VIC FIRTH ARTIST
JI HYE JUNG

     Ji Hye Jung is Assistant Professor of Percussion at the University of Kansas and Lecturer in Percussion at Cleveland State University. Born in South Korea, Ms. Jung began concertizing at the age of nine. She has performed over 100 concerts as a soloist with every major orchestra in Korea. Soon after relocating to the United States in 2004, Ms. Jung garnered consecutive first prizes at the 2006 Linz International Marimba Competition and the 2007 Yale Gordon Concerto Competition in Baltimore.

Ms. Jung frequently performs with many of today's most important conductors and instrumentalists. She has performed as soloist with David Robertson conducting an all Messiaen program in Carnegie Hall. Shortly after, Ms. Jung made her concerto debut with the Houston Symphony under the direction of its Music Director Hans Graf. Recently she has presented solo recitals and masterclasses at the Curtis Institute, Peabody Conservatory, Rice University, the Schleswig-Holstein Festival in Germany, the Grachtenfestival in Holland, Beijing's Central Conservatory and at universities throughout the United States.

With the percussion repertoire still in its formative state, Ms. Jung feels strongly about collaborations with composers to further the creation of a new voice for the art form. She has commissioned pieces from Alejandro Viñao, Paul Lansky, John Serry, Lucas Ligeti, and Jared Redmond.

Ji Hye Jung completed a Master of Music degree from the Yale School of Music and a Bachelor of Music degree at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, both under the tutelage of Robert van Sice. As an artist endorser, she represents Pearl/Adams instruments, Vic Firth sticks, and Zildjian cymbals.