A native of Busan, South Korea, So Young Bae is an active soloist, chamber musician and orchestral player in the United States and South Korea. Music Director Riccardo Muti appointed her to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in July 2012.
Bae began violin studies at the age of seven. At 18, she was honored with the rare distinction of early admission to Seoul National University. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Juilliard School, where she was a student of Stephen Clapp and Sylvia Rosenberg. Bae has won many awards, including first prize in the Busan Music Festival Competition; second prize in the Korea-America National, Nanpa and Taegu Broadcasting Corporation music competitions; and the gold medal in the Sejong University Music Competition. She also is the recipient of the Joseph Fuchs Scholarship, Knafel Askin Violin Scholarship and Samuel Gardner Grant.
As a chamber music performer, Bae has collaborated with such artists as Colin Carr, Christina Dahl and members of the Emerson Quartet. She also has performed with the New York City Ballet Orchestra and the New World Symphony Orchestra, and toured Europe with the Juilliard School Orchestra under the baton of James DePreist in 2005 and China under Xian Zhang in 2008.
So Young Bae has participated in many festivals, including the Aspen, Verbier and Sarasota music festivals; Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival; Juilliard ChamberFest; and the Music Academy of the West, where she was a fellowship recipient.
