Jun Cho, piano
Pianist Jun Cho is a multifaceted artist known for his versatility as a soloist, chamber musician, and educator. His performances have captivated audiences in major venues such as Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, 92nd Street Y, Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, Benaroya Hall, Kennedy Center, Barclay Theater, Salle Bourgie, Sala Sinfónia Pablo Casals, and Seoul Arts Center, among others. Cho has appeared as a guest artist at Gijón International Piano Festival, La Jolla Music Society, Cabrillo Festival, Harriman-Jewell Series, North Shore Chamber Music Festival, The Phillips Collection, Buffalo Chamber Music Society, and Pro Arte Musical Puerto Rico, among others. He has given lectures and masterclasses in Arizona State University and Sungshin Women’s University, and Korea International School of Arts (KISA).
A passionate collaborator, Cho frequently performs with esteemed musicians such as Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell, Philippe Quint, Stefan Jackiw, Ray Chen, Clive Greensmith, Steven Banks, and Randall Goosby, among others. As a featured pianist with the Pedro Giraudo Tango Quartet, a winner of the Latin GRAMMY Award, Cho brings the rich tradition of tango to life in renowned New York City venues such as The Iridium, Joe’s Pub, and Barbès. In 2024, Cho participated in the world premiere of Augusta Read Thomas’s Haemosu’s Celestial Chariot Ride (commissioned and performed by Sejong Soloists) at Zankel Hall.
Concurrent with his position at Syracuse University as Assistant Professor of Piano, Cho is an artist-faculty member at the Perlman Music Program and serves as the studio pianist for violinist Itzhak Perlman at the Juilliard School. At Juilliard, he also assists piano faculty member Julian Martin. In the past, he served as a faculty member at the Heifetz Institute and taught at the Michael P. Hammond Preparatory Division at Rice University.
As a founding member of New York in Chuncheon, a music festival based in Chuncheon, South Korea, Cho has played a pivotal role in creating a vibrant cultural exchange between New York City and Chuncheon. Since 2012, the festival has featured performances by prominent NYC musicians, including members of Brooklyn Rider, Attaca Quartet, and Sybarite 5. Through its outreach programs, including masterclasses and mentorship activities, the festival has nurtured the talents of aspiring musicians in Chuncheon, fostering a thriving musical community. In 2016, Cho, along with the other festival members, was appointed an honorary ambassador of Chuncheon.
Cho holds a Bachelor of Music and Master of Music in piano performance from the Juilliard School and a Doctor of Musical Arts from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. His teachers include Julian Martin and Jon Kimura Parker.
Shari Hoffman, clarinet
Shari Hoffman is currently Associate Clarinet with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. She is Principal Clarinet of the American Symphony Orchestra and second clarinet with the American Ballet Theatre Orchestra Ms. Hoffman has performed with many of New York City’s finest ensembles, including the New York City Opera Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra. Comfortable performing in many musical styles, Ms. Hoffman has been a member of numerous Broadway show orchestras including “My Fair Lady”, “The King and I”, and “South Pacific”. She is an active chamber musician, and a passionate teacher. Born and raised in the Philadelphia area, Ms. Hoffman completed her Bachelors and Masters degrees at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. Her principal teachers were Jon Manasse, Eli Eban, and Kenneth Grant.
Julia Johnstone, voice
Canadian soprano Julia Johnstone, praised for her “strong and rich” voice and “fine dramatic sense,” recently served as assistant director for La Traviata with the PASS Artist Residency, where she also covered the role of Violetta. She has appeared as Despina in Così fan tutte with the Utah Valley Operafest and as a featured soloist in the Heroes and Heroines concert at Opera America’s Scorca Hall in New York City. She was also a guest artist in the Rising Stars of NYC concert and has performed works by Bernstein, Bach, Brahms, and Hailstork with The Cecilia Chorus of New York at Carnegie Hall.
Other notable roles include Mrs. Paskova in The Cunning Little Vixen (NYC), Zweite Dame in Die Zauberflöte (Czech Republic), and Frasquita in Carmen (Vancouver).
A graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, Ms. Johnstone is based in New York City, where she maintains an active career as both performer and teacher. Upcoming engagements include Messiah at Carnegie Hall, La Bohème with Regina Opera, and assistant directing Lucia di Lammermoor at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center in Staten Island.
Taeguk Mun, cello
Taeguk Mun, a distinguished South Korean cellist, is the recipient of the 2016 Janos Starker Award and has achieved notable accolades including being a laureate of the 2nd Queen Elisabeth Cello Competition and the 16th International Tchaikovsky Competition. He is also the first prizewinner of the Pablo Casals International Cello Competition and the 3rd Andre Navarra International Cello Competition. Mun has established a prominent international career as a soloist, chamber musician, and educator.
He has performed with numerous prestigious orchestras around the globe, such as the Tokyo Philharmonic, Bremen Philharmonic, Hungarian Radio Symphony, Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse, Taipei Philharmonic Orchestra, Prague Symphony Orchestra, and Korean Symphony Orchestra. A passionate advocate for chamber music, Mun regularly participates in various chamber music series, including the Marlboro Music Festival, Seoul Arts Center Summer Music Festival, Lotte Concert Hall Classic Revolution, Seoul Spring Festival in Korea, and Chamber Music International in Dallas, TX. His collaborations include renowned artists such as Jonathan Biss, Paul Biss, Jinjoo Cho, Kyung Wha Chung, Myung-Whun Chung, Miriam Fried, Stefan Jackiw, Clara-Jumi Kang, Dong-Suk Kang, Kirill Karabits, Kim Kashkashian, Bomsori Kim, Julius Jeongwon Kim, Sunwook Kim, Julien Labro, Marko Letonja, Dong Hyek Lim, Joseph Lin, Richard Lin, Mischa Maisky, Richard O’Neill, Noreen Polera, Christoph Poppen, Cynthia Raim, Yekwon Sunwoo, Arman Tigranyan, Inmo Yang, Nikolaj Znaider, and Carmit Zori.
Mun has successfully completed the Artist Diploma program at the Juilliard School, studying under the guidance of Joel Krosnick and Minhye Clara Kim. He earned a Master of Music degree as a full scholarship student at the University of Southern California, where he studied with Ralph Kirshbaum, Marcy Rosen, and Hannah Roberts. Additionally, he holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the New England Conservatory, where he was also a full scholarship recipient under the tutelage of Laurence Lesser. Originally from South Korea, Mun began his cello studies at the age of four with Young Lim Yang. After relocating to New York in 2007, he furthered his education with Minhye Clara Kim in the Pre-College division at Juilliard. Mun is currently pursuing the Konzertexamen program at the Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf with Pieter Wispelwey.
Mun’s generous supporters include SungJung Cultural Foundation and the Hwangjin Scholarship Committee, and he has been recognized as a “G.rium Artist” by SK Chemicals in Korea. He served as the artist-in-residence at the Lotte Concert Hall in 2022 and at Kumho Art Hall in 2017. In 2019, Mun released an album with Warner Music, a tribute to Pablo Casals, and the complete Bach cello suites in 2024.
Cong Wu, viola
Cong Wu joined the New York Philharmonic as Assistant Principal Viola, The Norma and Lloyd Chazen Chair, in September 2018. He is the winner of the Third Prize and the Chamber Music Prize in the Fourteenth Primrose International Viola Competition, and of the Special Prize in the Twelfth Tertis International Viola Competition. His performances throughout North America and Asia include solo appearances with the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, New York Classical Players, and the Long Island Concert Orchestra.
An avid chamber musician, Wu has collaborated with renowned artists such as Christoph Eschenbach, David Finckel, Hilary Hahn, Itzhak Perlman, Peter Wiley, Pinchas Zukerman, the American String Quartet, and many New York Philharmonic musicians.
His festival engagements have included the Marlboro Music Festival, the Perlman Music Program, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Encounters, Music@Menlo, the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, Chestnut Hill Concerts, the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival, and the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival in Germany. He also appears regularly with the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players, East Coast Chamber Orchestra, and New York Classical Players.
Passionate about teaching, Wu is on the viola faculty of the Manhattan School of Music and has taught at the Shanghai Orchestra Academy. He had formly served on the faculty of SUNY Purchase College Conservatory of Music, as well as been a guest faculty member of the National Arts Centre Summer Music Institute in Canada. He has been invited to give masterclasses at the Mead Witter School of Music (University of Wisconsin-Madison), China Conservatory of Music, Hong Kong Baptist University, and the Renmin University of China.
Born in Jinan, China, Cong (pronounced “Ts’ong”) Wu moved to New York in 2010 after graduating from the Beijing Central Conservatory of Music. He holds a master’s degree from The Juilliard School and a doctoral degree with the Helen Cohn Award from the Manhattan School of Music. His teachers have included Wing Ho, Heidi Castleman, Hsin-Yun Huang, Patinka Kopec, and Pinchas Zukerman.