Spring Welcome

Symphonic Romance with guest artist Dr. Ook-Jin You, Piano

Ookjin You, a native of Seoul, South Korea, is in high demand as a soloist, collaborative performer, and adjudicator. She frequently performs as a soloist and in chamber ensembles at venues throughout the United States, Japan, South Korea, and Europe. After graduating with honors from Yewon Conservatory and Seoul Arts High School, Ookjin received her Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance from Ewha Women’s University in Seoul. Subsequently, she studied with Rolf Plagge at the University of Mozarteum in Salzburg, and with Norman Krieger, Alan L. Smith, and Jeffrey Kahane at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Her solo performance at LACMA (Los Angeles Contemporary Museum of Art) was broadcast on Classical KUSC, the only classical radio station in the greater Los Angeles area. She frequently premieres music by living composers, and in August 2016, she premiered "Succession" by Korean-American composer Nak-Keum Paik at Walt Disney Concert Hall with the USC Brass Ensemble. In 2017, she earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance at USC Thornton School of Music, with a minor in Music Education, Keyboard Collaborative Arts, and Sacred Music under the tutelage of Drs. Beatrice Ilari, Alan L. Smith, Stewart Gordon, and Nick Strimple. As a featured soloist, Ookjin You debuted with the Seoul Symphony Orchestra performing E. Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16. Recently, she performed Mozart's Piano Concerto K.449 under the baton of Maestro Yoon-Sung Chang at the Seoul Arts Center in 2022, where she also gave a solo recital featuring works by Mussorgsky, Robinson, Chopin, and Beethoven. Since she has great interests in contemporary music, In 2023, she released a video album of solo works and ensemble pieces by her close friend and composer Carl Vollrath, featuring flutist Yoon-Hee Jeong in greater Boston area with PARMA recordings. Other than contemporary works, she recorded her first piano solo album with works of Mozart, Bach, Robinson and Mussorgsky with the guidance of Jan Košulič in Brno, Czech Republic, with Parma Recordings in July 2024. 

In January 2025, Ookjin will record Carl Vollrath’s Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under the baton of Miran Vaupotić in Glasgow, United Kingdom. Currently, she serves as an Instructor of Collaborative Piano at Texas A&M University-Kingsville in the United States.