Jasmine Choi Flute

Superstar flutist Jasmine Choi was named one of the Top 10 Greatest Flutist in History by Sinfini Maga- zine, UK in February 2015, and she is at her best shape than ever before. Choi is extremely well-known for her highly sophisticated musicianship, charismatic stage presence, as well as her ground-breaking technique, her own arrangements of violin pieces, and daring to play other genres than limiting herself only in classical music.

She is a flutist for whom it can be said that the descriptor “first” is uncommonly apt. Choi was the first Korean woodwind player to be hired as principal by a major symphony orchestra in the United States, the first Korean musician and first woman principal to join the Vienna Symphony in the orchestra’s storied 113-year history, the first classical musician to attempt the official Pops Recital tour in Korea, and the first Korean featured as a cover story in Flute Talk magazine USA.

Korea Times praised her as „the Goddess of Flute“, and after having served as principal flute of the Vi- enna Symphony and associate principal flute of the Cincinnati Symphony, Choi has now moved on to a career as a full-time soloist.

Born in Seoul and raised in Daejon, South Korea, Jasmine Choi is from a family where most members of the family were professional classical musicians; including her conductor grandfather and her violinist mother to name a few. She began her musical studies on violin at age three, and piano at five. Her inte- rest in music, however, has only realized when she picked up the flute which was a present for her ninth birthday. Playing the flute has become her biggest passion ever since.

At 16, Choi came to the United States when she was accepted to study at the Curtis Institute of Music on a full scholarship. The legendary New York Philharmonic principal Julius Baker called her „a huge sen- sation,“ and she studied with him for four years until his death in 2003 which left Choi as the last student of the legend. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music and a Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School where she studied with Philadelphia Orchestra principal Jeffrey Khaner, and later she continued her further studies with Thomas Robertello. Upon her graduation at Juilliard School, Choi moved directly to play as associate principal flute at Cincinnati Symphony when 22 years old, and six years later she moved on to Vienna Symphony.

Nominated by Symphony magazine as one of „America‘s Emerging Artists“ in 2005, Jasmine Choi was presented on the „Rising Stars“ series in Carnegie Hall‘s Weill Recital Hall and at Philadelphia‘s Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. Performance highlights include solo recitals at Wigmore Hall in London, Konzerthaus Schubert Saal in Vienna, the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, Seoul Arts Center in Seoul, and she has appeared as a soloist in the Musikverein Golden Hall in Vienna, Konzerthaus Mozart Saal in Vienna, Dvorak and Smetana Halls in Prague, and Disney Hall in Los Angeles.

She has performed as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony, Buffalo Philhar- monic, Juilliard Symphony, Vienna Symphony, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Salzburg Mozarteum, Tur- ku Philharmonic, Riga Sinfonietta, Czech Philharmonic Chamber, Seoul Philharmonic, KBS Symphony, among many others. As an ambassador of classical music, Choi also performed at the UN president Ban Ki-Moon‘s inauguration reception in New York, and she was a soloist with Vienna Symphony for the opening concert of the Bregenz Festival. Choi was invited as a featured soloist for the National Flute Association (NFA)’s 40th anniversary in Las Vegas, and was extensively celebrated with her solo perfor- mances including the opening gala concert and the closing ceremony, as well as a solo recital.

Adventurous in expanding the repertoire for flute, Jasmine Choi performs her own arrangements of the violin concertos of Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky, the Saint-Saens Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, Zigeunerweisen, as well as numerous other violin and cello sonatas. Her arrangements of the Bach’s Double Concerto for two violins and the Monti’s Czardas have been published by the Falls House Press USA.

Beethovenstrasse 30 -|- 5020 Salzburg Austria -|- Mob: +43-(0)664-3302268 -|- Tel: +43-(0)662-425091 Fax: +43-(0)662-425091 -|- [email protected] -|- www.cadenza-concert.at Also active in the contemporary classical music scene, her early commissions include works by Korean- American composers Solbong Kim and James Ra, and she frequently performs the works of Isang Yun. More recently, the well-known flutist and composer Gary Schocker dedicated a piece to her called “Winter Jasmine”, in celebration of Choi’s new 14k gold flute handmade by David Straubinger. A composer/ conductor Mark Laycok has written „the Flute Concerto for Jasmine Choi“ for flute and string orchestra which had the US and European premieres with the composer on the podium. Choi also made the world-premiere of the Detlev Glanert‘s Mozart Variations for flute and orchestra which was broadcasted live by ORF TV in Austria.

As a recording artist, Choi has recorded five solo CDs including Sony Classical; the Mozart Flute Concertos, Fantasy: Virtuosic Flute Works, Claude Bolling Suite for Flute and Jazz Trio, Mozart Flute Quartets, and her latest CD „The Telemann Files“ has made a fresh wave in the music scene as she made an extremely successful crowdfunding online.

Despite her shining career, Choi has experienced low points in her life several times. She was only 12 years old when she bravely left her family in order to study music in Seoul, suffering through severe stomach disorders driven by extreme homesickness and practicing without taking time to eat. Then while enrolled at Curtis Institute of Music, she was diagnosed by several doctors who told that she would not be able to play the flute any longer because of a nerve-related issue on her right hand. Choi was neither able to hold the flute nor such light things as a pencil for 6 months, not to mention that it led her to a serious depression. Choi now speaks of the incident that it made her stronger in the end, and her music has enriched in depth.

Highlights of the season 2015-2016 includes performing with the Berlin Symphony at the Philharmonie Berlin (Germany), the Baden-Baden Philharmonic at the KKL in Lucerne (Switzerland), the Korean Symphony for their New Year‘s Eve concert in Seoul (Korea), George Enescu Philharmonic in Bucharest (Romania), Olten Philharmonic in Izmir (Turkey), recitals in Paris (France), Berlin (Germany), Arlberg (Austria), Madrid (Spain), Bangkok (Thailand), Seoul (Korea), and her annual master classes in Bregenz (Austria).

Seeking to use music as a conduit to both console and inspire her listeners, Choi enjoys sharing her thoughts and communicates directly with fans.