Winds and Strings

Julin Cheung, from Seattle, entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2020 and studies flute with Jeffrey Khaner. All students at Curtis receive merit-based, full-tuition scholarships, and Mr. Cheung is the Gerry and Marguerite Lenfest Fellow.

Mr. Cheung joined the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra at age nine and has since participated in several music festivals, including the Galway Flute Festival, Curtis Summerfest flute program, and Domaine Forget de Charlevoix. Most recently, he was a guest artist for the 2022 Slovenian Flute Festival and was featured on an episode of NPR’s From The Top. In the summer of 2023, Mr. Cheung toured North America as a part of the tenth anniversary season of Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America.

As a soloist, Mr. Cheung has received numerous awards in local and international competitions, notably first prizes in the Severino Gazzelloni International Flute Competition, the National Flute Association’s High School Soloist Competition, and the Flute Society of Greater Philadelphia’s Collegiate Artist Competition. He has also received Young Artist awards from the Seattle Symphony and Seattle’s KING-FM and a gold medal from the Young Artist Competition of Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in Washington state. Mr. Cheung has appeared as a soloist with the Seattle Symphony, Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra, and Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Cheung began playing the flute at age six and previously studied with Demarre McGill, Jeffrey Barker, Zart Dombourian-Eby, and Mary MacRae. He has performed in masterclasses for Sir James and Lady Jeanne Galway, Jasmine Choi, Emmanuel Pahud, Julien Beaudiment, Marina Piccinini, Patrick Williams, Francesco Loi, Donna Shin, Davide Formisano, Kersten McCall, Chelsea Knox, and Judy Dines.

Complementary to his flute studies, Mr. Cheung plays violin, and enjoys skiing, hiking, and photography in his spare time.

Music Director of Minnesota Orchestra for 18 years and of Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra since 2020, Osmo Vänskä is recognised for compelling interpretations of repertoire of all ages and an energetic presence on the podium. His democratic and inclusive style of work has been key in forging long-standing relationships with different orchestras.

Celebrating the last year of his tenure with Minnesota Orchestra this season, Osmo Vänskä presents some of his signature repertoire. He is joined by favourite guest soloists including Joshua Bell and Lisa Batiashvili, and continues with This Is Minnesota Orchestra, an Emmy Award-nominated series of performances for TV, radio and online audiences launched in 2020, developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vänskä has undertaken five major European tours, as well as historic trips to Cuba in 2015 – the first visit by an American orchestra since the two countries re-established diplomatic relations – and South Africa in 2018, as part of worldwide celebrations of Nelson Mandela’s Centenary – the first visit by an American orchestra, drawing together South African and American performers in musical expressions of peace, freedom and reconciliation, on a five-city tour following a successful return to London’s BBC Proms.

After a successful first season with Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, including opening and closing the Lotte Concert Hall Festival and recording works by Korean composer Isang Yun, he embarks on his second year with numerous concerts and community outreach projects.

He returns this season to the Symphony and Philharmonic orchestras of Pittsburgh, Antwerp, Helsinki, Netherlands Radio and Tokyo Metropolitan. While past guest conducting invitations include renowned international ensembles such as The Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Chicago symphony orchestras in North America; Orchestre de Paris, Berlin’s Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester and Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester in Europe, and London Philharmonic Orchestra in the UK; and the Shanghai Symphony and China, Hangzhou, Hong Kong and Taiwan philharmonic orchestras in Asia.

Asha Kline, from Ellicott City, Md., entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2020 and studies bassoon with Daniel Matsukawa. All students at Curtis receive merit-based, full-tuition scholarships, and Ms. Kline is the David H. Springman Memorial Fellow.

She has won first prize in the Boston Woodwind Society’s 2022 Matthew Ruggiero International Bassoon Competition and in the 2023 Meg Quigley Vivaldi Competition. Ms. Kline has appeared as soloist with orchestra as a two-time winner of the Baltimore Symphony Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition (2020, 2018) and the 2017 Columbia Orchestra Young Artist Competition. She currently serves as assistant principal bassoon in the New Haven Symphony Orchestra.

Ms. Kline has been a bassoon fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center for the past two summers and has also participated in festivals, including the National Orchestral Institute at the University of Maryland (2022), Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra (2020, 2021), and Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute (2018, 2019).

Ms. Kline started her bassoon studies at age ten, and she studied previously with Fei Xie, Harrison Miller, Schuyler Jackson, and Monica Schwartz. In her free time, she enjoys doing jigsaw puzzles and exploring Philadelphia.

Christine Ott, from Rochester, N.Y., entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2020 and studies horn with Jeffrey Lang and Jennifer Montone. All students at Curtis receive merit-based, full-tuition scholarships, and Ms. Ott is the Bob and Caro Rock Fellow.

Ms. Ott has appeared as soloist with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and the Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and has won competitions hosted by both orchestras. She has performed with the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America, the Eastman Community Music School Honors Wind Quintet and Brass Ensemble, the Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, and the Hochstein Philharmonia.

Ms. Ott began her musical studies at age five on the piano and started studying horn at age ten. Her teachers have included Greg Ott and Maura McCune Corvington. Apart from music, her pursuits include art, film, and food.

Violinist Erin Keefe is the concertmaster of the Minnesota Orchestra as well as a frequent artist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Winner of an Avery Fisher Career Grant, the Pro Musicis International Award, as well as numerous international competitions, she has appeared as soloist in recent seasons with the Minnesota Orchestra, New Mexico Symphony, New York City Ballet Orchestra, Korean Symphony Orchestra, Amadeus Chamber Orchestra, Turku Philharmonic, Sendai Philharmonic, and the Gottingen Symphony and has given recitals throughout the United States, Austria, Italy, Germany, Korea, Poland, Finland, Japan, and Denmark.

Ms. Keefe has been performing with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center since 2005 and has been featured on “Live from Lincoln Center” three times. She has collaborated with artists such as the Emerson String Quartet, Edgar Meyer, Gary Hoffman, James Ehnes, Augustin Hadelich, David Finckel, Wu Han, Richard Goode, Roberto and Andrés Díaz, Menahem Pressler, Gary Graffman, and Leon Fleisher, and she has recorded for Naxos, the CMS Studio Recordings label, BIS, Onyx, and Deutsche Grammophon. She has made festival appearances with Music@Menlo, La Jolla SummerFest, Mainly Mozart, Music Academy of the West, Music from Angel Fire, Ravinia, as well as the Seattle, OK Mozart, Mimir, Bravo! Vail Valley, Colorado College, Skaneateles, Salt Bay, Music in the Vineyards and Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festivals.

As a guest concertmaster, Ms. Keefe has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic, and the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra.

Ms. Keefe earned a Master of Music Degree from The Juilliard School and a Bachelor of Music Degree from the Curtis Institute of Music. Her teachers included Ronald Copes, Ida Kavafian, Arnold Steinhardt, Philip Setzer, Philipp Naegele, Brian Lewis, and Teri Einfeldt.

Ms. Keefe joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in 2022.

Jinyoung Yoon, from Seoul, first entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2016 and received a Bachelor of Music degree in 2022. She is now pursuing a Post-Baccalaureate Diploma, studying violin with Ida Kavafian. All students at Curtis receive merit-based, full-tuition scholarships, and Ms. Yoon is the John S. Price Fellow.

In 2023, Ms. Yoon won the first prize at the Connecticut Symphony Concerto Competition and will be performing the Beethoven Concerto with three different orchestras in the fall of 2023. Ms. Yoon appeared as a soloist with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Myung-Whun Chung. In 2010, she was selected to perform in the Kumho Prodigy Concert Series. Ms. Yoon is the winner of the grand prize in the Music Education Newspaper Competition and first prize in the Baroque Competition in Korea. She has attended the Sejong International Music Festival, Great Mountains Music Festival and School, and the Yellow Barn Young Artists Program.

Soyoung Cho, from Seoul, first entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2017 and received her Bachelor of Music degree in 2022, studying with Roberto Díaz, Hsin-Yun Huang, and Edward Gazouleas. She is now pursuing her Master of Music degree, studying viola with Edward Gazouleas and Misha Amory. All students at Curtis receive merit-based, full-tuition scholarships, and Ms. Cho is the Mimi Lane and Robert Durham Fellow.

Ms. Cho has won prizes at the 2015 Johansen International String Competition and the Junior Strings Division of the 2011 Osaka International Music Competition. She was a semifinalist in the 2022 Young Concert Artists auditions and appeared in the 2021 Primrose International Viola Competition. She has served as the principal viola of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra and regularly plays in string quartets and other chamber ensembles.

Ms. Cho has participated in music festivals such as Morningside Music Bridge, Heifetz International Music Institute, Toronto Summer Music Festival, Yale University’s Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, and the Verbier Festival Academy. She has also performed recitals in Beijing; Calgary; Toronto; Dubai; Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia; and Seoul.

Ms. Cho began studying the violin at age five and viola at age eight.

Hun Choi, from Seoul, first entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2017 and received a Bachelor of Music degree in 2023. He is now pursuing a master’s degree, studying cello with Peter Wiley and Gary Hoffman. All students at Curtis receive merit-based, full-tuition scholarships, and Mr. Choi is the Jacqueline du Pré Memorial Fellow.

Mr. Choi made his U.S. debut as a soloist with the Penn Symphony Orchestra under Maestro Thomas Hong in 2022. He has performed solo and chamber recitals in such prestigious venues as Curtis’s Field Concert Hall, Jordan Hall at the New England Conservatory, M. Steinert & Sons in Boston, Irvine Auditorium at the University of Pennsylvania, and the studio at WRTI Radio in Philadelphia.

Mr. Choi was invited to perform at the 9th Korean American Day at Philadelphia City Hall. Mr. Choi has given recitals in venues throughout South Korea, including Kumho Art Hall, Daejeon Arts Center, and the Kukje Art Hall. He has performed as a soloist in his home country with the PyeongChang Festival Orchestra, Namyangju Symphony Orchestra, and Yewon Orchestra.

He received first prize at the Seoul Youth Chamber Music Competition in 2015 and won the PyeongChang Music Festival Concerto Competition in 2017. Additionally, he was a prizewinner at the 2019 Morningside Music Bridge Concerto Competition and participated in the 2018 Prague Spring International Music Competition and the 2022 ISANGYUN Competition.

Mr. Choi has attended renowned festivals such as the PyeongChang Music Festival and School, Morningside Music Bridge, Seoul Art Center Music Academy, and the Heifetz International Music Institute as a string scholar fellow.

Prior to studying at Curtis, he attended Korea National University of Arts, where he studied with Myung-Wha Chung.

Dimitrios Mattas, from Fruit Heights, Utah, entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2022 and studies double bass with Harold Hall Robinson and Edgar Meyer. All students at Curtis receive merit-based, full-tuition scholarships, and Mr. Mattas is the Florence and Milton Levy Fellow.

Since 2019, he has been a substitute musician for the Philadelphia Orchestra and was previously a member of the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America, the Gifted Music School Orchestra, and the Aspen Festival Orchestra.

Mr. Mattas recently received his Bachelor of Music degree in double bass performance from the Juilliard School and studied at the prestigious Gifted Music School in Salt Lake City. He has also participated in the Interlochen Arts Camp and received a New Horizons Fellowship from the Aspen Music School. His previous teachers include Ben Henderson, Timothy Pitts, and Rex Surany.

Mr. Mattas enjoys the outdoors, hiking, and camping outside of his musical performances and studies. He is passionate about cooking and loves trying new recipes while spending time with family and friends.