SEMIFINALISTS ANNOUNCED FOR THE 37th IRVING M. KLEIN INTERNATIONAL STRING COMPETITION JUNE 4 – 5

Celebrating 37 years of helping the world’s top young string musicians gain prominence in the competitive world of classical music, the Irving M. Klein International String Competition returns to in-person competition at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, our presenting partner.  Produced by the California Music Center, the Klein will also stream on the Violin Channel, starting 10AM Sat June 4th and 3PM Sun June 5th.  Audiences worldwide will be able to view all contestants as they compete for cash prizes and performance contracts, as a distinguished jury of seven convenes to determine this year’s winners.  2022 semifinalists will play all-new programs of solo and accompanied works in front of a live audience.

This year’s nine semifinalists showcase the exceptional talent from the top teachers and conservatories in North America.  Selected from 112 entrants, the semifinalists are:

  • HAYOUNG CHOI, violin, 20 (KOREA). Attends McDuffie Center for Strings and studies with Amy Schwartz Moretti, Robert McDuffie, and David Kim
  • SARAH CHONG, cello, 20 (CA). Attends the Bienen School of Music, and studies with Hans Jørgen Jensen
  • JACQUES FORESTIER, violin, 17 (CANADA). Attends Mt Royal Conservatory; student of Patinka Kopec
  • EMILY HWANG, viola, 16 (CA). Attends San Francisco Conservatory of Music Pre-College; she is a student of Dimitri Murrath
  • ANDROMEDA KEPECS, violin, 18 (CA). Attends the Menlo School and studies with David Chernyavsky
  • GAEUN KIM, cello, 20 (KOREA). Attends the Juilliard School; student of Richard Aaron, Gautier Capucon
  • HAN LEE, cello, 22 (KOREA). Attends the Juilliard School; he is a student of Joel Krosnick
  • JAEWON WEE, violin, 22 (KOREA). Attends New England Conservatory; student of Donald Weilerstein
  • SEAN YU, cello, 17 (NY). Attends the Juilliard School Pre-College; he studies with Minhye Clara Kim

Violinist Tessa Lark, 2008 prizewinner, is this year’s mentor and co-hosts with Klein Artistic Director Mitchell Sardou Klein who noted, “We are energized and uplifted by the amazing power, musicality, and beauty of the performances by those chosen to be Semifinalists in the 2022 Klein Competition. Hearing them live in San Francisco in June promises to be a thrilling musical experience.”

At this year’s Klein Competition, From the Top will be in residence recording a documentary style portrait of the competition for their weekly NPR series.  From the Top host pianist Peter Dugan will join Lark and Klein onstage. The resulting program to air Fall 2022 will feature performances from the competition as well as interviews and field recordings with competitors, the Klein team, jury, and more.