Kim Jung-a of the KNIGA Takes 1^st Place at the 11^th International Tchaikovsky Competition for the Young Musicians in Cello

Kim Jung-a, 11 years old studying in the Korea National Institute for Gifted in Arts (KNIGA) affiliated with the K-Arts, took first at the 11^th International Tchaikovsky Competition for the Young Musicians in cello. In the contest’s final round on 9 January 23, Kim Jung-a, a cello prodigy, had the glory of winning over 8 competitors from Korea, Russia, China, and the United States at the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Grand Hall, Russia.

The International Tchaikovsky Competition for the Young Musicians, a competition for young prospective performers less than 17 years old, is founded to commemorate Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, a Russian composer. It is composed of 3 categories: piano, violin, and cello. This time, 128 candidates from 14 countries – Belarus, Kazakhstan, China, Japan, Korea, Singapore and, Malaysia, Philippines, Turkey, Italy, Lithuania, Sweden, and the United States – entered the event. The finalists delivered their excellent performances with the Leningrad Oblast Symphony Orchestra led by music director and principal conductor Michael Golikov.

The jury, composed of 36 prominent musicians from 13 countries around the world, commented, “Kim Jung-a is a promising cellist with excellence going beyond her young age. We appreciated how she successfully delivered an outstanding performance of the program she had chosen despite its complication.”

Kim Jung-a has made her presence internationally in her artistic path earlier through many accomplishments. She took the Grand Prix at the Journal of Music Competition (South Korea, 2018), first at the Strad Competition (South Korea, 2019), first at the Sunjung Music Competition (South Korea, 2020), first at the International Cello Competition “David Popper” for young cellists (Hungary, 2021), first at the Dong-a Junior Music Competition (South Korea, 2021), and first at the Ewha & Kyunghyang Concours (South Korea, 2022).

She completed the academic program at the KNIGA in 2022 and studied with professor and cellist Lee Kang-ho of the School of Music.