"Poetic, soulful, assured and compelling from the first note to the last” – Gisborne Herald
Singaporean Jun Hong Loh graduated with a Masters of Music from the Juilliard School, under the tutelage of Prof. Glenn Dicterow, Joseph Lin and Sylvia Rosenberg. In 2009, Jun Hong received his Bachelor of Music (1st class honours) from Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, National University of Singapore, where he studied with Head of Strings, Prof Qian Zhou.
An alumnus of the Verbier Festival, Switzerland, he led the festival orchestra for numerous concerts as concertmaster and associate concertmaster under the baton of Charles Dutoit, Daniel Harding, Valery Gergiev and Gianandrea Noseda. Intent on developing the scene in his home country, he is the co-Artistic Director of the Singapore International Festival of Music, where he curated the programme theme “War & Peace” for the Festival’s inaugural year in 2015. He is also the co-founder of “More than Music”, a concert series dedicated to presenting engaging and intimate concerts for audiences.
He has won numerous awards, including notably 1st Prize at Gisborne International Music Competition, 1st Prize and Audience award at the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition in Boston, 1st Prize at the Singapore National Piano and Violin Competition (Senior), 3rd Prize at the 13th Andrea Postacchini International Competition held in Fermo, Italy, 5th prize at the Canetti International Violin Competition held in Turkey, and the best Singaporean Award at the Singaporean International Violin Competition.
Jun Hong’s performance track record ranges from performances in Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, New York, to solo recitals in Washington for the WETA radio station, to showcases in Berlin, Vietnam and Indonesia, to tours in UK, France, and USA, to premieres of the violin transcriptions of Scarlatti’s Piano Sonata in Berlin by publishing company Ries & Erler.
He was featured as the rising star in the annual “Asia Rising Stars” series with the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong; performed solo with the Shenzhen Grand Theatre Philharmonic Orchestra in China and in Tokyo with Maestro Oikawa. In Singapore, he was featured with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra for the 34th Anniversary Concert, President’s Young Performers Concert and the Causal Concert series; as well as the Singapore Festival Orchestra in the Esplanade Concert Hall, “Festival Fantasia”. Jun Hong has also been presented as one of Singapore’s leading musical talents in Channel News Asia’s documentary series entitled “Asia’s Wonder Kids”.
Delving in to the film music industry, he recently recorded the violin solos for the movie “7 Letters” produced by 7 of Singapore’s top directors, and film scored by Ricky Ho, a Golden Horse Award recipient.
Adhering to his strong beliefs in giving back to the community, he performed Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in Kioi Hall, Tokyo, in a charity fundraiser concert for the disabled. Besides performing for various charity groups in Singapore, he also gives back to the community through education. Jun Hong has held numerous workshops and masterclasses for the younger generation in schools and youth orchestras.
He plays on a 1780 Mantegazza on generous loan to him from the Rin Collection. He thanks his former teachers Mr Michael Loh and Yap Shu Mei for their guidance in his early years in music.