Yujin Jung
Flutist Yu-Jin Jung, renowned for her captivating sound and interpretations, consistently receives high praise from both experts and audiences. She is recognized as a dynamic soloist, an innovative chamber musician, a specialist in contemporary music, and an inspiring professor who touches the hearts and minds of all who hear her perform. Since 2013, she has served as a full-time flute professor at Mahidol University, one of Thailand’s top music schools, ranked among the top 40 music institutions globally. Additionally, she holds the position of principal flutist with the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra and serves as the Woodwind Department Coordinator for the Young Artist Music Program at Mahidol.
Yu-Jin began learning the flute at the age of eight and quickly distinguished herself in national and international competitions starting at the age of 10. She won several prestigious awards, including those at the Seoul Flute Competition, the Korean Music Association Competition, the Music Journal Competition, and the Luigi Zanuccoli International Competition in Italy. At 15, she received high praise from Meinhart Niedermayr, principal flutist of the Vienna Philharmonic, at the International Flute Master Class in Baden, Austria, becoming the youngest award recipient in the competition’s history. She also performed as a soloist with renowned Korean orchestras such as the Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra and the Pohang Symphony Orchestra.
At the age of 16, Yu-Jin was accepted into the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna, where she studied under Professor Meinhart Niedermayr. In 2004, she continued her studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz under Professor Dieter Flury, another principal flutist of the Vienna Philharmonic. She graduated with honors, submitting a thesis on Isang Yun’s Etudes. In 2009, Yu-Jin pursued further studies at the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart under Professor Antje Langkafel. With scholarship support, she completed two master’s degrees in just three years, focusing on chamber music and contemporary music. Yu-Jin also received additional instruction from prominent professors such as Hye-Kyung Lee, Michael Martin Kofler, András Adorján, Christina Fassbender, Thomas Luedinghausen, and Wally Hase. She specialized in piccolo with Josef Singer, the principal piccoloist of the Stuttgart State Theatre.
During her studies in Austria, Yu-Jin contributed as the first flutist in the recording of Chamber Music Klang Debuts Vol. 33: Mozart Divertimento (2006), directed by Gottfried Boisits, principal oboist of the Vienna Philharmonic. She also performed at the International Udine Contemporanea Festival in Italy, where her trio for flute and piano with live electronics was broadcast worldwide via live streaming. Yu-Jin’s exceptional musical abilities were widely recognized. The renowned German professor Eberhard Feltz, known for mentoring world-class string quartets such as the Vogler Quartet and the Kuss Quartet, once remarked, “She was born to play the flute.”
Throughout her time in Europe, Yu-Jin performed as a guest principal flutist with several European orchestras. She served as the solo piccolo and flutist of the Mannheim Philharmonic in Germany and as a flute instructor at the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart. She was frequently invited to perform at prestigious international music festivals, including the International Music Forum Viktring (Austria), the International Sommerakademie fuer Kammermusik Niedersachsen (Germany), the International Music Festival Varna Summer
(Bulgaria), the International Emsbürener Musiktage (Germany), and the Tenerife Arona Music Festival (Spain).
Yu-Jin regularly serves as a jury member for international festivals, competitions, and auditions, including for the Mannheim Philharmonic (Germany), the Thailand International Wind Ensemble Competition (TIWEC), the Siam Sinfonietta, the Osaka International Music Competition, the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra, the Young Artist Music Contest (YAMC), the International Classical Music Festival in Vietnam, the Thailand International Flute Festival Competition, and the International Flute Art Week hosted by the College of Music at Northwest Minzu University in China. In 2022, she was honored as an outstanding teacher by the Vienna Music Examination Board in Thailand and the Global International Music Competition. Yu-Jin continues to cement her position as both a performer and educator, inspiring future generations of musicians.
