Bokyung Byun

Saturday, September 24, 2022
7:30 pm

This event is past.

Bokyung Byun’s first concert here, in fall of 2019, was without question a highlight of that pandemic-shortened season. At that time, she had already established a reputation as a gifted artist. Her return this season is part of the year-long concert tour awarded as part of winning the Guitar Foundation of America’s International Concert Artist Competition grand prize in 2021.

Praised by Classical Guitar Magazine as “confident and quite extraordinary,” Korean guitarist Bokyung Byun enjoys a reputation as one of the most sought-after guitarists of her generation. Byun holds the distinction of being the first female winner of the prestigious JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition, where Falletta herself described Byun’s performance as “stunning, showcasing her gorgeous tone, immaculate technique, and sophisticated musicianship.” This win is among many. Byun has excelled in the competitive circuit, including winning the grand prize at the Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artist Competition, known as the most prestigious guitar competition in the world.

Many orchestras, festivals, workshops, and guitar societies look to Byun for solo performances and masterclasses. In recent seasons, she has performed as a soloist with such orchestras as the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Utah Symphony, West Los Angeles Symphony, New Juilliard Ensemble, and the Aspen Music Festival Orchestra. Solo recital highlights include performances at the Kumho Young Artist Series, Philadelphia Guitar Festival, Aspen-Salida Concert Series, Toronto Guitar Weekend, Guitar Montréal, Ellnora | The Guitar Festival, and San Diego Guitar Festival. She was praised for performing “eloquently through a diverse and challenging program,” by Michelle Fratus, president of the board of the Knoxville Guitar Society, and having “confidence, passion, excellent projection and great dynamic contrast” by Heather Morand Clark, president of the Guitar Society of Toronto.

Committed to expanding the role of a 21st-century musician, Byun’s concert program often features contemporary music alongside traditional repertoire. As she herself says, “it’s vital and exciting to audiences for concerts to join the new with the old. For guitar music to continue to grow, I believe that new works must actively be cultivated in programming, and it is my hope that audiences leave my performances with new experiences.” Her skill at navigating both classic repertoire and fresh work has led her to co-found Sounding Board: The New Music Initiative for Guitarists and Composers. The project focuses on promoting collaborative relationships between composers and performers to create new works for guitar. Its inaugural festival in Besançon, France in 2019 was described as “extraordinary, in the strict sense of the word,” by La Presse de Gray in France.

Byun’s debut recording in 2020 was praised in Soundboard magazine as “a very beautiful disc. From the first notes of the “Gallarda” from Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Escarraman, we are treated to extraordinary musicianship, technical assurance, and beauty of sound.” The reviewer in American Record Guide wrote of the CD’s selections that “Byun’s interpretation enlivens them with creative phrasings, articulations, spacing, and dynamics, which take the listener beyond most performances I have heard.”

Born in Seoul, Korea, Byun began playing guitar at the age of six. At 11, she took the stage for her first solo recital, leading to an early start performing numerous concert tours around Korea, to enthusiastic response, including millions of views on YouTube. By her teen years, she had gained national attention for first-prize finishes in three renowned competitions: the Korea Guitar Association, the Music Association of Korea, and the Guitar Foundation of America International Youth Competition.

Byun soon moved to the United States, where she briefly studied in Los Angeles before moving to New York City, where she entered The Juilliard School at the age of sixteen. She holds Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Southern California. She is grateful for the masterful instruction of her teachers, who include Scott Tennant, William Kanengiser, Chen Zhi, Tae-soo Kim, and Sharon Isbin.

In 2020, Byun co-founded Guitarlab which provides an innovative online learning platform offering cutting-edge classes designed for young professionals around the world. Byun is currently on the guitar faculty of California State University Fullerton. She is sponsored by Augustine Strings and plays a guitar by Dieter Mueller (2019). Please visit www.bokyungbyun.com for more information.