Violinist Esther Yang

Esther Yang has been gaining acknowledgment around the world through various concerts and competitions across North America, Europe, and Asia. She is currently based in both the United States and Belgium, continuing to engage audiences with her expressive musicality. Esther began her musical journey at the age of five, starting with the piano under the influence of her composer mother. Later, she developed a deep love for the violin and decided to pursue her musical path with the violin from the age of seven. Esther has been awarded numerous prestigious international competitions all around the world. She has been named a semifinalist in both the 2023 Premio Paganini Competition and the 2024 Windsor Festival International Competition. She also received Third Prize at the Ysaÿe International Competition. Additionally, she won First prize at the Adelphi Orchestra Young Artist Competition and the Mary Smart Concerto Competition, Second prizes at the New York International Music Competition, and special prizes at the Ilona Fehér International Violin Competition in Hungary and the Osaka International Music Competition in Japan. She was also awarded the Manfred Grommek-Förderpreis at the Kronberg Academy Violin & Viola Masterclasses. Esther, with upcoming performances in the 2025-2026 Season alongside the Adelphi Orchestra as a reward for winning first prize, has collaborated with the  Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, Casco Phil, Seongnam Philharmonic Orchestra, Kimpo Philharmonic Orchestra, and Busan Philharmonic Orchestra. As a soloist, her highlight performances have taken place in esteemed concert halls such as Carnegie Hall, Weill Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Casals Forum, Jordan Hall, Liège Philharmonic Hall, Palazzo Doria Tursi, Teatro Carlo Felice, Ádám Jenő Music School of Ferencváros, Taipei NTCH Recital Hall, National Taichung Theater, Seoul Arts Center, Kumho Art Hall, and Busan Cultural Center Theater. 

Her passion for chamber music has led her to attend Schiermonnikoog Festival, Villars Music Academy, Juilliard ChamberFest, Kneisel Hall, Summit Music Festival, Spring Forward Festival at New England Conservatory, Taipei Music Academy & Festival, Korean Chamber Orchestra Summer Music Camp, and Aspen Music Festival as an orchestral fellowship recipient. Esther has been guided in chamber music by distinguished artists including Samuel Rhodes, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Joseph Lin, Natasha Brofsky, Daniel Phillips, Paul Neubauer, Merry Peckham, Carol Rodland, Darrett Adkins, and Mai Motobuci. She has performed with her string trio group at St.Paul’s Chapel at Columbia University as part of the Chamber Musicians from Juilliard. Furthermore, she was featured in two series of Juilliard ChamberFest 2023 and performed in one of the programs of Music by Juilliard Faculty, where she played Six Caprices for Violin Duo by Behzad Ranjbaran. She participated in the Kumho Arts Fund Seoul Arts Center Music Academy, where she studied under esteemed instructors Nam-Yun Kim, Koichiro Harada, and Lucie Robert. 

In addition to solo performance and chamber music, she appeared as Assistant Principal Second Violin in the Juilliard Orchestra. She has immersed herself in orchestral performances under the batons of Donald Runnicles, Simone Young, Speranza Scappucci, Manfred Honeck, JoAnn Falletta, Roderick Cox, Jeffrey Milarsky, David Robertson, and Hugh Wolff. Esther has had the privilege of receiving invaluable guidance from many distinguished musicians she has played for in masterclasses, including with Gil Shaham, Aaron Rosand, Ilya Kaler, Joel Smirnoff, Frank Huang, Nam-yun Kim, Koichiro Harada, Lucie Robert, Ronald Copes, Mimi Zweig, Young-Uck Kim, Ray Chen, Victor Danchenko, Chin Kim, and Min Kim. 

She earned her Bachelor of Music degree at the New England Conservatory of Music, studying with Soovin Kim and Paul Biss, and recently completed her Master’s degree at The Juilliard School as a student of Joseph Lin. She is currently studying at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel as an Artist in Residence under the tutelage of Augustin Dumay.