Soyoung Yoon, born in Korea in 1984, received her first violin lesson at the age of five. Winning a series of the most important competitions in the nation as a young student, she became the center of attention in the musical community in Korea.
She has demonstrated her outstanding caliber and passion in many of the world’s prestigious competitions with her mesmerizing performances.
In 2007, she won the Fourth Prize in the P. I. Tchaikovsky Competition. In 2006, she swept the David Oistrakh Competition where she was simultaneously awarded the Grand Prix, Virtuoso Special Prize, and Lutoslawski Society Special Prize.
In 2005, Soyoung won the Tibor Varga International Competition where she also received the Bartok Special Prize.
In 2003, she won the Cologne International Competition as the youngest first prize winner ever. In the same year, she was a finalist in the Hannover International Competition.
In 2002, she won the First Prize in the Yehudi Menuhin International Competition. She was awarded the Second Prize of the Junior Section in Yfrah Neamann International Competition in 2001.
The domestic competitions she won in Korea include the Music Chun-chu Competition, the Seoul Symphony Competition and the Republic of Korea Youth Music Competition. She was awarded the Best New Artist Award from the Music Association of Korea in 2005.

Soyoung has toured around Europe performing as a soloist with a number of orchestras such as Moscow Virtuosi Orchestra, Zurich Kammer Orchestra, Philharmonie der Nationen, The London Mozart Players, Germany’s NDR Orchestra, WDR Orchestra, National Radio Orchestra of Kiev, Russian National Orchestra, and Euskadiko Orchestra Spain. She has worked with many eminent conductors including Saulus Sondetzki and Justus Frantz, and her performances have taken places in such renowned halls as Moscow Bolshoi Hall, Moscow International House of Music, Tokyo Santori Hall, Zurich Tonhalle, Cologne Philhamonie, Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center, and Seoul Arts Center.

She has attended Master classes with Shlomo Mintz, Ida Haendel, Donald Weilerstein, Victor Danchenko, and many other great violinists. She also attended the Keshet Eilon Violin Master Course and the Ishikawa Music Academy where she won the scholarship awards.

Soyoung studied at the Yewon Middle School for Arts and Seoul Arts High School in Korea. She was admitted to the Korean National University of Arts as a “gifted musician” in 2002. She has studied with Professor Nam-yun Kim in Korea. In 2004, Soyoung moved to Germany to attend the Cologne Conservatory, where she is studying with Professor Zakhar Bron.

Her instrument is a J.B.Guadanini 1783 Turin.

Fourteen-year-old violinist, Esther Yoo, was born in the U.S. and began to play the violin at age 4 ½. She has already performed as soloist on numerous stages throughout the world, including the Royal Concert Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Wolubilis Hall, Palais des Beaux-Arts and Flagey Hall in Belgium, Aquila Opera House in Italy, Tel Aviv Opera House and Kefar Blum Concert Hall in Israel, KBS Hall in Korea, Minsk Philharmonic Concert Hall in Byelorussia, Carnegie Weill Recital Hall and Juilliard School Paul Hall in New York, and at various other concert halls in France, Germany, Portugal, Poland, Austria and Russia.

Esther Yoo made her orchestra debut at the age of eight in Belgium. Since then, she has performed with orchestras including the Arpeggione Chamber Orchestra, Byelorussian State Philharmonic Orchestra, the Charlemagne Orchestra, the Novosibirsk Symphony Orchestra, Nouve Musiche Symphony Orchestra, the Minsk Youth Orchestra, Seoul Nirvana Philharmonie Orchestra and the Polish National Chamber Orchestra. Miss Yoo has also performed at various international festivals including the Kamermuziek Houtland Festival in Bruges and the Arpeggione Music Festival in Austria. Her recent recitals have included an appearance in the Rising Stars Series at the Frankische Music Festival (Alzenau, Germany) with pianist Itamar Golan and a recital in Good Morning Concert Series in Palais des Beaux-Arts (Brussels, Belgium). Upcoming engagements include appearances with the Charlemagne Orchestra, Byelorussian State Philharmonic Orchestra, Nouve Musiche Symphony Orchestra, the Minsk Youth Orchestra, the Kharkov Symphony Orchestra, Korea Symphony Orchestra and recitals/concerts in Amsterdam, Brussels (Royal Albert Hall) and London (Royal Festival Hall).

In 2006, at age 12, Esther Yoo was awarded the First Prize at the 10th International Wieniawski Violin Competition for Young Violinists (junior section). That same year, she won the coveted European Union Award for Music Art for Youth. Other awards include First Prize at the New York Music Competition in 2000, Second Prize (youngest age winner) in the 2003 International Violin Competition “Andrea Postacchini” and First Prize at the 1999 New Jersey Music Competition.

Esther Yoo is currently attending middle school at the International School of Brussels, where she is on the Head’s List for exceptional academic grades, while she is studying with professor Zakhar Bron. Along with her violin playing and school, she enjoys dance lessons, reading and singing.