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, notably the first to win the competition with Yun’s Cello Concerto (1976) and marking the first time in 20 years the work was performed in the final round.

Despite his young age, Han has collaborated with several eminent orchestras and conductors, including a recent tour of South Korea with the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra and Gustavo Gimeno. In the 2022/23 season, he made his Norwegian debut by replacing Truls Mørk at the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Andris Poga. Further highlights included his debut in New Zealand with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and Shi-Yeon Sung, his participation at the Tongyeong International Music Festival, where he performed alongside Leonidas Kavakos, and his return to the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra. Ahead of the 2023/24 season, Han makes his debut at the Edinburgh International Festival with the KBS Symphony Orchestra and Pietari Inkinen. Debuts this season include appearances as soloist at the International Festival Cello Cēsis in Riga, Latvia, with the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, followed by the Athens State Orchestra in Greece for Brahms’ Double Concerto with violinist Timothy Chooi. In South Korea he appears with the KBS Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Myung-Whun Chung, and with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and Jaap van Zweden. Recitals take place throughout the season in his homeland as well as in Italy, Germany and the UK.

Jaemin Han recorded a showcase recital on the ‘Rising Stars’ series of the Deutsche Grammophone in 2022, now available on the stage+ platform. His first e-single was released in June 2023 as part of the ‘Musical Moments’, and further tracks are to follow in the year.

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. 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 is currently studying at the Kronberg Academy, Germany, under the tutelage of Wolfgang-Emanuel Schmidt. Prior to this, he studied with Myung-Wha Chung, Kangho Lee and Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi at the Korea National Institute for the Gifted in Arts. He has 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.

SEASON 2023/2024