Ji Su Jung

Percussionist Ji Su Jung is a rising star in the early 2020s on her chosen instrument, the marimba. She is the first percussionist ever to receive the Avery Fisher Career Grant. Jung was born in Seoul, South Korea. Earlier in her career, she transliterated her name as Jisu Jung, but by the time she began to record, she had switched to Ji Su Jung. Jung took up the marimba at age three or four (sources differ). Before reaching her seventh birthday, she had already notched her first competition victory, a grand prize at the Cheongju Music Association Competition. Several more competition prizes followed, including grand prizes at the 2003 Korea-US National competition and the 2007 CBS Youth Music Competition. A true prodigy, Jung was already making soloist appearances with Korean orchestras before she graduated from the Seoul National Arts High School. She then came to the U.S. and enrolled at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore on a scholarship. Her teacher there was Robert van Sice. Jung graduated in 2016 and then continued on for a Graduate Performance Degree at Peabody the following year. While at Peabody, Jung received the Grace Woodson Memorial Award and also took the audience prize at the Houston Symphony's Ima Hogg Competition; the latter honor came with a $26,000 cash prize. Jung went on for a master's degree at Yale University, where van Sice was also on the faculty. Jung has been active as a solo recitalist, concerto soloist, and collaborative artist. She has appeared with major U.S. orchestras, including the Baltimore Symphony, Houston Symphony, and Colorado Springs Symphony, where she earned raves from conductor JoAnn Falletta. She has given solo recitals at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington and at David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center in New York. Jung often performs with the all-star Percussion Collective; she has been a core member of that group since its founding. Jung was awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2022. The following year, she made her recording debut on the Naxos label with a performance of Kevin Puts' Marimba Concerto with the Baltimore Symphony under the direction of Marin Alsop. An album with the Percussion Collective -- featuring Garth Neustader's Seaborne -- was slated for later in 2023. In 2022, she formed a duo with flutist Marina Piccinini. Jung has been in demand for master classes at New York University, the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, Michigan State University, and the Beijing Central Conservatory in China, among other institutions.
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