From the Road

Superstar flutist Jasmine Choi has performed across the globe in a variety of genres, from classical solo repertoire, chamber music, and orchestral music to experimental, jazz, and pop.

Selected in 2015 by Sinfini Magazine UK as one of the ten best flutists in the history of music, along with Jean-Pierre Rampal, James Galway,and Emmanuel Pahud, Ms. Choi is a full-time soloist giving almost 100 concerts each season around the globe.

Ms. Choi has performed as a soloist with the Vienna Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, and the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra; and has presented recitals in Paris, Vienna, London, Munich, New York, Tokyo, Seoul, and Hong Kong. Ms. Choi performed for the 2018 Winter Olympics celebrations in PyeongChang, Korea.

At the Juilliard School, Ms Choi was the last pupil of the late Julius Baker, former principal flute of the New York Philharmonic. She also studied with Jeffrey Khaner, principal flute of the Philadelphia Orchestra, at the Curtis Institute of Music.

She has recorded several solo CDs under the Sony Classical label, including recordings of Mozart’s flute concertos and quartets with flute, virtuosic solo works, and Claude Bolling’s Suite for Flute and Jazz Trio. Other recordings include The Telemann Files, Love in Paris (from a live recital), and Trio Joy (free improvisation).

Her performances can be found on her YouTube channel which has reached more than 5 million views. In 2016, she was named Cultural Ambassador of her hometown Daejeon, Korea.

The recipient of a number of awards and honors, violinist Dami Kim won first prize in the 2012 Hannover Joseph Joachim International Competition in Germany, where she received a G.B. Guadagnini violin and a CD recording contract with Naxos as a part of her prize. She was a laureate at the 2014 Indianapolis Violin Competition in the United States, where she was honored for her classical concerto and Beethoven sonata performances, and at the 2012 Queen Elisabeth International Competition in Belgium.

Ms. Kim has appeared as soloist with the Philadelphia and Macau orchestras; the Seoul, Thailand Royal, and Tokyo philharmonics; l’Orchestra Royal de Chambre de Wallonie; the National Orchestra of Belgium; and the KBS Orchestra. She is a regular participant at chamber music festivals including Ravinia, Yellow Barn, and Taos; and has collaborated with renowned artists including Frans Helmerson, Steven Isserlis, Gidon Kremer, Mihaela Martin, and Christian Tetzlaff.

In 2018 Ms. Kim released her debut album on the Sony label, featuring Dvorák’s Violin Concerto with the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra.

Ms. Kim holds an artist diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied with the late Aaron Rosand; and a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and graduate diploma from the New England Conservatory where she studied with Miriam Fried. She is now pursuing her D.M.A. at Stony Brook University in New York, studying with Philip Setzer and Jennifer Frautschi.

A violist of international reputation, Roberto Díaz is president and CEO of the Curtis Institute of Music, following in the footsteps of renowned soloist/directors such as Josef Hofmann, Efrem Zimbalist, and Rudolf Serkin.

As a soloist, Mr. Díaz collaborates with leading conductors of our time on stages throughout the world. He has also worked directly with important 20th- and 21st-century composers, including Krzysztof Penderecki—whose viola concerto he has performed numerous times with the composer on the podium and whose double concerto he premiered in the United States—as well as Edison Denisov, Jennifer Higdon, Ricardo Lorenz, and Roberto Sierra. His recording of Jennifer Higdon’s Viola Concerto won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Classical Composition in 2018.

A frequent recitalist, Mr. Díaz enjoys collaborating with young musicians, bringing a fresh approach to the repertoire and providing invaluable opportunities to artists at the beginning of their careers. In addition to performing with major string quartets and pianists in chamber music series and festivals worldwide, he is a member of the Díaz Trio. His recordings include a Grammy-nominated disc of viola transcriptions by William Primrose for Naxos, as well as releases on the Artek, Bridge Records, Dorian, Nimbus, and New World labels.

In addition to his decade-long tenure as principal viola of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Mr. Díaz was also principal viola of the National Symphony under Mstislav Rostropovich, and was a member of the Boston Symphony and the Minnesota Orchestra. He is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music and the Curtis Institute of Music, where he continues to serve on the faculty, holding the James and Betty Matarese Chair in Viola Studies and the Nina von Maltzahn President’s Chair. Mr. Díaz plays the ex-Primrose Amati viola.

Korean cellist and activist, Christine J. Lee aims to create a world of unity through music in her performances. She is the most recent winner of the Isang Yun international competition in Korea as well as a laureate of the first Queen Elisabeth International Cello Competition.

Some of her highlights for this season includes the American premiere of Andrea Tarrodi’s Concerto, as well as her debut at the Berlin Philharmonie lunch series. In previous seasons, she made her debut with the Brussels Philharmonic with Augustin Dumay playing the Brahms Double Concerto. She has appeared with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Monterey Symphony, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra Symphony, Houston Symphony, Young Belgian Strings, Orchestra of Mons, and the National Orchestra of Belgium as a soloist. Performing around the globe as a soloist and a chamber musician, she has appeared in many prestigious venues, such as the Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, Musée du Louvre, and the Victoria Hall. She has appeared in prestigious festivals such as La Musica Festival, Music@Menlo, La Jolla Summerfest, Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, Music From Angel Fire, and the Marlboro Music Festival.

As a musician of versatility and diverse interest, she has worked with contemporary music ensembles like eighth blackbird and Juilliard AXIOM. Christine also enjoys playing Baroque music, especially the Bach Cantatas, and has worked with Anner Bylsma and Roel Dieltiens. In addition to exploring and performing different styles of classical music, she is one of the original members of CelloPointe, whose performances combine classical ballet and music in an intimate setting with music ranging from Baroque to contemporary works.

Ms. Lee studied with Orlando Cole, Peter Wiley, and Carter Brey at the Curtis Institute of Music, where she received a B.M., and with Joel Krosnick at the Juilliard School, where she completed her M.A. Furthermore, she pursued an advanced performance diploma under the guidance of Christoph Richter at the Royal Academy of Music in London. She plays on a Francesco Stradivarius on a generous loan from an anonymous sponsor.

Born in Seoul, Kyu Yeon Kim studied at the Korea National University of Arts with Choong-Mo Kang, at the Universität der Künste in Berlin with Klaus Hellwig, at the Curtis Institute of Music with Gary Graffman, and at New England Conservatory with Russell Sherman.

She has given recitals and concerts in the United States, Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland, Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, Japan, China and Australia and has appeared as a soloist with a number of orchestras, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, the National Orchestra of Belgium, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, the KBS Orchestra, Sinfonietta Cracovia, Utah Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie, Hungarian Chamber Orchestra, and the RTE National Symphony Orchestra.

Ms. Kim has won prizes in numerous competitions including first prize in the Gina Bachauer International Young Artists Piano Competition in 2001; special prize in the Geneva International Music Competition in 2002; second prize, concerto prize, and a Mozart prize in the AXA Dublin International Piano Competition in 2006; and fourth prize and a Mozart prize in the Cleveland International Piano Competition in 2011. She was a laureate in the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition in 2010.

She has attended the International Piano Academy Lake Como and earned an artist diploma at the Cleveland Institute of Music under the guidance of Sergei Babayan. She is pursuing a doctorate degree at the Manhattan School of Music with Solomon Mikowsky.

Her first album, Rameau and Schubert, was released by the DUX label in Poland and distributed by NAXOS in the United States in 2017. Currently, she is a member of Opus Ensemble and a music director of the Young Classical Artists Foundation.