Biography
Known for her wide array of nuances in color and emotional music-making, Korean cellist Olivia Jakyoung Huh is rapidly gaining attention as one of the leading cellists of her generation. Olivia has won numerous international competitions, including first prize and a special prize at the Alice and Eleonore Schoenfeld International String Competition, as well as top honors in the 20th International Johannes Brahms Competition. Among her many earlier awards, she received first place in the Thaviu String Competition, the Tecchler-Forest Cello Competition, the Joongang Daily Music Competition, the Shinhan Bank Music Awards, and third prize at the Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians. Most recently, she was invited to compete in the Queen Elisabeth Competition in 2022 and the Geneva Competition in 2021.
Her success has led to performances in venues across the United States, including Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall, the Koussevitzky Music Shed, Seiji Ozawa Hall, and Jordan Hall in Massachusetts, as well as Galvin Hall and Pick-Staiger Concert Hall in Illinois. Internationally, she has performed in various venues in Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, China, Spain, Japan, Malaysia, and South Korea. She recently gave successful recitals at the Ondream Artist Series in Korea, the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series, and the Stradivari Society in Chicago.
Olivia made her solo debut recital at the age of seven in the Kumho Prodigy Concert Series, followed by her concerto debut with the Guri Philharmonic Orchestra. She has been praised for her performances of the hallmark cello repertoire, such as Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations. Over the last decade, her engagements have included concerto appearances with notable orchestras, including the Northwestern University Chamber Orchestra, the New Korea Philharmonic Orchestra, the Harbin Symphony Orchestra, the Busan Symphony Orchestra, and the Seoul Soloist Cello Ensemble, among others.
As an avid chamber musician, she has performed at prestigious festivals and seminars, including the Yellow Barn Summer Festival, the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, the Perlman Music Program Chamber Music Workshop, the Borromeo String Quartet Seminar, the Tanglewood Music Festival, and the New York String Orchestra Seminar. Olivia has also attended the Orford Music Festival, the Summit Music Festival, the Great Mountains Music Festival, the Spain Calahorra Music Festival, and the Kronberg Academy as a soloist. Through these festivals, she has had the opportunity to study with and occasionally perform alongside artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, David Geringas, Gary Hoffman, Frans Helmerson, Stefan Kropfitsch, Lluís Claret, Jian Wang, Donald Weilerstein, Peter Salaff, and the Borromeo and Juilliard String Quartets.
Olivia is currently pursuing a Master of Musical Arts degree in Cello Performance at the Yale University School of Music under Paul Watkins. She received her master's degree from the Northwestern University Bienen School of Music under the tutelage of Hans Jørgen Jensen. Before that, she was a long-time student of Myung-Wha Chung at the New England Conservatory, where she earned her Bachelor of Music degree studying with Laurence Lesser. In her free time, she enjoys traveling and spending time with her family and her 10-year-old dog, Ramin.