Korean guitarist, Bokyung Byun, is the winner of the 2018 JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition, She is one of the leading young guitarists of the generation who has been hailed by her peers as a guitarist who "performs with fleet-fingered, delicate precision, and expressiveness." (Julia Crowe)
Born in 1994, in Seoul, Korea, Bokyung began playing guitar at six. At the age of eleven, she had her first full-length solo recital in Gwangju, Korea. In the following years, she went on numerous concert tours in Korea, receiving enthusiastic response from the Korean audiences. Bokyung's YouTube video of Recuerdos de la alhambra marked five million views, bringing international attention to the newly rising guitarist. By her teen years, she had won competitions held by the Korea Guitar Association, the Embassy of Spain, and the Music Association of Korea. She launched her career as an internationally recognized young artist after winning the Guitar Foundation of America International Youth Competition in 2007. The competitions Bokyung has recently won include the Frances Walton Competition, the Montreal International Classical Guitar Competition, the Philadelphia Classical Guitar Competition, and the Tuesday Morning Music Club of New York Competition. In 2018, Bokyung became the first female winner of the prestigious JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition.
Bokyung moved to the United States in 2010 to study with William Kanengiser of Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, and in 2011, she moved again to New York City where she entered The Juilliard School at the age of sixteen to study under the tutelage of Sharon Isbin. She has surprised the classical guitar community by being the first guitarist ever to be admitted to both Juilliard's undergraduate guitar program and accelerated Bachelor/Master degree program. She is now pursuing a doctoral degree at University of Southern California as the recipient of the prestigious International Artist Fellowship.
Being passionate about arts education, Bokyung has been selected as a teaching fellow for The Juilliard School’s prestigious Music Advancement Program and Morse Teaching Artist Fellowships for four consecutive years, enriching her teaching experience at Juilliard, George Jackson Academy, and the City College Academy of the Arts. In addition, she has organized and performed interactive concerts for the Young People's Concert Series of Lincoln Center, being an ambassador of classical guitar by reaching out to the younger audiences.
Born in 1994, in Seoul, Korea, Bokyung began playing guitar at six. At the age of eleven, she had her first full-length solo recital in Gwangju, Korea. In the following years, she went on numerous concert tours in Korea, receiving enthusiastic response from the Korean audiences. Bokyung's YouTube video of Recuerdos de la alhambra marked five million views, bringing international attention to the newly rising guitarist. By her teen years, she had won competitions held by the Korea Guitar Association, the Embassy of Spain, and the Music Association of Korea. She launched her career as an internationally recognized young artist after winning the Guitar Foundation of America International Youth Competition in 2007. The competitions Bokyung has recently won include the Frances Walton Competition, the Montreal International Classical Guitar Competition, the Philadelphia Classical Guitar Competition, and the Tuesday Morning Music Club of New York Competition. In 2018, Bokyung became the first female winner of the prestigious JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition.
Bokyung moved to the United States in 2010 to study with William Kanengiser of Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, and in 2011, she moved again to New York City where she entered The Juilliard School at the age of sixteen to study under the tutelage of Sharon Isbin. She has surprised the classical guitar community by being the first guitarist ever to be admitted to both Juilliard's undergraduate guitar program and accelerated Bachelor/Master degree program. She is now pursuing a doctoral degree at University of Southern California as the recipient of the prestigious International Artist Fellowship.
Being passionate about arts education, Bokyung has been selected as a teaching fellow for The Juilliard School’s prestigious Music Advancement Program and Morse Teaching Artist Fellowships for four consecutive years, enriching her teaching experience at Juilliard, George Jackson Academy, and the City College Academy of the Arts. In addition, she has organized and performed interactive concerts for the Young People's Concert Series of Lincoln Center, being an ambassador of classical guitar by reaching out to the younger audiences.