TENERIFE MUSIC FESTIVAL & COMPETITION
OUR TEAM
Artistic director / Violin - Judith Choi Castro
Judith is the Artistic Director of the Festival Academy of Music Tenerife and Co-founder of the Agustin Aponte International Music Competition. She graduated with a Masters degree from the Royal Academy of Music, after also studying at the Royal College of Music, London and the Manhattan School of Music, New York. She now performs worldwide as a chamber musician and orchestral player.
For more information please visit her website :
www.judithchoicastro.com
Founder - Vice President / Conductor - Jung Chul Choi
Jung Chul Choi studied orchestral conducting and composition with Armando Blanquer in Valencia, Lawrence Leonard and George Hurst in England.
Firstly trained as a trombonist, Jung Chul was principal of the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra and professor of the Conservatoire Superior of Santa Cruz, Tenerife. He then founded and became Principal Director of Arona Music School until 2007.
Jung Chul has conducted around the world to countries such as Italy, Norway, Russia, South Korea and Spain and currently is in the process of publishing his methods of conducting techniques.
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Violin - Valeria Zorina
Valeria Zorina is a celebrated violinist known for her intense expressiveness and virtuosic performances.
Praised by critics across Europe and the USA, she has graced prestigious venues like Queen Elisabeth Hall in London, Liederhalle Stuttgart and the Moscow's International House of Music.
Valeria has collaborated with renowned musicians and conductors, including Mark Lubotsky, Sir Yehudi Menuhin and Mstislav Rostropovich. Awarded at international competitions such as Cittá di Padova and Zinetti, she frequently features at distinguished radio stations like WDR and Bayerischer Rundfunk.
Valeria is a respected jury member for classical music competitions and holds a professorship at Centro Superior KATARINAGURSKA in Madrid. Her recordings with OEHMS CLASSICS/NAXOS, including the acclaimed SOUNDMAPS, reflect her passion for innovative violin compositions.
www.valeriazorina.com
Cello - Charles-Antoine Archambault
Charles-Antoine Archambault studied the cello with Jean-Guihen Queyras and Troels Svane, as well as baroque cello with Christophe Coin and Kristin von der Goltz. He has won many prestigious first prizes in the International J&A Beare Solo Bach Competition, International Beethoven Competition, Possehl Musikpreis, Ton & Erklärung, etc. As a soloist, he has played with the NDR RadioPhilharmonie, BR Rundfunkorchester, WDR Funkhausorchester, RTS Serbian RadioSinfonie Orchestra, Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra, Academy of Taiwan Strings, Barcelona Symphony Orchestra … He is a regular guest at world renowned festivals, including Schleswig-Holstein, Prag Spring, Heidelberger-Frühling, Philharmonie Gasteig Münich, Stadtcasino Basel, Konzerthaus Berlin,…
His first album “Le corps des Cordes” has been recorded 2015 by the NDR Hannover, joining compositions by Diego Ortiz, Isabel Mundry, Johann Sebastian Bach and Francis Poulenc.
Charles-Antoine Archambault has been serving as a Solo-Cellist under many European orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Hamburg Opera House Orchestra, the NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover, the Orchestre National de Belgique, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Brêmen, The Hallé Orchestra in Manchester etc.
He is currently the Principal Cellist of the Orquestra Símfonica de Barcelona, and teaches since 2022 at the Conservatory Liceu in Barcelona.
Archambault plays a cello by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume and a five-stringed Italian Baroque cello.
Violin - Andrea Kim
German violinist Andrea Kim, has performed as soloist and chamber musician in several international music festivals including her solo debut at the Schleswig-Holstein Musik
Festival in 2006 and her solo concert live recorded with the Frankfurt Radio Orchestra in November 2010 under the direction of K. Järvi.
Since 2006, Andrea has been assistant concertmaster of the Frankfurt Radio Orchestra under Paavo Jarvi.
Since January 2017 she is first violinist of the Bavarian Radio Symphonie Orchestra.
Piano / Piano accompanist - Aurélien Pontier
Pianist Aurélien Pontier first performed on the stage of the Paris Opera at the age of
nine. At the age of 13 he entered the Conservatoire de Paris (class of Jean-François Heisser), being the youngest student of this institution. He graduated three years later with a First prize in piano and chamber music.
He is First-prize winner of the Vladimir Krainev Competition in Kiev ( Ukraine ) as well as Third Prize at the International Piano Competition in Chioggia ( Italy). He has played with numerous orchestras such as Orchestre National de Lyon, Orchestre National de Montpellier, Padova-Venezia Orchestra, Kharkov Philarmonia, Camerata Bohemiana of Pragua.
He has given solo performances including the Great Hall of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, the Auditorium du Louvre, l'Arsenal de Metz, in various countries such as Italy, England, Germany, Swiss, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Poland, Serbia, Ukraine, Russia,USA, Canada.
Piano - Jong-Gyung Park
Jong-Gyung Park has firmly established herself as one of the leading pianists of her generation. She made her orchestral debut at the age of thirteen with Boston Symphony Orchestra and has since appeared with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Moscow Symphony Orchestra, Haifa Symphony Orchestra, Montevideo Symphony Orchestra.
Jong-Gyung has performed across the UK and abroad: in North and South America, Germany, Russia, Italy, and Netherlands.
Ms. Park has received numerous international awards including Bronze medals at the Sviatoslav Richter International piano competition, the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Masters Competition in Israel and the Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition in Italy where she also received Busoni Prize for commissioned work and Laureate at the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition in Belgium. She was the winner of Haverhill Sinfonia International Soloist Competition in UK, which as result saw her touring and playing throughout the venues in England.
Jong-Gyung was Born in Korea, where she started studying the piano at age three. Her professional education followed at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston where he earned Bachelor’s program with full scholarship. After the studies in Boston, she was invited to take part in the prestigious “Il Fondazione per Il Pianoforte” in Como, Italy where he could interact with eminent figures in music world as Karl Ulrich Schnabel, Dmitri Bashkirov, Fou Ts’ong, Leon Fleisher, Alicia de Larocha, and Martha Argerich. She also studied at the Hochschule für Music in Munich where she received the Artist Diploma.
Flute - Mihi Kim
Mihi Kim is currently pursuing her career as an international soloist in Europe, the Americas and Asia. She regularly gives master classes in France and abroad and has taught in Germany, Korea, Taiwan, Serbia, Japan, Slovenia, USA, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, England, Chile and Russia, and will soon appear in Brazil, Canada and China.
She currently is Professor at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris “Alfred Cortot” for Flute and Piccolo and at the CRD Conservatory of Issy-Les- Moulineaux, Paris. She has also been a member of the Ensemble Multilatérale since 2004 and is a Miyazawa International Artist, promoted by Miyazawa Flutes Inc. Japan, USA and Alto Musique - Flute Studio France.
For more information please visit her website :
Viola - Wenhan Jiang
Chinese violist Wenhan Jiang currently serves as section leader viola of the Ulster Orchestra and will join the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra as No. 2 Principal Viola from 2025. He also appears as guest principal with the Welsh National Opera, Sinfonia Viva, and Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra. Wenhan graduated from the Royal Academy of Music under Paul Silverthorne and furthered his studies at the Royal Northern College of Music International Artist Diploma programme.
Committed to expanding the viola repertoire, he works closely with contemporary composers, premiering works by Harrison Birtwistle, Piers Hellawell, Rebecca Saunders, and others. His accolades include First Prize in the Theodore Holland Viola Competition and Third Prize in the Oskar Nedbal Viola Competition. His musical journey has taken him to some world’s most renowned venues, including the Lucerne Festival, Berlioz Festival, Pacific Music Festival, Suntory Hall, Carnegie Hall, and the Berliner Philharmonie. As a soloist, he has performed with orchestras/ensembles such as the Manson Ensemble, Ulster Orchestra, and BBC Philharmonic, with performances broadcast by BBC Radio.
Beyond the viola, Wenhan is an accomplished performer on the Violoncello da Spalla—a five-string historical instrument played on the shoulder. His instrument, crafted by Italian luthier Daniela Gaidano, brings a distinctive voice to his artistic repertoire.