바이올리니스트 오유진

바이올리니스트 오유진은 영재 프로그램을 통해 한국예술종합학교(KNUA) 음악원에 특별 입학하였다. 고교 1년을 채 마치지 않은 때였다. 이후 바이올리니스트 김남윤과 박상우를 사사(師事)하며 학사(B.A.)과정을 3년 만에 조기 졸업하고, 더불어 최고연주자과정(A.D.)을 마친다.

 미국 맨하탄 음대(Manhattan School of Music) 석사과정(M.M.)에 입학한 오유진은 핀커스 주커만의 애제자이자 현(現) 인디애나 음대 석좌교수(Senior Professor)로 재직 중인 바이올리니스트 그리고리 칼리노프스키(Grigory Kalinovsky)를 사사(師事)하며 음악적 성숙(成熟)의 과정을 거치게 된다. 이후, 오유진은 계속해서 뉴저지 주립대(Rutgers) 박사과정(D.M.A.)에 전액 장학생으로 입학, 바이올리니스트 토드 필립스(Todd Phillips)를 사사(師事)하며 솔리스트로서 또한 교육자로서의 기반을 견고히 한다.

오유진은 지난 2013년 10월, 유럽에서 개최된 “Korean Virtuoso Series(한국 거장 시리즈)”에 바이올린 부문 솔리스트로 초청받아 현지 언론과 청중의 호평 속에 차이코프스키 바이올린 협주곡을 현지 국립 오케스트라와 협연하며 예술적, 기교적으로 견고한 솔리스트로서 주목받기 시작한다. 또한, 2014년 6월에는 유럽 불가리아의 필하모닉 콘서트 홀에서 비딘 심포니 오케스트라와 멘델스존 바이올린 협주곡을 협연하였으며, 이듬 해 9월에는 국내 지상파 미디어를 통해 클래식 한류(韓流)의 사절로서 그녀의 활동과 음악이 소개되며 세간의 관심을 끌게 된다.

 학창 시절 실기수석을 놓치지 않았던 오유진은 14살이던 2000년 러시아 블라디보스톡 오케스트라와 시벨리우스 콘체르토를 협연하였으며, 이듬해 유니버설 아트센터에서 차이코프스키 콘체르토를 서울심포니와 협연한 바 있다. 또한, 2003년에는 한전아트센터에서 코리안 솔로이스트 앙상블과 비발디의 사계를 협연하였으며, 2005년 금호아시아나 주최 “금호영아티스트 오디션” 바이올린 부문에 우승, 이듬해 3월 금호아트홀에서 ‘금호영아티스트 콘서트 시리즈 오유진 바이올린 리사이틀’을 개최한 바 있다.

It is my wish to feel pure emotions – those that are not modified or reinterpreted, in their original form. Maybe those feelings may come off as raw, but nevertheless, I want to feel the freshness and the feeling of being alive. It may be those feelings I felt as a young boy, or it may be something of an unexplored realm.

I felt those exact emotions and my heart fluttered at the melodies of the young violinist, Yujin Oh. Her Mendelssohn, Bach, Brahms, and Elgar drew a breath within the dimensions that I could embrace. Listening to her performance is a completely different experience as it is in stark contrast to the overwhelming forces expressed by great masters from past generations.

‘Purity’ was the word that lingered in my mind while appreciating her performance, and something left a deep print in the corner of my heart.

 Karpsoo Kim, Poet, Culture criti

About Violinist

Yujin Oh

Yujin Oh is an artist whose interpretation of music arises from the humble and sincere soul devoted to God. Thus, it’s possible for people listening to her music to find a sense of peace and relief, similar to that of Bach.

Yujin had her international debut with Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in Europe under the title “Korean Virtuoso Series in 2013”. Consequently, she has performed Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with a national orchestra in Bulgaria. Her talented performance gained her a good reputation from local critics and media from Ukraine and Bulgaria.

Under the mentorship of Professor Todd Phillips, she was conferred with a Doctor’s degree from the Mason Gross School of the Arts of Rugters University(The State University of New Jersey) in 2017. Before joining Mason Gross as a full-scholarship student, she graduated from Manhattan School of Music with a Master’s Degree under the mentorship of Grigory Kalinovsky, who is currently a senior professor at Indiana University.

She started her career as a soloist with professional orchestras from around the world when she was only 13 years old. As a 13-year-old soloist, she performed the Sibelius Violin Concerto with the Russian Vladivostok Orchestra (2000). This was made possible when Sunhwa Arts School in Korea invited the orchestra to perform with its Number One ranked student, Yujin Oh. Yujin continued her Number One ranking status at Sunhwa Arts School and performed Tchaikovsky’s Concerto with the Seoul Symphony Orchestra (2001) and Vivaldi’s Four Violins with the Korean Soloist Ensemble (2003).

In 2006, Yujin had her first solo recital called, ‘Kumho Young Artist Concert Series Yu Jin Oh Violin Recital’ sponsored by the Kumho Asiana Cultural Foundation. This was made possible by her winning the Kumho Young Artists Audition.

She was 17 years old when Korea’s finest art institute, Korea National University of Arts, admitted her as a special art prodigy. She was a relentless young violinist with a reputation of a perfect sense of sound. Bach’s Chaconne, which is included in this album, was recorded when she was 15 years old and you will feel how she played when she was a teenager. Under the mentorship of Violinist NamYun Kim and SangWoo Park, she completed her Bachelor’s degree in three years, followed by her Artist’s Diploma from the Graduate School of the Most Excellent Performer’s Class in 2009.

Yujin’s father was her greatest mentor, but when he passed away, she had to confront a harsh reality of life. Through this period of endurance, Yujin would become a profound and matured artist and human being. This metamorphosis might have been unfamiliar with anyone remembering her as a young, super-talented art prodigy in piano and violin. You, however, will meet a seasoned and finessed player of her beloved and well-aged violin.