Esther Yoo


Esther Yoo is an American violinist.

Early life and education

Born in the United States and raised in Europe, Yoo began playing the violin at the age of 4 and made her concerto debut aged 8. She has been a student of Ana Chumachenco in the Excellence Bachelor Programme at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater, Augustin Dumay in the Artist Diploma Programme at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, Zakhar Bron, Leonid Kerbel and Berent Korfker.
Yoo plays the 1704 “Prince Obolensky” Stradivarius, generously lent to her by a private collector.

Career

Esther Yoo first came to international attention in 2010 when she became the youngest prizewinner of the 10th International Sibelius Violin Competition at age 16. In 2012 she was one of the youngest ever prizewinners of the Queen Elisabeth Competition, and from 2014 to 2016 she was a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist. She was the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra's first ever Artist-in-Residence, and was listed as one of Classic FM’s Top 30 Artists under 30 in 2018.
Yoo has performed with ensembles including Orchestre National de Belgique, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Copenhagen Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Deutsche Radio Philharmonic, the BBC orchestras, and the symphony orchestras of Toronto, Charlotte, Iceland and Gävle. In 2017/18, Esther was Artist-in-Residence with the Cambridge Corn Exchange.
As a chamber musician, Yoo has appeared in solo recital at Lincoln Center, Wigmore Hall, Oslo Opera House, and Bozar and, as a member of the , at Aspen Music Festival, Ottawa Chamberfest and in Hong Kong, Liverpool, and Cambridge.

Awards and Prizes

In 2006, Esther Yoo was given First Prize in the Junior Section of the International Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition and also the European Union Award for Music Art for Youth. She then went on to be the youngest prizewinner of the 10th International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition in 2010 at the age of 16. Then in 2012 Yoo was also one of the youngest ever prizewinners of the Queen Elisabeth Competition.
In 2014 Yoo was named as a BBC New Generation Artist for 2014–16.
In 2020, Yoo was named one of twenty notable musicians to watch in 2020 by WQXR-FM.

Recordings