South Korean cellist Hayoung Choi,  born in Bielefeld (Germany) in 1998, is the First Prize Winner of the 2022 Queen Elisabeth Competition for Cello. She  also won the First Prize and two special prizes at the 3rd Krzysztof Penderecki International Cello Competition in Poland 2018.

At the age of thirteen she already won the first prize at the Johannes Brahms International Competition in Austria, where she became the youngest winner in its history. Furthermore, Hayoung  won the first prizes at the Antonio Janigro International Cello Competition in Croatia and Justus Dotzauer International Cello Competition in Germany. During the Kronberg Cello Masterclasses she was awarded the “Landgrave of Hesse Prize” and “Leyda Ungerer Music Prize”.

As a soloist, Hayoung Choi has performed with numerous orchestras such as Kremerata Baltica Orchestra, Camerata Salzburg, Frankfurt Opera and Museum Orchestra, Barcelona Chamber Orchestra, London Trinity Labans Conservatoire Orchestra, Bucheon Philharmonic orchestra, Sungnam Philharmonic Orchestra and Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra. Hayoung Choi was invited to play at prestigious music festivals. Among them are the City of London Festival in England, Amsterdam Cello Biennale in Netherlands, Kronberg Cello Festival in Germany, Prades Pablo Casals Festival in France, Beijing Supercello Festival in China and Artdialog Festival in Switzerland. As a chamber musician, Hayoung Choi already has performed with many renowned musicians such as Gidon Kremer, Christian Tetzlaff, Kim Kashkashian, Jörg Widmann, Mitsuko Uchida, Antoine Tamestit, Elena Bashkirova and Martin Helmchen.

She has participated in masterclasses with Sir Simon Rattle, Christoph Eschenbach, Daniel Barenboim and Sir András Schiff. Hayoung Choi began her musical education at the pre-college of Korean National University of Arts and later on she studied at the Purcell School of Music in England. Between 2014-2017 she studied with Prof. Frans Helmerson at the Kronberg Academy in Germany where she gained her Bachelor´s and Master´s degree. Since 2017 she has been continuing her studies at the Kronberg Academy with Prof. Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt. In the same year, Hayoung Choi became a faculty member at the Emanuel Feuermann Conservatory of Kronberg Academy in Germany.

Hayoung Choi performs on Giovanni Paolo Maggini, Brescia (c.1600) kindly loaned by Kumho Cultural Foundation and Asiana Airlines, Inc.