Yewon Cho & Yoonsoo Yeo Joint Recital

29.02.2024 - 20h00 @ Korean Cultural Center

Free / Reservation required

— Yewon Cho(cello), Yoonsoo Yeo(cello), Katsura Mizumoto(piano)

The Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel is a prestigious international center responsible for the artistic education of young talented musicians in Belgium. The Korean Cultural Center has been working closely with the Chapel since 2015, showcasing both Korean musicians and other young talents from the Chapel on KCC's stage. This year, there will be two concerts featuring Korean musicians in February and April. The first concert will be a joint recital by two young and talented cellists: Yewon Cho and Yoonsoo Yeo, who joined the Chapel last September.

Program

Yewon Cho, cello / Katsura Mizumoto, piano

F. Mendelssohn, Cello Sonata No. 2 in D major, Op. 58

Yoonsoo Yeo, cello / Katsura Mizumoto, piano

F. Schubert, Sonata D 821 "Arpeggione"

F. Chopin, Introduction and Polonaise brillante in C major, Op. 3

Yoonsoo Yeo, cello and Yewon Cho, cello

Jean-Baptiste Barrière, Sonata for two cellos in G Maior

N.Paganini, Variations on a theme from «Moses in Egypt»

Yewon Cho, Cello

Yewon Cho began her musical studies at the age of three. She entered and graduated from Yewon School as the top of the class, and entered Seoul Arts High School. Also, she studied at Korea National Institute for Gifted Arts from 2014 to 2019. In 2019, she passed an early entrance examination to the Korea National University of Arts with a special admission in 2020, at the age of 15. She started her Bachelor Degree at the Korea National University of Arts with Prof. Kang-ho Lee and Prof. Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi. During the course, she received a full scholarship from Hyundai Chung Mong Koo foundation. In February 2023, she graduated early and received the prize, which is for the student who is at the top of the music department. From September 2023, she became an artist in residence at the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium, where she will be pursuing her studies with Gary Hoffman and Jeroen Reuling.

Throughout her career, she has received awards in many international competitions. In 2016, Yewon Cho won the Antonio Janigro International Cello Competition Junior held in Croatia with a special prize “Zagreb Soloist Award” and Korea-China International Competition for string instrument. She also received 2nd prize at Popper International Cello Competition in Hungary, Dotzauer International Competition in Dresden. In Korea, she won the Dong-A Music Competition, Seongjeong Music Competition, Strad Korea Competition, and Shinhan Music Award. She made her solo recital debut when she was 14 as a gifted artist at Kumho Art Hall in Seoul.

Yoonsoo Yeo, Cello

Yoonsoo Yeo started playing the cello at the age of eight, and studied with Myung-Wha Chung at the Korea National Institute for Gifted in Arts. From 2017, Yoonsoo continued his musical studies by moving to Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia where he studied with Peter Wiley and Carter Brey. Yoonsoo has participated in numerous competitions and festivals. He won the ‘Antonio Janigro International Cello Competition’ (2014) along with two special prizes. In the same year, he also won the ‘Schoenfeld international cello competition’. He took part in the Kronberg cello festival 2016 where he received the ‘Frans Helmerson prize’. He was also selected twice as a rising star, and won the concerto competition at the GMMFS (Great Mountain Music Festival and School). Yoonsoo was invited by “Ensemble Ditto Festival" as the youngest guest artist. He also participated at the ‘Gstaad Menuhin festival’, and ‘Carl Flesch Academy’ where he  was recently awarded ‘Gastgeber prize’. 

As a soloist, Yoonsoo had his first recital at Kumho art hall in 2013. He had his Seoul Arts Center debut in 2018. Yoonsoo has been selected as a rising artist by the Byeoksan foundation and Sejong Soloists. He is currently playing on a ‘1934 Carl Becker’ sponsored by the Byeoksan foundation. From September 2023, Yoonsoo will be an artist-in-residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel under the guidance of Gary Hoffman and Jeroen Reuling.

Katsura Mizumoto, piano

Katsura Mizumoto graduated from the Hochschule für Musik in Frankfurt with highest distinction and had lessons by Leon Fleisher, Paul-Badura Skoda, Vitaly Margulis among others. Katsura is currently soloist and chamber musician and invited to international music festivals in Europe and Japan. She performed chamber music with renowned musicians such as Nobuko Imai, Gary Hoffman, Charles Neidich, Nobuko Imai, Philippe Graffin, Michael Sanderling etc. She has been a teacher at Hochschule für Musik in Frankfurt and she is a piano coach at Music Chapel in Waterloo and the Royal Conservatory in Brussels.