Kleinhans Music Hall, Castellani Andriaccio Guitar Studios and the University at Buffalo present
Guitar Meets Korea: Tradition and Today
An Evening with Bokyung Byun and Friends
Thursday, October 2, 2025 | 7 PM
The Mary Seaton Room
Winner of the 2018 JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition
“Here is a simple fact: with artistry such as Ms. Byun’s, the state-of-the-art of guitar performance has reached a new level.”
-Al Kunze, Soundboard Magazine, 2022
Join us for an intimate and riveting evening of guitar featuring Bokyung Byun as she returns to Kleinhans Music Hall along with Cecilia Kang, clarinetist, and Sungmin Shin, guitar.
Thanks to our sponsors: Castellani Andriaccio Guitar Studios & The University at Buffalo Asia Research Institute and Department of Music
About Bokyung Byun
Recipient of the 2023 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Bokyung Byun enjoys a reputation as one of the most sought-after guitarists of her generation. Bokyung holds the distinction of being the first female winner of the prestigious JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition, where Falletta herself described Bokyung’s performance as “stunning, showcasing her gorgeous tone, immaculate technique, and sophisticated musicianship.” Other recent honors include the grand prize at the 2021 Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artist Competition and the Montreal International Classical Guitar Competition.
Born in Seoul, Korea, Bokyung began playing guitar at the age of six. At eleven, she took the stage for her first solo recital, leading to an early start in her teen years performing numerous concert tours in Asia. At the same time, Bokyung gained international attention for first-prize finishes in international competitions.
Bokyung soon moved to the United States, where she entered The Juilliard School at the age of sixteen. She holds Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Southern California. Teachers and mentors include Scott Tennant, William Kanengiser, Chen Zhi, Tae-Soo Kim, and Sharon Isbin.
Bokyung’s debut recording in 2020 has been praised by Soundboard Magazine as, “a very beautiful disc…We are treated to extraordinary musicianship, technical assurance, and beauty of sound.” In 2022, American Record Guide chose her Naxos Laurate Series recording as the Critics’ Choice Album, remarking her style as “very reminiscent of Andres Segovia.”
Bokyung is currently on the guitar faculty of University of North Texas. She is an Augustine Strings artist and plays a guitar by Dieter Mueller (2019).
About Cecilia Kang
Cecilia Kang is a Korea-born Canadian clarinetist, educator, scholar, and curator, celebrated for her “ethereal colors” and “effortless” playing (The Clarinet Journal). A versatile musician, she has performed as a soloist, recitalist, chamber, and orchestral player across North America, Europe, and Asia. Her interpretations—ranging from classical masterworks to bold contemporary compositions—are known for their depth, nuance, and emotional resonance.
She recently appeared as a headline artist at the International Clarinet Association’s ClarinetFest and as a featured performer at the Daejeon Cosmopolitan Music Festival with the New World Philharmonic under Maestro Nanse Gum. A passionate advocate for cross-cultural and interdisciplinary performance, Kang works closely with composers to champion new music for the clarinet. She has commissioned and premiered over a dozen works and continues to expand the repertoire through innovative and thoughtful programming.
Her latest album, The Han (한/恨) and Heung (흥/興) Odyssey: Global Sounds of Resilience & Joy, is a sonic ritual exploring the emotional duality of two deeply rooted Korean concepts: han, the expression of sorrow and trauma, and heung, the embodiment of vitality and joy. Featuring works for clarinet, piano, voice, and electronics by nine living composers from diverse cultural backgrounds, the album weaves these themes into a shared, universal musical language.
As an educator, Kang has been invited to present over 100 masterclasses worldwide, including at the Milan Conservatory (Italy), Central Conservatory of Music (China), National Taiwan University of Arts, Yonsei University (South Korea), Manhattan School of Music (USA), University of California, Los Angeles (USA), and the University of Toronto (Canada). She has lectured at the Midwest Clinic, Texas Music Educators Association Convention, ClarinetFest, Kyung Hee University (South Korea), and other international institutions. She is also frequently invited to serve as a juror for competitions by organizations such as the International Clarinet Association, Vandoren, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Her research on inclusive pedagogy and neurodiversity—awarded first prize at the 2023 International Clarinet Association Research Competition—has been published in The Clarinet Journal. A strong advocate for community engagement, she curated the Silver Linings Initiative during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Han and Heung Festival at Louisiana State University, celebrating Korean and African American diasporas.
Kang holds degrees from the University of Michigan (D.M.A.), the University of Southern California (M.M.), and the University of Toronto (B.M.). She is Associate Professor of Clarinet at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music and serves on the faculty of the Aria International Summer Academy and the Sewanee Summer Music Festival. She is a Vandoren and Buffet Crampon Performing Artist.
About Sungmin Shin
Korean-born American musician Sungmin Shin maintains a vigorous schedule seamlessly navigating the unpredictable musical landscape of the 21st century. Dr. Shin is an artist-teacher, arts leadership advocate, composer, consultant, engineer-producer, ensemble director, entrepreneur, improviser, multi-instrumentalist, music theorist, and scholar. Redefining what it means to be genre-bending, Sungmin balances his serious classical training with his deep roots in diverse musical cultures to seek new modes of expression through performance, improvisation, and composition. He is frequently invited to adjudicate, compose, perform, speak, and teach at major international competitions, events, and festivals including the Guitar Foundation of America International Convention & Competition, Iserlohn International Guitar Festival (Germany), Rochester International Jazz Festival, and many more. Known for his artistic and professional collaborative work in music and with interdisciplinary projects, Sungmin is a member of the internationally acclaimed guitar ensemble Tantalus Quartet and 8-piece rock band Lauren & the Good Souls.
Dr. Shin is a devoted educator that believes high quality music education should be available and accessible to all students and shares his passion for music with students of all ages and levels. He is Associate Professor of Practice at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York where he directs the guitar program and guitar ensembles. He has presented concerts and masterclasses at top level university music programs including at the Eastman School of Music, Seoul National University of Education (South Korea), Shenandoah Conservatory, University of Louisville, University of South Carolina, and more. Former students of Dr. Shin are currently working as professional musicians in Western NY and beyond and have gained admission to top music schools such as Belmont, Berklee, Eastman, Northwestern, North Texas and many more at the undergraduate and graduate levels with scholarships. Dr. Shin is the Artistic Director of the Buffalo International Guitar Festival and the founder/co-director of the UB International Guitar Research Conference. Also, he is a long time guitar faculty member of Guitar Workshop Plus and has taught and served as the assistant director at the various campuses of the workshop including Fort Lauderdale, Nashville, San Diego, Seattle, Toronto, and Vancouver. Dr. Shin is the founder and former director of the Penfield Guitar School.