Education
- B.M., Mannes School of Music.
- M.M. Mannes School of Music.
- Graduate Coursework at University Mozarteum Salzburg.
Experience
- Yoon Jae is a certified Steinway education partner with over 14 years of teaching experience.
Bio
Yoon Jae L. enjoys a multifaceted career as conductor, arranger, pianist, and musical entrepreneur. As Founder & Artistic Director of Ensemble 212, he has built the New York based orchestra into one of today’s finest young ensembles. Together they have received critical acclaim for innovative programming featuring works by living composers, his own arrangements, and exciting interpretations of the standard repertoire. A dedicated champion of new music, Yoon Jae has initiated a new music educational concert series aimed at introducing living composers to young audiences. He has conducted numerous New York and world premieres of works by award-winning composers including Mohammed Fairouz, Huang Ruo, Daniel Felsenfeld, Ke-Chia Chen, and Texu Kim.
Highlights of the 2015-16 Season include engagements with the Mansfield Symphony Orchestra, the New York Classical Symphony Orchestra, the world premiere of his chamber version of Mahler’s Third Symphony, a performance of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue as piano soloist/conductor and collaborating with Nina C. Young as part of Ensemble 212’s Composer in Residence program. His list of appearances as guest conductor include the Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg, Bruckner Orchester Linz, Opera on Tap, New England Conservatory and has collaborated with distinguished artists including Nick Canellakis, D’Anna Fortunato, David Krakauer, Mimi Stillman, members of the Attacca, Borromeo, Orion String Quartets, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Yoon Jae was appointed Principal Conductor of the Albano Ballet Company in 2014.
Yoon Jae’s arrangements have been praised by audiences and critics alike. His orchestral transcription of Mendelssohn’s Octet “Incorporated winds and brass…..intelligently”, claimed David Patrick Stearns of the Philadelphia Inquirer when performed by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. The New York Times described his chamber version of Mahler’s Fourth Symphony as “Illuminating….. with solos leaping out in unusually bold detail.” He is currently engaged in “The Mahler Chamber Project” to arrange all the symphonies and Das Lied von der Erde for chamber orchestra.
A native of New York City, Yoon Jae is a second-generation Korean-American. He received degrees in piano and conducting from the Mannes School of Music where he was awarded the N. T. Milani Memorial Conducting Fellowship and the Peter M. Gross Fund. Yoon Jae also studied at the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg in Austria. During that time, he served as Assistant Conductor to the Salzburger Kammerphilharmonie. His conducting mentors include Dennis Russell Davies, David Zinman, Samuel Wong, David Hayes, Michael Charry, Murry Sidlin, and Arkady Leytush. Mr. Lee has participated in Kurt Masur’s conducting masterclass, the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen, and the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute led by his keen interest in historical performance practice.