Musician Bios

Violin

Frank Huang, violin, leader
Since winning the first prize of the 2003 Walter W. Naumburg Foundation’s Violin Competition and the 2000 Hannover International Violin Competition, Frank Huang has developed a major career as a violin virtuoso. At the age of eleven, he performed with the Houston Symphony Orchestra in a nationally broadcast concert and has since performed with orchestras throughout the world, including the Cleveland Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony, NDR-Radio Philharmonic Orchestra of Hannover, Amadeus Chamber Orchestra and the Genoa Orchestra. He has performed on NPR’s Performance Today, Good Morning America and CNN’s American Morning with Paula Zahn. Mr. Huang’s first commercial recording, comprised of Fantasies by Schubert, Ernst, Schoenberg and Waxman, was released to critical acclaim on Naxos in the fall of 2003. He has had great success in competitions since the age of fifteen with top prize awards in the Premio Paganini International Violin Competition and the Indianapolis International Violin Competition. He received Gold Medal Awards in the Kingsville International Competition, the Irving M. Klein International Competition and the D’Angelo International Competition. In addition to his solo career, Mr. Huang is deeply committed to chamber music. He has attended the Marlboro Music Festival, Ravinia’s Steans Institute, The Seattle Chamber Music festival, and the the Caramoor Festival, and also been a member of the prestigious Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's CMSII program. He is also the leader and concertmaster of the Sejong Soloists, a conductorless string ensemble based in New York City. Recent performances include concerts in Wigmore Hall, (London) Salle Cortot, (Paris) Kennedy Center, (Washington) and Alice Tully Hall (New York), where he gave the world premiere of Donald Martino's Sonata for Solo Violin.
Higgin Kim, Chairman of Byucksan Engineering Co. Chair

Stefan Milenkovich, violin, leader
Stefan Milenkovich has rapidly established an international reputation for compelling, poignant, and colorful performances. His career includes performances for President Ronald Reagan at the Christmas Show in Washington D.C. at the age of ten, President Mikhail Gorbachev in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, at the age of eleven, and twice for Pope John Paul II in Castelgandolfo, Italy, at the ages of sixteen and twenty one. Mr. Milenkovich has performed with the Indianapolis Symphony, Orpheus Chamber, Aspen Chamber, Berlin Symphony, Helsinki Philharmonic, the Orchestra of Radio-France, the National Orchestra of Belgium, Belgrade Philharmonic, Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra, Mexico State Symphony, Orquestra Sinfonica de Estado de Sao Paolo in Brazil and the Melbourne and Queensland Symphonies in Australia. Included in his discography are Bach’s complete Sonatas and Partitas and Paganini’s complete music for violin solo, as well as never before recorded works by Paganini. Mr. Milenkovich was a prize winner in the Queen Elisabeth, Indianapolis, Paganini, Tibor Varga and Yehudi Menuhin international violin competitions.
Also a dedicated educator, he has taught at the Perlman Music Programme, and New York University. Currently he is on the faculty at University of Illinois.

Jaewon Choi, violin
Violinist Jaewon Choi is the recipient of numerous awards and honors in Korea, including the Korea Broadcast System (KBS), Korea Daily Newspaper, Seoul National University, Joong-Ang Daily Newspaper, Dong-A Daily Newspaper, and New World Newspaper competitions. She participated in Master Classes with Dorothy DeLay, Zakar Bron, and James Buswell. She has appeared with Seoul Philharmonic, Korean Baroque Chamber, Bu-Cheon Philharmonic, KBS, Seoul National University Alumni, Seoul National University String, Su-Won Philharmonic orchestras. She won the Young Artist Audition at the Kumho Cultural Foundation and gave a recital concert at Kumho Art Hall. She has also performed in the Alice Tully Hall at the Lincoln Center and in the Stern Hall and the Zankel Hall at the Carnegie Hall. As an active Chamber Musician, she performed in master classes with Juilliard String Quartet and Isaac Stern at the Miyazaki Music Festival. She also participated in the Isaac Stern’s Chamber Music Workshop at Carnegie Hall. While she was pursuing Master of Music degree at Juilliard, she studied with Mr. Hyo Kang and studied chamber music with Robert McDonald, Itzhak Perlman, Nicolas Mann, and Joel Smirnoff. Currently a student in Artist Diploma Program at Yale School of Music, Ms. Choi is a student of Hyo Kang.

Emilie-Anne Gendron, violin
Violinist Emilie-Anne Gendron, lauded as a "brilliant soloist" by the New York Times, is rapidly garnering acclaim for her perceptive and elegant interpretations as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. Recent highlights include a recital at the Louvre museum in Paris, an appearance in Avery Fisher Hall with the Juilliard Orchestra, and a concert devoted to chamber work world premieres on MoMA’s acclaimed Summergarden series. A passionate and experienced advocate for new music, Ms. Gendron is a member of the Momenta Quartet, 2009 recipients of the prestigious Koussevitzky Music Foundation commission grant. She has worked with such eminent living composers as Roger Reynolds, Matthew Greenbaum, Behzad Ranjbaran, Hiroya Miura, Aaron Jay Kernis, Samuel Adler, Elliott Sharp, and Philip Lasser. She has also enjoyed success in several major competitions: she is a past winner of the Stulberg String Competition, and most recently took 2nd Prize and the Audience Prize at the 2009 Sion-Valais (formerly Tibor Varga) International Violin Competition. Ms. Gendron was trained at the Juilliard School where her principal teachers were Won-Bin Yim, Dorothy DeLay, David Chan, and Hyo Kang. She holds the distinction of being the first person in Juilliard's history to be accepted simultaneously to its two most selective courses of study: both the Doctor of Musical Arts and the Artist Diploma. She holds a B.A. in Classics from Columbia University as a graduate of the Columbia-Juilliard joint-degree program, and a Master of Music degree and the coveted Artist Diploma from Juilliard.

Yu Jeong Lee, violin
Yu Jeong Lee studied at the Seoul National University in Korea and completed her bachelor’s and master’s degree in violin studies at The Juilliard School. She has performed in foremost international venues such as the United Nations, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, The Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada, Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, The Concert Series at the Korean Cultural Service in Washington D.C, and the Seoul Arts Center as a winner of the Rising Star Concert Series. She has been featured as a soloist with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Korean Symphony Orchestra, Aspen Young Artists Chamber Orchestra, Corelliard Chamber Orchestra and The Juilliard Orchestra, among others. She was the principal violinist of Bucheon Philharmonic Orchestra in Korea, as well as the concertmaster of the New York Sinfonietta and University of Maryland Symphony Orchestra. Ms.Lee is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Maryland.
Liu Foundation Chair

Yura Lee, violin
Winner of the 2007 Avery Fischer Career Grant, violinist/violist Yura Lee has enjoyed an exceptional career since coming to the United States in 1994. In recent seasons she has appeared with many prestigious orchestras, among them the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Saint Louis Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and Tokyo Philharmonic, among others. The 1999-2000 season saw her Carnegie Hall debut with Leonard Slatkin and the National Symphony Orchestra, following subscription concerts in Washington, D.C. In 2006, Ms. Lee was the first prize winner in the Leopold Mozart Competition, where she was also awarded the Mozart Prize, Mozart Medal, Jugendjury Prize, and the Public Prize. Also in 2006, Ms. Lee was the fourth prize laureate in the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, and 2nd prize winner in the Premio Paganini Competition in Italy. In the 2002-03 season, Ms. Lee was nominated and represented by Carnegie Hall for its ECHO (European Concert Hall Organization) series, for which she gave recitals at Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall and at nine celebrated concert halls in Europe, including Wigmore Hall (London), the Musikverein (Vienna), and the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam). As a chamber musician, Ms. Lee regularly performs at the Verbier, Caramoor, and Salzburg Festivals, among others. During the summers of 2004-2006, Ms. Lee participated at the Marlboro Festival of Music in Vermont. In 1997 Ms. Lee received the Debut Artist of the Year prize at the "Performance Today" awards given by National Public Radio. She has been featured on the "Late Show with David Letterman," CNN/fN, "Fox on Arts," WABC-TV in New York, KBS in South Korea and ZDF Arte in Germany. From 1994 to 2001, Ms. Lee studied at The Juilliard School under the late Dorothy DeLay and Hyo Kang. During the summers of 1995-2000 she was a full scholarship student at the Aspen Music School and has performed many times at the Aspen Music Festival. In 2001 and 2002 she participated at the Steans Institute for Young Artists at Ravinia. From 2001-2005, Ms. Lee studied with Miriam Fried and Paul Biss at Indiana University, and the New England Conservatory of Music. Yura Lee plays the 1778 Joseph and Antonio Gagliano violin, on loan from the Steans Institute for Young Artists, Ravinia Festival, Chicago.

Sami Merdinian, violin
Twenty-five years old violinist Sami Merdinian has received worldwide recognition for his outstanding performances as a soloist and chamber musician. Sami has recently appeared as a soloist with the Buenos Aires Philharmonic, the Montevideo Philharmonic, The Charlemagne Orchestre, and Symphony Pro Musica. Future engagements include performances with the Argentinean National Symphony,and a European Tour with the Philharmonia of the Nations including a performance at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, as well as recital tours throughout the Middle-East, South and North America. As chamber musician, Mr. Merdinian has performed in several Music Festivals including Spoleto, Holland Music Session, The Perlman Chamber Music Workshop, The Festival of The Hamptons, , among others. He has been the winner of various competitions including  "Promociones Musicales", the Sewannee Festival Concerto Competition and the XII International Young Solo Instrumentalists Competition in Argentina. Mr. Merdinian has also been the recipient of numerous scholarships and awards including the Grunheisen Scholarship given by the Argentine Mozarteum, the Dorothy Delay Scholarship and the Tiffany & Co. Rising Star Award. While at The Juilliard School and Yale University, he studied with Dorothy Delay, Naoko Tanaka and Peter Oundjian, and has appeared in Masterclasses and collaborations with artists such as Ida Kavafian and Ani Kavafian, Emanuel Ax, Itzahak Perlman, Lorin Maazel, and members of the Tokyo, Juilliard and Guarnieri String Quartets.

ChenXi, violin
Violinist ChenXi has become one of the most promising young artists of his generation in China, lauded for his technical excellence and musical imagination. The youngest top prize winner in the history of the International Tchaikovsky Violin Competition, Mr. Chen made his debut at age eight and entered China’s leading music academy, the Central Conservatory of Music. He subsequently studied with Joseph Silverstein at the Curtis Institute of Music where he graduated in 2007 and is currently attending the Yale University School of Music working with Hyo Kang.
From the age of thirteen, Mr. Chen began performing with China’s leading orchestras, including the China Philharmonic, China National, and Beijing symphony orchestras; China Central Opera and Hong Kong Sinfonietta.  He gained international exposure through broadcasts on NHK—Japan Broadcasting Corporation—and maintains an active schedule that has included a taping with China Central Television, tour with pianist Lang Lang and the Chinese Youth Symphony Orchestra, and more than 150 appearances with a variety of orchestras and festivals organized by the Chinese government.  In May 2007, he was selected to perform at a welcome concert for United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.  Mr. Chen plays a 1708 Ruby Stradivarius violin, on loan to him by the Stradivari Society of Chicago.

Ji In Yang, violin
Ji In Yang came to the U.S. in 1995 to study at the Juilliard Pre-College Division. Since then she has received recognition for her outstanding performances in and around New York. She has had many appearances with orchestras including Bucheon Philhamonic Orchestra, Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra, Chuncheon Philhamonic Orchestra, New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra, and Sarah Lawrence Symphony Orchestra. She had appeared in national Television show “Art Theatre” in Korea as a guest. In 2004, she was invited by Midori to perform in Japan which was televised in NHK. In 2002 she was invited to play J.S. Bach’s Double Concerto with Cho-Liang Lin and Sejong at the Tongyeong International Music Festival. She also performed the Elgar Violin Concerto in B minor to critical acclaim at the Bayer-Benedict Music Tent with the Aspen Young Artists Orchestra at the Aspen Music Festival. Since beginning her violin studies at the age of six, she has won numerous awards and competitions including first prize at the 1991 Korean Monthly Music Magazine Competition. Having won the Concerto Competition, she performed the Vieuxtemps Violin Concerto No.4 with the Juilliard-Pre College Orchestra. She recently concluded her studies at the Juilliard School as a student of Hyo Kang. Ms. Yang has been a member of Sejong since 2005 and was appointed as a Samsung Foundation of Culture chair member in 2006.
Samsung Foundation of Culture Chair

VIOLA

Richard Yongjae O’Neill, viola
2006 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient and Grammy Nominee, violist Richard Yongjae O’Neille made solo debuts in Carnegie, Wigmore and Salle Cortot. He made concerto appearances with Los Angeles, EuroAsian philharmonics, KBS Symphony. A Universal Classics Artist, his debut album was a 2005 best seller in Korea. His second album was also released in October 2006. In 2007-2008 he plays in the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. O’Neille is one of the very few violists to receive Artist Diploma from Juilliard. O’Neill joined the faculty of UCLA in 2007. He has been a member of Sejong since 2001.

Maurycy Banaszek, viola
Maurycy Banaszek was born in Warsaw, Poland. He has appeared in recital and as a soloist with orchestras in Europe and in USA. He received numerous violin, viola and chamber music awards. As a founding member of The Elsner String Quartet he has played in such prestigious venues as the Carnegie Hall in New York, Wigmore Hall in London, Gewandhaus in Leipzig, among others. In August 1998 he was invited by the members of the legendary Amadeus String Quartet to perform at the Amadeus Quartet 50th Anniversary Gala Concert in London. He has performed at the Marlboro, Seattle, Santa Fe, Aldeburgh, Moritzburg, Mozart, Kingston, Martha's Vineyard, Warsaw Autumn festivals. He regularly tours with the Musicians from Marlboro and appears at the Barge Music in New York. He was recently invited to be the soloist with the New Jersey Lyric Orchestra at their Carnegie Hall debut performance and with the Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra in Jordan Hall, Boston. He was also chosen by Gidon Kremer to participate in Chamber Music Connects the World Festival in Kronberg, Germany where he performed with the Guarneri String Quartet. He is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music in New York where he studied with Michael Tree. He holds a position of Principal Viola at the Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra. He is also a founding member of ECCO - the new conductor-less chamber orchestra. He plays a viola made by Hiroshi Iizuka in Philadelphia in 1997.

Beth Guterman, viola
Beth Guterman is one of the most sought after violists. Starting in the 2006-7 season, she will perform in Alice Tully Hall as a member of the Chamber Music Society Two of Lincoln Center. In the past seasons, Ms. Guterman has appeared as soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician in Zankel Hall, Weill Hall, Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, Wigmore Hall, Jordan Hall, and Aspen's Harris Hall and Benedict Music Tent as well as touring across America, Europe and Asia. As soloist, Ms. Guterman has performed concertos with the Spoleto USA Orchestra, the Juilliard Symphony, and Aspen's Sinfonia Orchestra. Ms. Guterman is currently principal violist in the IRIS Chamber Orchestra, and has performed as Principal in the Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra, Juilliard Symphony and Orchestra, Aspen Sinfonia Orchestra, and the Spoleto USA Orchestra. Between 2001-2004, she was the associate principal viola of the Aspen Festival Orchestra and the Aspen Chamber Symphony.
As a member of the International Sejong Soloists, she has toured extensively across the world. This spring she toured with Sejong playing Piano Quartets with Joseph Kalichstein.

Jung Yeon Kim, viola
Violist Jung Yeon Kim was born in Seoul, Korea. She began to play the violin when she was eight and switched to viola, receiving Masters in viola at Juilliard. Jung Yeon has received many awards including winning the Juilliard Pre-College Concerto Competition. She made solo performances with the Juilliard Pre-College Orchestra as well as the Korea Philharmonic. She also performed solo at the Juilliard School, Aspen Music Festival, Courchevel Music Festival, Meadowmount Music Festival, Kneisel Hall Music Festival, Ort Castle Gala Concert, Belgian Embassy Benefit Ceremony, and many more. As a chamber musician, she performed at the Aspen Music Festival, Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Pual Hall, French Alliance in NYC, and Santa Barbara Festival. In 2004, as a member of the Hudson String Quartet Jung Yeon received the New England Conservatory Honors Ensemble award at NEC, where she received her artist diploma. In the summer of 2005 and 2006 Jung Yeon participated in the Point Counterpoint Music Camp as an artist and faculty member. Recently, she has collaborated with Alice Walker, the author of “The Color Purple”.

Wei-Yang Andy Lin, viola
Wei-Yang Andy Lin, recognized as one of the most promising young violists of today, has performed at major venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center in Washington DC., Los Angeles Music Center, and Tainan Cultural Center in Taiwan. He also had the privilege to perform for the President of the United States, Bill Clinton and the President of Taiwan, Ten-Hui Lee. He has been invited to perform chamber music with Itzhak Perlman at Manhattan Synagogue, Princeton University, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and The Metropolitan Museum. Born in Taiwan, Mr. Lin came to the US in 1997 to attend Idyllwild Arts Academy and studied with Donald McInnes. He graduated The Juilliard School working with Hsin-Yun Huang and his other teachers include Michael Tree and Toby Appel. He has been a part of several music festivals including Bowdoin Summer Festival, Aspen Summer Music Festival, Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, Music at Menlo, and The Perlman Chamber Music Workshop. 

CELLO

Ole Akahoshi, cello, principal
German cellist Ole Akahoshi has performed as soloist with orchestras including Orchestra of St. Luke’s under Yehudi Menuhin, Symphonisches Orchester Berlin and Czechoslovakian Radio Orchestra. Winner of competitions including Concertino Praga and Jugend Musiziert, his performances have been featured on CNN, NPR, HR, BR, KBS (Korea), and WQXR. Akahoshi has performed in Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Kennedy Center, Suntory Hall Tokyo, Seoul Arts Center, Wigmore Hall London, Berliner Philharmonie. He recorded for among others the Albany and Naxos Labels. Akahoshi received his BM from Juilliard and MM from Yale (with Aldo Parisot) and the Artist Diploma from Indiana University (with Janos Starker). Akahoshi was teaching assistant for Aldo Parisot and Janos Starker. He also studied with Pierre Fournier. His other mentors in Germany were Georg Donderer and Wolfgang Boettcher. Akahoshi is principal cellist of the Sejong Soloists in New York, as well as member of the Saito Kinen Orchestra and the Opera Nomori Tokyo. He joined the faculty of the Yale School of Music in 1997 and the Manhattan School of Music in 2004.
Aldo Parisot Chair

Ani Aznavoorian, cello
Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as a “cellist who shows great sensitivity and great virtuosity at all moments,” Sejong member Ani Aznavoorian has established herself as one of the foremost cellists of her generation. She has been a soloist with many of the world's leading orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops, Tokyo, Helsinki, and Indianapolis philharmonics, Finnish Radio, Edmonton, and San Jose symphonies, and Concertante di Chicago. Ms. Aznavoorian has won first prizes in the Illinois Young Performers, Union League Civic and Arts Foundation Music Scholarship, Chicago Cello Society National, Julius Stulberg, and American String Teachers Association competitions. A Presidential Scholar in the Arts, Ms. Aznavoorian was the youngest winning cellist in the history of the Juilliard School’s Concerto Competition. Most recently, she gave the world premiere performance of Lera Auerbach’s Twenty-four Preludes for Cello and Piano live on stage with the Hamburg State Ballet. Ms. Aznavoorian received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Juilliard as a student of Aldo Parisot. Currently Ani is on the faculty of University of Illinois. She proudly performs on a cello made by her father, Peter Aznavoorian of Chicago.

Na-Young Baek, cello
Winner of the Philadelphia orchestra competition, cellist Na-Young Baek has made her American Debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra in 2000. She has performed as a soloist with numerous orchestras such as Hudson Valley Philharmonic, DuPage Symphony Orchestra, Academy Symphony, World Symphony Orchestra, Suwon Philharmonic, and the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. As an active recitalist, one of the most recent recitals include the Dame Myra Hess concert which was broadcasted live in Chicago. She came to USA to study at the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music as a pupil of Orlando Cole. Her study continued at the Yale University for the Mater’s degree with Aldo Parisot who also had taught her for the Artist Diploma program at the Juilliard School. During the study, she won a top prize at the 1st Gyeongnam International Competition(Isang Yun in memoriam), and the first prizes at the Hudson Valley Philharmonic Competition and the Holland-American Society Competition, where she was awarded a use of a Koen Johan Herman Padding cello for a year.

Patrick Jee, cello
Mr. Jee’s solo career has taken him across the United States, Canada, Asia, and Europe with engagements and re-engagements by many orchestras including the Buffalo Philharmonic, Edmonton Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, and the National Orchestra of Toulouse. As a recitalist and chamber musician, Mr. Jee has performed at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, Herbst Theatre, the Kennedy Center, the United Nations, and Wigmore Hall. He has also performed on Caramoor’s “Rising Stars” and “Virtuosi” Series in collaboration with Leon Fleisher. Mr. Jee is a member of the Sejong Soloists (EMI) and “Ditto” (Credia), a new chamber group based in S. Korea. Mr. Jee has garnered top prizes in many competitions, most recently being the 5th Carlos Prieto International Cello Competition held in Morelia, Mexico. Others include the Andre Navarra Cello Competition, the Holland-America Music Society Competition, the Irving Klein International String Competition, the Hugo Kauder Cello Competition, and the International Web Concert Hall Competition. He holds a B.M. from the Juilliard School and a M.M. from Yale University School of Music. Currently, Mr. Jee is Assistant Principal Cello of the Lyric Opera of Chicago and Principal Cello of the Grant Park Orchestra. He is also on faculty at Roosevelt University Chicago College of Performing Arts.

Kevork Parsamian, cello
Cellist Kevork Parsamian was born in Sofia, Bulgaria. He began his cello studies at the age of four. In 1995, Kevork came to the United States, where he completed his bachelor degree at the University of Cincinnati with Yehuda Hanani, his master’s degree at Indiana University with Janos Starker, and an Artist Diploma at Yale University School of Music, with Aldo Parisot. Kevork has received many and prizes, including first prize in the Bulgarian National Music Competition, the Lima Symphony Competition in Lima, OH, and the Cincinnati University concerto competition. Kevork has been featured as guest soloist with the University of Cincinnati, the Indiana Symphony, the Lima Symphony, the Mannes Community, and the Bulgarian National orchestras. In 2005 he performed in Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall on the “Treasures of Bulgaria” series. His concerts have been broadcast on Bulgarian radio and television. Kevork is also an active chamber musician. During his stay at Indiana, his string quartet won the prestigious Kutner award. He has worked with such notable artists as the Tokyo String Quartet, Peter Oundjian, Ani Kavafian, Mauricio Fuks, and Paul Biss. In addition, he has been a cello section member in the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Lima, OH., Evansville, IN., Sarasota West Coast, and New World Symphony Orchestras. Currently he is on faculty in the preparatory division of Manhattan School of Music, and a member of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra.

BASS