Sinfonia Toronto Presents Two Young Korean Violinists In DYNAMIC DUO

Sinfonia Toronto's upcoming concert features two young Korean artists on the brink of major international careers. Violinist Hyuk Joo Kwun began his career as a child prodigy, studied in Russia, and won Denmark's Carl Neilson competition at nineteen. Pianist Hyejin Kim's career is also taking off after her studies in Germany and her competition wins. This is a valuable opportunity to catch two future superstars. The repertoire features the Toronto premiere of JUNO winner Canadian composer John Burge's A Light Fantastic Round; Mendelssohn's Concerto for Violin and Piano in D Minor; and Dvorak's Chamber Symphony op. 105 in A-flat Major orchestrated by Nurhan Arman.

Violinist Hyuk-Joo Kwun was born in Seoul, Korea in 1985. He performs regularly throughout Russia, South Korea, Israel, Germany and Lithuania. His Russian engagements have included performances with the Moscow National Orchestra and the Kremlin Chamber Orchestra. He has played in Tel-Aviv with the Haifa Philharmonic under Maestro Schlomo Mintz and Suwon Philharmonic in the Seoul Art Center. In June 2004 he won first prize at the Carl Nielsen International Violin Competition in Denmark. Previous wins include the Grand-prix in the Kloster-Schontal Competition of Germany and the Grand Prix in the Third Yampolsky Competition in Russia. Hyuk-Joo Kwun began his violin studies at age three and was accepted at the Korean National Institute of Arts in Seoul at age six with Professor Nam Yun Kim. In 1995, Hyuk -Joo moved to Russia and studied in Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory under Professor Eduard Grach.

Pianist Hyejin Kim has been praised by critics for being "truly passionate, sensitive, and musical... an extremely polished and expressive pianist." She has performed in Korea, United States, Austria, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Russia and many other countries. Ms. Kim appeared as soloist with the Yaroslavl Philharmonic, State Symphony Orchestra of St. Petersburg, Seoul Philharmonic, Pilsen Philharmonic, Grosseto Orchestra, Slovak Sinfonietta of Zilina, Kharkov Philharmonic, Martinu Philharmonic, Nurnberg Symphony, and many others. In 2005, she became the youngest prize-winner of the Busoni International Piano Competition. Most recently, she was a winner of the Hong Kong International Competition. Ms. Kim holds a Master of Musical Arts from the University of Hans Eisler in Berlin, and a Bachelor Diploma from the University of Berlin where she studied under Professor Fabio Bidini. For the 200th Chopin anniversary, Ms. Kim is invited to play Chopin's two piano concertos in the Golden Hall of Vienna's Musikverein.

Upcoming concerts this season:
April 9/10: Pianist Heather Schmidt and violinist Xiaohan Guo

April 10/10: Music at La Maquette with harpist Floraleda Sacchi; champagne reception, recital, dinner, & silent auction; $80 with tax-deductible receipt of $35

May 14/10: Premium Concert with cellist Shauna Rolston

2010/2011 Masterpiece Series is on sale now!
October 1/10: Marc Grauwels, Flutist
November 12/10: Giancarlo De Lorenzo, Guest Conductor; Cecilia Loda, Mandolinist
December 10/10: Vicente Campos, Trumpeter
January 21/11: Judy Kang, Violinist
March 11/11: Sara Buechner, Pianist
April 15/11: Andrea Tyniec, Violinist
May 13/11: Andre Laplante, Pianist
Subscriptions are available now; single tickets will be available June 1, 2010.
For more information, please visit www.sinfoniatoronto.com.
Sinfonia Toronto gratefully acknowledges hotel sponsor The Strathcona Hotel and major season support from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the Toronto Arts Council and the Metcalf Foundation.

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