Born in 2006 in Wonju, South Korea, cellist Jaemin Han came to international attention in May 2021 when he was awarded the grand prix of the George Enescu International Competition as the youngest prize winner in the history of the competition. Later in the same year, he won the third prize at the Geneva International Music Competition. In November 2022 Han received the first prize at the ISANGYUN Competition, being the first to win the competition by playing Yun’s cello concerto (1976) at the final. It was the first time in 20 years that the piece was performed at the final round.

In the 2021/22 season Jaemin Han gave his first recital tour in his native Korea to great acclaim, followed by a sensational performance of Dvořák’s cello concerto with the Busan Philharmonic Orchestra. Having appeared with Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra at the George Enescu International Festival in August 2021, he returns to Bucharest in September 2022 to perform at the opening gala concert of the George Enescu International Competition with the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Ainārs Rubiķis. Further dates in the 2022/23 season include a recital at the Tongyeong International Festival, his New Zealand debut with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Shi-Yeon Sung, and a tour of Korea with Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg and their chief conductor Gustavo Gimeno.  

Coming from a family of musicians, Jaemin Han started playing the cello at the age of five and made his debut three years later in his hometown with the Wonju City Symphony Orchestra. He has since performed with leading Korean ensembles such as Korean Chamber Orchestra, KBS Symphony Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and PyeongChang Festival Orchestra. Highlights of his past performances include the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and the 2022 Orchestra Festival of the Seoul Arts Center. His exceptional talent was recognised from an early age when he won first prizes at the Osaka International Music Competition 2015, International Cello Competition ‘David Popper’ for Young Cellists 2017 and International Dotzauer Competition for Young Cellists 2019.

Jaemin Han studied with Myung-Wha Chung, followed by lessons with Kangho Lee and Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi at the Korea National Institute for the Gifted in Arts. He is currently studying at the Kronberg Academy, Germany, under the tutelage of Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt. He participated in masterclasses with Daniel Müller-Schott, Miklós Perényi, Julian Steckel, Jian Wang, Lluís Claret, Edward Aaron, Laurence Lesser and Paul Katz. He was recipient of the 2020 Shinhan Music Award and currently holds a scholarship from the Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-Koo foundation. He plays a Giovanni Grancino cello on generous loan from the Samsung Foundation of Culture.

Jaemin enjoys improvising on the cello and listens to a wide variety of music from Arthur Rubinstein’s Chopin to Bill Evans, Chet Baker and Barry Harris. In his free time he plays football with passion and is an avid supporter of the Tottenham Hotspur F.C.

SEASON 2022/2023