Jinjoo Cho (; born 1988) is a South Korean violinist. She gained international recognition after winning first prize at the

International Violin Competition of Indianapolis The International Violin Competition of Indianapolis (IVCI) is a Classical music, classical violin competition which takes place once every four years in Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana. Since its founding in 1982, "The Indianapolis" has bee ...

in 2014. Cho has performed extensively as a soloist and chamber musician and currently teaches violin in the United States.

Early life and education

Cho was born in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, South Korea. She graduated from Yewon Art School and also attended the Pre-College program at the Korean National University of Arts. In 2002, she moved to the United States, where she studied in the Young Artist Program at the

Cleveland Institute of Music The Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) is a private music conservatory in Cleveland, Ohio. The school was founded in 1920 by a group of supporters led by Martha Bell Sanders and Mary Hutchens Smith, with Ernest Bloch serving as its first dire ...

(2002–2006) under Paul Kantor. Cho continued her education at the

Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, a Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on a full scholarshi ...

(2006–2007), studying with Joseph Silverstein and Pamela Frank. She returned to the Cleveland Institute of Music and received her Bachelor of Music degree in 2011 under Kantor. Cho completed her Master of Music degree in 2013 and obtained a Professional Studies certificate in 2015, both under Jaime Laredo.

Career

Jinjoo has been performing on concert stages worldwide since the age of 11. Her performances have taken her to numerous venues and festivals, including

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

Severance Hall Severance Hall, also known as Severance Music Center, is a concert hall in the University Circle neighborhood of Cleveland, Cleveland, Ohio, home to the Cleveland Orchestra. Opened in 1931 to give the orchestra a permanent home, the building is n ...

in Cleveland, the Aspen Music Festival, La Jolla SummerFest,

Banff Centre Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity (formerly Banff Centre) is an arts and culture educational institution in Banff, Alberta, Banff, Alberta. It offers arts programs in the Performing arts, performing and fine arts, as well as leadership trai ...

, Festival de Lanaudière, La Seine Musicale,

Kronberg Academy The Kronberg Academy is a Private university, private music school for string instrumentalists based in Kronberg im Taunus, Germany. Founded in 1993 by Raimund Trenkler, the academy trains a select group of young musicians who have the potential ...

, Schwetzingen Festspiele, Herkulessaal in Munich, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, and the

Seoul Arts Center The Seoul Arts Center (SAC; ) is an arts complex in Seocho District, Seoul, South Korea. It consists of five main buildings: the Opera House, with three auditoriums; the Music Hall, with two concert halls; the Hangaram Art Museum; the Hangaram D ...

. She has performed as a soloist with orchestras such as The Cleveland Orchestra, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Deutsche Radio Philharmonic, Orquesta Clásica Santa Cecilia, Ensemble Appassionato, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, and the symphony orchestras of North Carolina, Phoenix, and Charlotte. Cho has collaborated with renowned conductors, including James Gaffigan,

Kent Nagano Kent George Nagano (born November 22, 1951) is an American conductor and opera administrator. Since 2015, he has been ''Generalmusikdirektor'' (GMD) of the Hamburg State Opera (until 2025). Early life and education Nagano was born in Berkeley, ...

, JoAnn Falletta, Karina Canellakis, Mathieu Herzog, Peter Oundjian, Michael Stern, Tito Muñoz, Michael Francis, Moritz Gnann, Sung Shi-Yeon, Pietari Inkinen, and Clemens Schuldt. As a chamber musician, Cho has performed with distinguished artists such as Gary Hoffman, Andreas Ottensamer,

Ray Chen Ray Chen (; born 6 March 1989) is a Taiwanese Australians, Taiwanese-Australian violinist. He was the winner of the Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists, 2008 International Yehudi Menuhin Violin Competition and the Quee ...

, Itamar Golan, Roger Tapping, Jaime Laredo, Sharon Robinson, Vadim Gluzman, and Clive Greensmith. In 2021, she formed Trio Seoul with pianist Kyu Yeon Kim and cellist Brannon Cho.

Teaching and other activities

Cho is currently an Associate Professor of Violin at Northwestern University's Bienen School of Music. She has previously held faculty positions at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

, and

Oberlin Conservatory The Oberlin Conservatory of Music is a private music conservatory of Oberlin College, a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio. It was founded in 1865 and is the second oldest conservatory and oldest continually operating conservatory in ...

. Cho regularly serves as a juror for prestigious international competitions, including the

Sibelius Jean Sibelius (; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, and Schoenfeld competitions. She has also served on screening committees for the

Isang Yun Isang Yun, or Yun I-sang (; 17 September 1917 – 3 November 1995), was a Korean-born composer who made his later career in West Germany. Early life and education Yun was born in Sancheong (Sansei), Korea under Japanese rule, Korea in 1917, ...

, Premio Paganini, and Montréal competitions. In 2015, Cho founded the ENCORE Chamber Music Institute in Cleveland, Ohio, providing intensive chamber music education and performance opportunities. She has commissioned new works from composers Juri Seo and Andrew Rindfleisch and has collaborated with artists from various fields, including choreographer Jinyeob Cha and dancer Lip J Cho published her first book, ''Shine Someday'', a collection of essays, in 2021. The book became a bestseller in South Korea, offering personal insights into her life and career as an artist.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cho, Jinjoo 1988 births Living people Musicians from Seoul South Korean violinists Cleveland Institute of Music alumni Northwestern University Bienen School of Music faculty Academic staff of McGill University Cleveland Institute of Music faculty Oberlin Conservatory of Music faculty