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Students, Faculty + Alumni

Daewon Music Awards Grand Prize given to Hyo Kang

Hyo Kang, a member of the YSM violin faculty, was honored with the Daewon Music Awards Grand Prize, the most prestigious music award in Korea, for his contribution to the field of music through his establishment of the Great Mountains International Music Festival.

Hyo Kang has led a flourishing and versatile career as a performer, teacher, and artistic director for the past three decades. He has made numerous concert tours in the United States, Europe, Asia, Canada, and Central America. As a member of the highly acclaimed Theatre Chamber Players of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. for more than twenty years, he has given many works their American premieres.

Hyo Kang joined the Yale faculty in 2006. He has been on the faculty of the Juilliard School since 1978, and was on the faculty of the Aspen Music School in Colorado from 1978 to 2005. His students have distinguished themselves with top prizes at the world’s most prestigious competitions and are performing with major orchestras worldwide; former students include Gil Shaham, Sarah Chang, and Chee-Yun, among many others. Hyo Kang was born in Seoul, Korea and graduated from the Juilliard School, where he studied with Dorothy DeLay. In 1995, Mr. Kang founded Sejong, which has performed more than 300 concerts on major stages around the world and is in its thirteenth season.

In March 2003 Mr. Kang was appointed Honorary Ambassador by the Governor of Gangwon Province, Korea and was asked to bring the first international music festival to PyeongChang. Mr. Kang launched the Great Mountains Music Festival and School in August 2004 and still serves as its artistic director. He has been the subject of four television documentaries, including KBS-TV’s Teaching Genius. In 2004, the Korean government awarded him the National Arts Medal.