Mina Um

Mina Um is an artist who is equally comfortable as a soloist on the stage of Carnegie Hall or a musician performing on the runway of Victoria's Secret. Ms. Um began serious violin studies at the age of 10. At age 11, she and her family moved from South Korea to the United States where she began studying violin at the Hartt School of Music with Linda Fiore. Several years later, Ms. Um was awarded first place in the 7th Annual New York Music Competition, subsequently performing in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. Since then, she has appeared as a soloist with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Boston Festival Orchestra, and Farmington Valley Symphony.
As a student at the Hartt School, she was chosen to perform in masterclasses with Brian Lewis, Ivan Chen of the Miami String Quartet, and David Kim, concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra. She was also the concertmaster of the Connecticut Youth Symphony for three consecutive years. At age 16, Ms. Um was accepted into The Juilliard School's Pre-College Division as a student of Hyo Kang and Naoko Tanaka, with whom she is currently studying for the Bachelor of Music degree.
At Juilliard, Ms. Um has presented numerous solo and chamber recitals. Currently, she is a member of a piano quintet and a duo with fortepiano. As a violinist of the Juilliard Orchestra, Ms. Um has performed in Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium and Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall under James DePreist and Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Ms. Um is also a participant in the Gluck Community Service Fellowship, collaborating with dancers and a pianist from Juilliard in a series of interactive performances in health care facilities throughout the New York City area.
Ms. Um has attended internationally renowned summer festivals such as the Aspen Music Festival and School, and the Encore School for Strings. This past summer, she taught at the Ogontz Suzuki Institute in New Hampshire.
Ms. Um's most recent performances include the Victoria’s Secret Runway Show 2011 and ABC’s Good Morning America with Nicki Minaj, Grammy nominee and platinum selling recording artist. Her mentor is Bärli Nugent, the Assistant Dean of Juilliard.
Dennis Lynch, Editor