Biography

Clarinetist and educator Jiyeon Choi joined the University of Virginia’s College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences faculty in the fall of 2019 as Lecturer in Clarinet and Principal Clarinet of the Charlottesville Symphony. She also serves as Principal Clarinet with Sinfonia da Camera in Illinois.

Dr. Choi has collaborated with numerous ensembles, including Ensemble VIM (GA), PRIZM Ensemble (TN), Illinois New Music Ensemble (IL), New Downbeat (OH), and the Seoul Clarinet Ensemble (South Korea). She has held faculty positions at Purdue University and the Illinois Summer Youth Music program.

She has performed with several orchestras, including the Richmond Symphony, Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra, Incheon Philharmonic Orchestra, Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Charlottesville Opera and Wintergreen Festival Orchestra. She has performed as a clarinet soloist with the Bulgaria National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Seoul Symphony Orchestra, Charity Chamber Orchestra, and Charlottesville Symphony. She also has served as a resident artist at several summer festivals, including the Atlantic Music Festival, Orchestre de la Francophonie in Montreal, QC, and the TIMF Academy Orchestra in South Korea. She has performed in prestigious venues such as the National Arts Centre (Canada), Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Institute of Music at the University of Pécs (Hungary), and the Seoul Arts Center (Korea). She has also been invited as a guest artist to give masterclasses at several universities, including University of Pécs (Hungary), the University of Tennessee, and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, as well as other institutions.

Her recordings include American Series: Randall Thompson “Symphony No. 2” under conductor James Ross, released by Naxos. She spends her summers on the clarinet faculty of the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Twin Lake, Michigan.

Dr. Choi holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Clarinet Performance from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, a Master of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music, and a Bachelor of Music degree from Ewha Womans University. Her principal teachers include J. David Harris, Kenneth Grant, and Jeongmin Song. Outside of music, she enjoys golfing, hiking, and playing board games in her free time with her husband and her dog.