music House, Tchaikovsky Moscow Concert Hall (Russia), Ríos Reyna Hall (Israel), Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts and the Folly Theater Hall in Kansas-city (US). His repertoire includes violin concertos with orchestra by P. Tchaikovsky, J. Sibelius, J. Brahms, S. Prokofiev, A. Glazunov, N, Paganini, L. van Beethoven, F. Mendelssohn.
Jeein Kim 23 / Korea
Jeein Kim appeared as soloist with many different orchestras around the world including the Hradec Králové Philharmonic Orchestra, Northwest Sinfonietta, JK chamber orchestra, Prime Philharmonic Orchestra and Yonsei University Orchestra. She gave recitals in the Kumho Art Hall, Shinhan Art Hall, Yonsei Kumho Art Hall and Elim Art Center. Her performance also took place in the Chosunilbo Debut Concert, Young Mozart Concert and Mast Summer Academy Rising Star Concert. She was a winner in numerous competitions including Northwest Sinfonietta Youth Competition, Shinhan Music Award, Ewha & Kyunghyang competition and Eumak Chunchu Competition. Other major prizes include Donga Competition, Joongang Competition and Busan Competition. She also participated in international competitions and won 4th prize in Menuhin International Competition and 3rd prize in Seoul International Competition. She currently studies with Soovin Kim at the New England Conservatory.
Minchae Kim 24 / Korea
Born in South Korea, Minchae Kim began playing the violin at the age of 7. She gave her concerto debut at age 9 with Jeonju Philharmonic orchestra and debut recital at age 14 in Kumho Art Hall as a Kumho Young Artist. She won numerous competitions such as Korean Kids Times Music competition, Strad Music competition, and Eumyeon Music competition in South Korea. As a result of these prizes, she performed as a soloist with orchestras including Jeonju Philharmonic Orchestra, Gloria String Orchestra, Moldova Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Gimpo Philharmonic Orchestra. She also gave her full recitals in Youngsan-Yangjae hall and Jeonju Sori Arts Center as a winner of the Young Artist Competition.
As a chamber musician, she has participated in Kneisel Hall Chamber Music School in 2013 and has played in a Gala concert in New England Conservatory Jordan Hall. As an orchestral player, she was a concertmaster and second principle violin in NEC Philharmonic.
She had a masterclass with Paul Kantor, Mauricio Fuks, Victor Danchenko, Dongsuk Kang and Igor Ozim. She studied violin in South Korea under Sungju Lee, Paul Kim, and Sungsic Yang. She went to Korea National University of Arts preparatory school as a violin major, and graduated from Yewon school and went to Seoul music high school. She was accepted in New England Conservatory when she was 17 years old and earned her Bachelor Music degree and Master Music degree at the New England Conservatory under Miriam Fried, Donald Weilerstein and Soovin Kim.
Haerim Oh 20 / Korea
Haerim Oh is a twenty-year-old violinist from Daejeon, South Korea. She started playing the violin when she was four years old. She has participated in many violin competitions both domestically and internationally. She has won several prizes including first place in Ewha Music Competition Violin Section in Seoul in 2017. She has placed 5th place in 5th Munetsugu Angel Violin Competition and gotten Excellent performance of Virtuoso pieces in 2nd round of Munetsugu Angel Violin Competition, 2015. She has performed with Bucheon Symphony Orchestra, has held individual recitals in Seoul Kumho Art Hall and Daejeon, and has performed in New England Conservatory Chamber Music Gala Concert 2019. She has participated in many festivals such as SUMMIT Music Festival, Spaincellence ISAM 2012 LIENZO NORTEMUSIC FESTIVAL, 8th Emirates International Peace Music Festival, Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival. She is currently majoring in violin at New England Conservatory under the guidance of Miriam Fried.
Ashley Jeehyun Park 23 / United States
Ashley Jeehyun Park is a Korean-American violinist from New York City. Shortly after beginning her violin studies at age 5, she made her solo debut with orchestra in 2001 at the Elon International Music Festival in Vermont. Since then, she has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, throughout the New York metropolitan area, Europe and Asia.
Ashley has received numerous accolades and awards including 1st prize at the Hudson Valley String Competition, 2nd prize at the Andrea Postacchini International Violin Competition, a Winner of the National YoungArts Foundation, and 1st prize at the New York Music Competition for 4 consecutive years. Additionally, she has performed at many prestigious international violin competitions including the Queen Elisabeth Competition, Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition, Michael Hill International Violin Competition, and the Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition. She has participated in various festivals and masterclasses around the world, notably the Verbier Festival (Switzerland), the Conservatoire Américaine at the Fontainebleau Schools (France), The International Holland Music Sessions (The Netherlands), and the Great Mountains Music Festival (PyeongChang, South Korea).
In addition to her studies and performances, Ashley is committed to serving her community, and has performed in senior homes, hospitals, and rehabilitation centers around New York as an individual as well as through outreach programs like the Gluck Community Service Fellowship at Juilliard.
Ashley currently studies with Joel Smirnoff and Ronald Copes as she pursues her Master of Music degree at Juilliard.
Julian Rhee 19 / United States
Violinist Julian Rhee has been establishing himself as a prominent musician and performer across the United States.
The first prize winner of the Johansen International Competition, Julian was also awarded the Solo Bach, Commissioned Work, and the Elaine H. Klein Prize at the Irving M. Klein International String Competition. In January of 2018, Julian was named a Finalist of the National Young Arts Foundation, and performed at the New World Center in Miami. Subsequently, Julian appeared at the John F. Kennedy Center as a Presidential Scholar in the Arts, and received his medal at the White House.
An avid soloist, Julian has performed with orchestras including the Milwaukee Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Eugene Symphony, San Jose Chamber Orchestra, Wisconsin Philharmonic, and Madison Symphony. He has performed in an array of venues including Ravinia Bennett Gordon Hall, Benedict Music Tent, Heinz Hall, Overture Center for the Arts, Musikverein in Vienna, and Bartok Hall in Hungary.
Julian has appeared with the Jupiter Chamber Players in New York City, and alongside internationally renowned ensemble Time for Three on National Public Radio’s From The Top, 98.7 WFMT’s Introductions, Milwaukee Public Radio 89.7, and Wisconsin Public Radio and Television (WPT/WPR).
Julian studied with Almita and Roland Vamos as a scholarship recipient at the Music Institute of Chicago Academy. He is a graduate of Brookfield East High School as Class President and Valedictorian. He is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree with Miriam Fried at the New England Conservatory.
Vikram Francesco Sedona 19 / Italy
Vikram Francesco Sedona was born in Treviso in 2000. He started to play violin at the age of six with Selina Cremese and continued his studies under Prof. Bruna Barutti at the « Benedetto Marcello » Conservatory in Venice.
In Summer 2015, the encounter with Romanian virtuoso Silvia Marcovici turned out to be crucial for his future. Since then, Vikram Francesco Sedona has been working with the famous violinist at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, Austria.
At the age of 16 he was awarded First Prize at the « Andrea Postacchini » International Violin Competition and one year later he won the « George Enescu » International Violin Competition, receiving the 3 special prizes. In May 2019, Vikram Francesco Sedona was awarded First Prize at the « Valsesia Musica » International Competition.
Among his last perfomances he appeared in major festivals such as "Festival de Radio France Montpellier" and "George Enescu Festival".
Alexandra Alvarado Switala 26 / United States
Mexican-American violinist Alexandra Switala began her musical studies in Texas at the age of four and later studied in Chicago with Roland and Almita Vamos. Since making her solo debut with the Ft. Worth Symphony at the age of 13, she has performed with orchestras including the New World Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, and the Cleveland Orchestra. A featured artist on NPR’s ‘From the Top’, ‘Performance Today’, and Chicago’s WFMT’s ‘Introductions’, Alexandra is a top prize winner at the Sphinx, Cooper, and Klein international competitions. Alexandra is an alumnus of the Project Inclusion Program of both the Grant Park Symphony and the Chicago Sinfonietta, where she performed as a member of both orchestras and participated in outreach in communities in Chicago. An avid chamber musician, Alexandra has studied with members of the Guarneri, Cavani, Mendelssohn, Emerson, and Orion String Quartets. Alexandra studied at the Curtis Institute of Music under Ida Kavafian and Pamela Frank and she currently resides in Cleveland where she is a student of Ilya Kaler at the Cleveland Institute of Music.
Daniel Temnik 25 / Israel/Canada
Praised by audiences and musicians alike for his radiant tone, commanding technique and musical depth, Israeli-Canadian award-winning violinist Daniel Temnik is swiftly establishing himself in the forefront of prominent young Canadian musical artists.
An exceptionally avid musician, Temnik’s professional engagements stem extensively in violin performance as a soloist and chamber musician within North America, Asia and Europe. Temnik is a recipient of numerous awards, scholarships and diplomas in national and international violin competitions which include the Canadian Music Competition, AFAF Golden Strings of America, Paganini International Violin Competition and the Schoenfeld International Music Competition. As a soloist, Temnik has concertized in such notable venues as Carnegie Hall, The Metropolitan Opera House, Koerner Hall, Wigmore Hall and the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center. Within the past three years he has been the honored recipient of the Catherine Royce Anderson Memorial Grant, Chris Dafeff Violin Bursary and the Benjamin Steinberg Music Legacy Award.
Temnik can be found frequently in recital with sought after orchestras including the Toronto Sinfonietta, North York Symphony, Kindred Spirits Orchestra and the Royal Conservatory Orchestra. In addition to his demanding schedule, Temnik is constantly featured in master classes and has received musical tutelage from various prominent musicians including Pinchas Zukerman, Yefim Bronfman, Valery Gergiev, Victor Danchenko, Vadim Gluzman, Miriam Fried and Donald Weilerstein.
Temnik studies with distinguished concert violinist and internationally renowned pedagogue Barry Shiffman at the Glenn Gould School in Toronto. Temnik’s previous instruments include a 1785 Lorenzo Storioni and the 1740 ex-Sándor Végh Guarneri del Gesu on loan from Florian Leonhard. He currently performs on a 1770 Nicolò Gagliano.
Boyang Wang 29 / China
Boyang Wang is from Beijing, China and has been studying violin since the age of five. His first public performance was at the age of 13, performing Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole with Beijing Sun’s Symphony Orchestra in Zhong Shan concert hall. Boyang is the silver medalist of China National violin competition, a finalist of MTNA National Competition Young Artist Division, a semifinalist of International Young Concert Artists (YCA) of New York and was invited to participate at the Naumburg International Violin Competition. He has performed as soloist with CCM's Philharmonia Orchestra as the winner of CCM Concerto Competition.
As a soloist and chamber musician, Boyang has performed at the Zhongshan concert hall, Beijing concert hall, Beijing Poly Theatre, National Centre for the Performing Arts, GuoTai Arts center in Chongqing, Shanghai Oriental Art Center, Werner recital Hall, Watson recital hall, Corbett auditorium in Cincinnati, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts in Illinois, Emerging Artists concert at Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, Young Artists concert at Manchester Music Festival and opening ceremony of the Rotary club. He has played in master classes for Anne Sophie Mutter, Augustin Hadelich, James Ehnes, Federico Agostini, Charles Castleman, Adam Neiman, the Orion string quartet, the Julliard string quartet, and St. Lawrence string quartet. He also had the opportunity to play alongside with the quartets mentioned. Boyang and his quartet will make its debut ensemble tour with concerts in China, Taiwan, and Korea and give masterclasses in the May and June of 2020.
Boyang studies with Dr. Won-Bin Yim at University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music.
Thompson Wang 20 / United States/Taiwan
Thompson Wang, 20 years old, began studying the violin at the age of 4. He is currently a student at the New England Conservatory of Music, where he is studying with Ayano Ninomiya on a Dean’s scholarship. Two years prior to NEC, Thompson studied with Almita and Roland Vamos at the Music Institute of Chicago’s Academy as a scholarship recipient. Thompson was a student of the Colburn School before moving to Chicago.
Thompson has performed throughout Asia, Europe and North America in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, Symphony Center in both Boston and Chicago, Disney Hall in Los Angeles, Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, and the Eslite Recital Hall in Taiwan. Recently, Thompson was awarded First Prize at Taiwan’s Lee International Violin Competition. Additionally, as part of the Kairos String Quartet, Thompson won the Gold medal at the Fischoff Chamber Competition, M-Prize International Chamber Competition in Michigan, the Barnett Chamber competition, the Rembrandt Chamber Competition and Silver Medal at the Saint Paul String Quartet Competition. The Kairos String Quartet was also recently featured on NPR’s super popular show, From the Top. In recent years, Thompson has appeared as a soloist with orchestras such as The Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the Westlake Symphony Orchestra, the Glenbrook Symphony Orchestra, the San Fernando Valley Orchestra, and many more.
As a recipient of the Chi-Mei Cultural Foundation of Taiwan, Thompson plays on a 1974 Ansaldo Poggi violin from Bologna.
Angela Wee 22 / United States
Angela Wee was born in New York and is currently pursuing her Masters Degree at The Juilliard School with Donald Weilerstein and Masao Kawasaki.
Angela won 2nd prize in the 2015 Sarasate International Competition in Pamplona, Spain where she performed with the Navarra Symphony Orchestra under Maestro Antoni Wit. In 2012, she participated in the Menuhin International Violin Competition in Beijing and was placed as one of eight finalists. Other top prize victories include the 2013 Cooper International Violin Competition, 2nd prize in the 2013 Aspen Music Festival Dorothy DeLay Fellowship Competition, 3rd prize in the 2014 Klein International Competition, and 1st prize in the 2013 Salomé Chamber Orchestra Competition where she was awarded a Stradivarius to perform in Carnegie Hall.
Angela has performed in numerous international grand venues and events such as the BBC Proms in Royal Albert Hall, Oheka Castle, Lutoslawski Polish Radio Concert Hall, Weiwuying Concert Hall, and Palacio Euskalduna. She performed as a soloist with the Poznań Symphony Orchestra, Navarra Symphony Orchestra, Polish Sinfonia Iuventus Orchestra, and many more. She has been on major tours as a soloist in Europe with Maestro Antoni Wit and a multitude of orchestras in Bilbao, Pamplona, Poznan, Warsaw, London. She has also served as concertmaster of the Juilliard Orchestra and performed Strauss Ein Heldenleben under Maestro Karina Canellakis in September of 2019.
Angela performed in the master classes of Zakhar Bron, Pinchas Zukerman, Sheryl Staples, Chee-Yun Kim, Paul Kantor, Peter Oundjian, David Kim, Sarah Chang, Cho-Liang Lin, Laurie Smukler, Robert McDuffie, Jorja Fleezanis, Frank Huang, and Ani Kavafian.
Katherine Woo 21 / United States
21-year old violinist, Katherine Woo, made her Kennedy Center solo performance debut at the age of 11 and a few years later, she made her Carnegie Hall solo debut at the age of 15.
Recently, Ms. Woo was invited to and will be competing as a quarter-finalist in the 2019 Gisborne International Music Competition in New Zealand as well as the 2020 International Mozart Competition in Salzburg. Previously, she was invited to compete in the Michael Hill International Violin Competition in Auckland, New Zealand and has collaborated with distinguished artists such as violinist, Sarah Chang, two-time Grammy winner, singer, Andra Day, Grammy Award-winning performer, Leslie Odom Jr., Hugh Wolff, Christopher O’ Riley from NPR’s From the Top, and composer, Behzad Ranjbaran.
Ms. Woo was invited to perform in collaboration with Walt Disney Animation Studios as part of the World Premiere of “A Decade in Concerto” in Aspen, Colorado and has performed in venues such as the New World Center in Miami, the Concertgebouw and NedPho in Amsterdam, Tivolis Koncertsal, Smetana Hall in Prague, National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts Weiwuying Concert Hall, National Taichung Theater Playhouse, TNUA Concert Hall, Benedict Music Tent in Aspen, Colorado, Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center, and Alice Tully Hall and Rose Studio at the Lincoln Center.
After spending two years in the Columbia-Juilliard Exchange Program as a Neuroscience and Behavior major on the Pre-Health track, Ms. Woo is entering her fourth year at the Juilliard School as a recipient of the Jerome L. Greene Fellowship, studying with Ms. Sylvia Rosenberg and Mr. Masao Kawasaki.
Christine Wu 24 / United States
Violinist Christine Wu performs internationally with appearances in Dallas, Cleveland, New York City, Magdeburg, and Köthen, Germany. She was heard as a soloist with several orchestras ranging from one of America’s top orchestras – the Dallas Symphony Orchestra – to the community-based Mesquite Symphony Orchestra. She performed Elgar’s Violin Concerto in Severance Hall, home of The Cleveland Orchestra, as the top prize winner of the 2016 Cleveland Institute of Music Concerto Competition. She was also named winner of the Lynn Harrell Concerto Competition, Juanita Miller Concerto Competition, and at the Aspen Music Festival and School’s Low Strings Concerto Competition as a violist and performed Martinů’s Rhapsody-Concerto with the Aspen Conducting Academy Orchestra in 2018.
As an avid and devoted chamber musician, Christine has performed and collaborated with Joseph Silverstein, Mark Steinberg, Nicholas Mann, and David Geber. During the 2019-2020 season, she will be performing chamber and solo works by Telemann, Guillemain, and Bach at the Gesellschaftshaus in Magdeburg and in Köthen. She regularly organizes and performs chamber music house concerts in New York City through the Groupmuse platform. Leadership roles as concertmaster for various ensembles culminated most recently with the New York String Orchestra in their 50th Anniversary celebration at Carnegie Hall.
Christine is currently pursuing a Professional Studies Certificate at the Manhattan School of Music as a student of Sylvia Rosenberg and Nicholas Mann. Previously she studied at The Juilliard School and Cleveland Institute of Music with Sylvia Rosenberg, Masao Kawasaki, and Jaime Laredo. She also holds a minor in Business Management from Case Western Reserve University.