Sojung Lee Hong has communicated her joy of music making with the Judson University community since 1998. Prior to coming to Judson, she studied at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with Professor Ian Hobson and earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance and Literature with a minor in Accompanying. During her doctoral studies, she was awarded the first prize at the Irene Tintner Piano Competition, which resulted in her performing solo and chamber recitals in Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

Born in Seoul, Korea, she graduated from Seoul Arts High School and received both Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in Piano Performance from Seoul National University. In Korea, she has performed in such major venues as the Seoul Arts Center, Sejong Arts Center, and Hoam Arts Hall. In the U.S. she has appeared with the Valley Civic Orchestra, the Elgin Community College Civic Orchestra, the Judson University Community Orchestra, and the Germania Orchestra.

Dr. Hong has enjoyed her dual career as an educator and performer since she joined music faculty at Judson University. She was invited as a clinician at the conference of Illinois State Music Teachers Association held at Millikin University, Decatur, Illinois. She also taught and performed as a guest artist-teacher at the EumYoun Summer Piano Academy, Korea. As a church musician, she serves as the music director at West Alliance Church in Warrenville.

Dr. Hong received MA, BA from Seoul National University, Korea and DMA from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Nazar Dzhuryn is a native of Lviv, Ukraine. He began his cello studies at the age of six and graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree from the Lviv Music School under Mr. Evgeny Shpitzer. Mr. Dzhuryn earned his Master of Music degree from the Moscow State Conservatory under Professor Igor Gavrysh. Upon graduation, he taught for two years at the Moscow State Conservatory as the Assistant to Professor Gavrysh.

Nazar Dzhuryn was the principal cellist of the Moscow Conservatory Symphony and the Moscow State Symphony “Young Russia”. He performed in numerous solo recitals throughout Russia, Ukraine, South America, Africa and the United States and was a soloist with the Moscow Conservatory Symphony, the Moscow State Symphony, and the Lviv Philharmonia Symphony. He participated in the Rostropovich Festival in Evian, France, the Boulder Festival in Boulder, Colorado and the Mozart Festival in Woodstock, Illinois. As an active chamber musician and orchestral player, Mr. Dzhuryn appeared in concert with many classical music legends such as Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, Pinchas Zukerman, Daniel Barenboim, Mstislav Rostropovich, Georg Solti, Boris Pergamenchikov, Hellmunt Rilling, Mark Peskanov, Rachel Barton Pine, Cyrus Forough and James Galway.

Nazar Dzhuryn currently maintains active private studios in Chicago and Elgin while sustaining teaching positions with the music faculty at Northeastern Illinois University, Elgin Community College, and the Naperville School for the Performing Arts.  Mr. Dzhuryn serves as the assistant principal cellist of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra.

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Yoonjoo Rachel Song began her music studies with Piano at the age of five.  In junior high school, she switched to the clarinet and was accepted into Seoul Arts High School where she began her studies to become a professional musician.
Upon graduation from high school, she entered Ehwa Women's University, where during her first year she was selected by her professors to perform the whole movement of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto with the Ehwa Orchestra.

After receiving her BM in Music from Ehwa, Ms. Song moved to Munich, Germany.
She was accepted into the class of Alois Brandhofer, Principal Clarinetist of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Karajan, at the Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, where she received her BM, graduating with honors after receiving the highest marks from the entire graduation panel.
Ms. Song continued her studies under Ulf Rodenhäuser, who was the Principal Clarinetist of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Karajan, at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Münich, Germany, where she received her Masters and Doctorate in Music.

In 2001, while attending a Master Class held by Francois Benda at Ascona Ticino Musica in Switzerland, Mr. Benda recommended Ms. Song as a soloist for a concert in Locarno, Switzerland. Her performance drew praise from Flautist  Andras Adorjan, who was in the audience that night.

Ms. Song continued to perform on numerous stages in Austria, Germany and Switzerland as a soloist and as a guest clarinetist with the Starnberg Orchestra in Germany.
She also performed at a benefit concert conducted by Lorin Maazel in Munich.

After returning to Korea in 2003, Ms. Song performed with various chamber musicians, woodwind quintets and was a guest clarinetist with the Korean Symphony Orchestra and the Wonju and Suwon Symphony Orchestras.

Ms. Song held her first Korean solo recital at the Seoul Arts Center in 2005.  Before coming to Chicago in 2007, she was a member of the Seoul Clarinet Ensemble and the Prime Philharmonic Orchestra and taught clarinet at the Seoul University of Education.

In October, 2007, Ms. Song performed in her first Chicago concert as the guest principal clarinetist with the University Symphony Orchestra. The following month, she performed with other Seoul Arts High School Alumni at a benefit concert for the Salvation Army’s Annual Christmas Fundraiser.  Since then, Ms. Song has performed in various concerts, including “A Music Night of Oaxaca” and the “All Beethoven Concert”.

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