Described by The Strad as “exuberant… seductive… with bravura and oodles of personality”, prize-winning violinist and composer Joo Yeon Sir has appeared as a soloist with the Royal Philharmonic, Philharmonia, and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestras, at venues including the Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Wales Millennium Centre, and Liverpool Symphony Hall.
Born in Korea, Joo Yeon moved to London at the age of 9, to begin her formative training at the Purcell School of Music, where she now teaches, as well as at the Royal College of Music’s Junior Department. Her time at Purcell was followed by degree studies at the Royal College of Music, under the tutelage of long-time mentor, Dr. Felix Andrievsky. During this period, Joo Yeon won the prestigious BBC/Guardian Young Composer of the Year Award, the Royal College of Music’s President’s Award, and has since received numerous prizes of note, including the Royal Philharmonic Society’s ‘Emily Anderson Award’.
She has performed recitals at Wigmore Hall and Bridgewater Hall, with pianist Irina Andrievsky, and is regularly featured on the BBC, Classic FM, Scala, RTE, and France Musique Radios.
Irina Andrievsky was born in Upha, Russia. She received her first piano lessons at the age of seven, winning first prize in the Ufa piano competition at the age of 10. At the age of 11 she went to Moscow to study at the Central Music School for Specially Gifted Children, a branch of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory, where she would later graduate with distinction and receive her doctorate. Among her teachers were Professors E Malinin, L Timofeeva and M Mijlumoff. She was among the winners of International Piano Competitions in Italy.
In 1991 Irina immigrated to Israel and continued her music career, mainly performing solo recitals and chamber music. She performed in the “Radio France and Montpellier” Festival in France, as well as other prestigious Chamber Music Festivals worldwide. For the past 14 years Andrievsky has developed an impressive career as a piano teacher in Israel, raising a generation of promising young pianists, until she moved to England.
Performance to include:
Vitali-Charlier – Chaconne for Vioiln and Piano
Beethoven – Sonata for piano and violin in F major ‘Spring’
Igor Frolov – Concert Fantasy on Gershwin’s Opera ‘Porgy and Bess’