Soojin Han, violin

Soojin was born in Korea and moved to the UK when she was two. She began the violin at the age of eight and entered the Yehudi Menuhin School before moving to the Purcell School to study with Dr Felix Andrievsky. She then took lessons with Mr Sakhar Bron in 2004. Having had close guidance from Ms Kyung Wha Chung in her musical development, she is now reading music at Oriel College, Oxford.

Now at age 20, she has performed as soloist with numerous orchestras such as the London Symphony, Poznan Philharmonic, Tokyo Philharmonic, Korean Symphony, London Soloists Chamber Orchestra, L'Ensemble Ricercata de Paris, and has given numerous recitals throughout the UK and Europe including such venues as the Royal Festival Hall, Wigmore Hall, Barbican Hall, Royal Opera House Linbury Studio, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, St. John's Smith Square in London, Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, Witold Lutoslawski Hall, Warsaw, Adam Mickiewicz Auditorium, Poznan, Bunkamura Orchard Hall, Tokyo. She has broadcast on Polish, Dutch and Korean Radio.

Soojin won 2nd prize as the youngest competitor (and the youngest ever top prize winner) at the Wieniawski International Violin Competition 2001 in Poznan, Poland, where she was also awarded seven other special prizes include the Critics and Journalists' Prize and the Polish Radio Award. She also won first prize in the Tunbridge Wells International Young Concert Artists Competition 2002, and most recently at the Bayreuth International Music Competition. Other awards include the LSO Scholarship Competition 2002, the Musicians Benevolent Fund's Manoug Parikian Prize 2001, Royal Philharmonic Society's Emily Anderson Award 2002, Martin Music Scholarships, and Hattori Foundation Scholarships. Her love of chamber music has taken her to participate in Open Chamber Music at IMS Prussia Cove, Cornwall.

Future engagements include recitals in Germany, at the Wigmore Hall, Chichester Festival, Norfolk Festival and concerto appearances in Korea and Japan with the Tokyo Philharmonic and Maestro Myung Whun Chung.

Soojin plays on a JB Guadagnini violin kindly lent by Mr Charles Beare since 2001.