Just a few weeks ago, three local Kumho Art Hall piano prodigies took the top three spots at this year’s Prague Spring International Music Competition in the Czech Republic. Kumho violinist Jang Yoo-jin has now added to the phenomenon of Korean musicians dominating the podiums at international music competitions with her first place win in Japan this weekend.

Jang, 25, took home first place in the violin section at this year’s sixth Sendai International Music Competition in Japan on Saturday, beating 40 musicians from 10 countries. 

In the final round of the competition the violinist clinched her gold medal by performing Mendelssohn’s “Violin Concerto in E minor, op.64” and Stravinsky’s “Violin Concerto in D.” Jang received prize money of roughly 32.6 million won ($28,000) and an album recording of her solo recital competition performances.  

The up-and-coming musician is no stranger to competition wins, having won a plethora of first place titles at the EWHA Kyunghyang Competition and the fourth International Munetsugu Violin Competition in Japan, in which she was loaned the 1697 Rainville Stradivari violin.

Jang has performed with some of the country’s leading orchestras since the age of 9, including the KBS Symphony Orchestra and the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra before debuting with Kumho in 2001 in the company’s annual “Gifted Artists” concert. An active international soloist, she has appeared with Ivan Fischer’s Budapest Festival Orchestra, the Bulgaria National Radio Symphony Orchestra, among others.

Along with Jang’s win in Japan on Saturday, fellow Kumho violinist Kim Bom-sori was also honored at this year’s 2016 Concours Musical International de Montreal, held in Canada from May 22 to June 2.

Kim, 26, took second place at this year’s Concours Musical International competition, behind Japan’s Tsuji Ayana. The violinist performed D. Chostakovitch’s “Concerto No. 1, op. 99” and was awarded with roughly 18.1 million won in prize money. She also snagged the competition’s Radio-Canada People’s Choice Award, adding another 5.8 million won to her winnings. 

Kim graduated from Seoul National University and at present continues her studies at the Juilliard School in New York under Sylvia Rosenberg and Ronald Copes. She debuted as a Kumho artist in 2004 as part of the “Gifted Artists” series.

In 2010 she took fourth place in the Sendai International Music Competition in Japan as well as the audience favorite award. In that same year she was one of six finalists in the Jean Sibelius Competition in Helsinki. In 2011 she won the third International Violin Competition in Qingdao, China, and won second prize at the 62nd International ARD Competition in Munich in 2013.

The Kumho Asiana Cultural Foundation, affiliated with Kumho Art Hall, has supported Korean classical musicians to train and develop their musicals skills to be able to compete at an international level. 

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)