Wonhee Bae

Wonhee Bae is one of the most sought-after performing violinists of her generation. Recent engagements include performances with the Orchestre des Laureats du Conservatoire de Paris at the Philharmonie de Paris, the Deutsche Kinderärzte Orchester at the Tonhalle Düsseldorf, the Busan Philharmonic Orchestra, the Iasi Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonie der Nationen, the Russian National Orchestra, the Stanislavski Danchenko Theater Orchestra, Korean Chamber Orchestra, and the Bergische Symphoniker.

Ms. Bae has won a series of internationally acclaimed awards, prizes, and honours including being named the 2013 Culture Prize winner of Hauck and Aufhäuser, the "Ocean Classical Award"—the world’s largest classical music public prize in 2012, as well as top prizes in violin competitions of international renown including the Georges Enescu Competition in Bucharest, Tchaikovsky International Competition for Young Musicians, the Isang Yun Violin Competition in Tongyeong, and the Lipizer International Violin Competition in Italy.

As the first violinist of the Esmé Quartet, she has won the first prize as well as four special prizes at the prestigious Wigmore Hall String Quartet Competition in London, and has performed at the Lucerne Festival, the Verbier Festival, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, the Wigmore Hall, the l’auditori Barcelona, the Esterhazy Palace, Hong Kong Arts Festival, the Heidelberg String Quartet Festival, amongst many others. The quartet has recorded and released two albums with <Alpha Classics>. Its debut CD, featuring works by Beethoven, Unsuk Chin and Frank Bridge won a 5-star review from Diaposon d’Or and was named one of the best classical albums of 2020 by WQXR Radio in New York. 

Ms. Bae graduated with highest honours from the Royal College of Music, London with Dr. Felix Andrievsky and continued her study with Boris Garlitsky and Svetlin Roussev at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris. She received her Konzertexamen with Mihaela Martin in the Cologne Musikhochschule, Germany. She plays on an Andrea Guarneri 1690 violin kindly on loan from the German Foundation.