Jasmine Choi has been announced as the the first Korean to be named principal flute of the 112-year-old Vienna Symphony.
“When I received the audition invitation from the Vienna Symphony, my first reaction was a bit of disbelief, to be honest — simply because it was not common sense for an Asian woman wind player to join such a conservative musical hub,” Choi said in a recent interview with The Korea Times.
She was the only player to be selected from a pool of 245 candidates from all over the world.
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“I’m not intimidated but rather very excited about this new change and the new traditions that I’ll be absorbing. And it is such a blessing to play music where all those incredible composers like Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler and Bruckner passed through and made music,” she said.
Choi moved to the U.S. when she was 16 to study at the Curtis Institute on a full scholarship. After gradutation, maestro Pavvo Jarvi hired her to be his associate principal flute at the Cincinnati Symphony, making her the first Korean woodwind player to hold a post with a major U.S. orchestra.
Choi has a number of concert dates in Korea starting October. She will be in Seoul for performances on Oct. 20 and 27, and Nov. 26. The first two are solo recitals at the Seoul Arts Center’s IBK Hall and the Maria Callas Hall, and the Nov. 26 concert is at the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall playing with the Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra.
She will also perform with renowned soprano Sumi Jo on Nov. 13 at a gala concert in Vienna, celebrating the 120th anniversary of Korea-Austria relations.
