Brian Hong, violin (Fairfax Station, VA), received his MM under Laurie Smukler and Li Lin at the Juilliard School, where he was the recipient of a Kovner Fellowship. He received a BM from New England Conservatory where he studied with Donald Weilerstein. Past mentors include Sergiu Schwartz, Zvi Zeitlin, and Shmuel Ashkenasi. As a soloist, he has performed with the Juilliard Orchestra, Fairfax Symphony, Chesapeake Orchestra, U.S. Army Orchestra, and National Philharmonic. He has won first prizes in the Music Teacher’s National Association Competition, American String Teacher’s Association Competition, Hellam National Young Artist’s Competition, and the Juilliard School Concerto Competition. Brian has also appeared on NPR’s From the Top. He has attended the Bowdoin International Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, Taos School of Music, Perlman Music Program, Kneisel Hall, and IMS Prussia Cove with Steven Isserlis. Previous Yellow Barn musician (2017)