Biography
Cellist Ye Jin Choi grew up in Europe, predominantly in Prague where she was introduced to the cello. She began her studies at age 7 with Hana Kočí at the Jan Neruda Music Grammar School, along with Vladan Kočí at the Prague Conservatory. Only a year later, she received 3rd place in the Liezen International Cello Competition, Austria. Since then, she has been successful in numerous competitions, most notably being awarded the Absolute Winner of the Czech National Strings Competition (Celostátní Souteže ZUŠ ČR), alongside being named twice on the Commemorative List (Pametní List) for outstanding achievement by the Mayor of Prague.
From international concert halls such as Prague’s Rudolfinum and New York’s Lincoln Center to more intimate private venues, Ye Jin is at home with audiences of all types. She has been part of the For Crying Out Loud Concert Series at Wigmore Hall — a series dedicated to babies and their parents; and more recently, part of the String Quartet Sessions at Uptown Jazz Cafe, Melbourne — a project to break the stigma of performing classical music in traditional classical music venues. Additionally, she performed in masterclasses with renowned cellists and chamber musicians, such as Mischa Maisky and Menahem Pressler.
As an avid chamber musician, Ye Jin frequently collaborates with pianist Kevin Suherman, as the Orix Duo. The duo first came together playing the Brahms E minor Cello Sonata at the Royal Academy of Music, winning the Wilfrid Parry Prize for their performance and rapport. As past winners of the Delius Prize, the duo was invited by the Delius Society to perform in Madingley Hall, University of Cambridge and were praised for their "sense of architecture, elegance, and nuance". Ye Jin has also been part of various chamber ensembles, working with members of the Juilliard Quartet, Emerson Quartet, Rodney Friend, Joseph Kalichstein, and Joanna MacGregor.
Highlights on the orchestral platform include being part of Czech Philharmonic’s commemorative concert dedicated to the centenary of Czechoslovakia’s independence, conducted by Semyon Bychkov. As a member of the Academy Symphony Orchestra and the Juilliard Orchestra, she played under renowned conductors such as Edward Gardner, Fabio Luisi, Sir Mark Elder, Karina Canellakis, Alan Gilbert, and Gianandrea Noseda. Ye Jin has led the cello sections of the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Orchestra, Academy’s Manson Ensemble, London Young Sinfonia, and Resonate Chamber Orchestra. She was principal cellist of the Royal Academy Opera Orchestra for the opening of the Susie Sainsbury Theatre with the presence of HRH The Princess Royal and The Duchess of Gloucester.
Though a native of South Korea, Ye Jin relates herself as a ‘Third Culture Kid’, having grown up in different cultures and countries other than her own. Inspired by this, she specialised in cello repertoire influenced by various folk and national themes for her Professional Diploma degree at the Royal Academy of Music, focusing on composers such as Janáček, Ginastera, Gershwin, and Martinů. This has led to her pursuing a doctoral research degree, focusing on the Czech folk and nationalistic idioms in Martinů's cello works.
Ye Jin is currently undertaking her PhD in Music Performance at the University of Melbourne, supported by the Research Training Scholarship. She obtained her Professional Diploma and her Master of Arts degree at the Academy under the Alec Rowley Memorial Trust Award, as a student of Christoph Richter. Graduating with a first-class distinction, she was awarded a DipRAM (Diploma of the Royal Academy of Music) for an outstanding final recital. She additionally undertook the teaching diploma course at the Academy and received the Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music. Ye Jin previously studied with Timothy Eddy at The Juilliard School, where she obtained her Bachelor of Music degree, supported by the Stonzek Memorial Scholarship. She is currently based in Melbourne, Australia, where she studies, teaches, and performs on various platforms.
Ye Jin plays on a Czech cello by Miroslav Komár (Praha 2008), but has also had the pleasure of playing on a cello by Giovanni Battista Rogeri (Brescia c. 1690) loaned by the Academy.