Ji Su Jung
Percussion
Performance
The first solo percussionist to ever receive the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, Ji Su Jung has a distinctive musical voice that is instantly recognizable for its depth and lyricism. Born in South Korea, Jung began studying marimba at age three, a rarity among percussionists. Since launching her career as a soloist, she has performed concertos with such leading orchestras and conductors as the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra with Marin Alsop, the Houston Symphony with Daniel Hege, the Colorado Symphony and the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra with Peter Oundjian, the Colorado Springs Philharmonic with JoAnn Falletta, the Sarasota Orchestra with Giancarlo Guerrero, and the Milwaukee Symphony with Ryan Tani. She was featured as a soloist with the Indianapolis Symphony as part of the 2024 Percussive Arts Society International Convention.
“Ji Su Jung’s performance of the Kevin Puts Marimba Concerto was dazzling—filled with breathtaking virtuosity but also beautifully shaped with extraordinary color and nuance,” remarked conductor JoAnn Falletta about Jung’s performance with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic. Jung’s recording of the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Kevin Puts’ Marimba Concerto, performed with the Baltimore Symphony and Marin Alsop, was released on the Naxos label in February 2023. Pizzicato said of the recording that “Jung elicits wide spectrums from the work with superior technical execution.”
Equally at home as a concerto soloist, recitalist, and collaborative artist, Jung has performed solo recitals in such venues as the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts’ newly renovated David Geffen Hall. She has collaborated with artists such as the Catalyst Quartet, Timothy Chooi, and Gilbert Kalish. She frequently performs with The Percussion Collective, an all-star collection of young percussionists, of which she has been a core member since its inception. Committed to expanding the repertoire for solo marimba, Jung has commissioned works by composers including Gabriela Ortiz, Dai Wei, and Soomin Kim.
In addition to receiving the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2022, she is a previous recipient of first prize and audience choice award at the Houston Symphony’s Ima Hogg Competition and a top prize at the International Marimba Competition in Linz, Austria. She also appeared as a young artist in residence with American Public Media’s highly popular radio program Performance Today, hosted by Fred Child.
Recognized internationally as a pedagogue, Jung serves on the faculties of Curtis Institute of Music and Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University. She has taught master classes at New York University’s Steinhardt School, the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, Michigan State University, the University of Central Florida, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, and Beijing Central Conservatory in China, among other schools.
Jung holds a bachelor’s degree from the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University, where she attended thanks to a generous grant from The Brookby Foundation. She also holds a master’s degree and an artist diploma from the Yale School of Music, where she studied with Robert van Sice.
Jung is a musical ambassador for Adams Percussion, Pearl/Adams, Zildjian, Evans, and Vic Firth percussion companies.
