Biography
Julia Hwang
"Julia Hwang is a model of expressive purity. . .
of old-world wit and warmth"
Rob Cowan, Gramophone
Praised by Gramophone for displaying a “model of expressive purity”, Julia Hwang gave her professional solo debut with the English National Baroque Chamber Orchestra at the age of nine, performing Bach's Concerto in A minor. She recorded two CDs and debuted with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra by the age of twelve. Following her debut at the Wigmore Hall, other concerts include recitals at St Martin in the Fields and the Royal Albert Hall, and performances of the Bruch, Korngold and Mendelssohn concertos in the UK and South Korea. An avid chamber musician, she has performed in piano quintets, string trios, and in her clarinet, violin and piano trio around the world.
She is a cultural ambassador for the BRACE Alzheimer’s Research, and is also a Concordia Foundation Artist, leading to many performances in hospitals and care centres across London. Other charity performances have included performing at the Violins of Hope music festival in North Carolina, USA, with Shlomo Mintz; a collaboration in Israel with Vadim Gluzman; concerts at Highgrove to raise funds for The Prince’s Trust alongside Julian Lloyd-Webber; and innumerable further concerts to raise money for, among others, The Alzheimer’s Society, the NSPCC and MacMillan Cancer Relief.
Julia has appeared many times on live television and radio through the BBC and ITV, and was featured in a BBC4 documentary about ‘The Lark Ascending’ by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Her performance of this work was specifically chosen by the BBC and the documentary has been re-broadcast on many occasions due to popular demand. Her latest CD, featuring works by Grieg, Lutoslawski, Wieniawski and Vaughan Williams, was met with critical acclaim, reviewed by Gramophone as representing “old-world wit and warmth”.
As a student, Julia was a Fulbright Scholar at Yale University under the tutelage of Ani Kavafian, where she is now completing her doctorate. She completed her undergraduate degree as a scholar at St John’s College, Cambridge, graduating with the 2017 Larmor Award. Julia began her violin studies at the age of seven with Richard Crabtree at Clifton College, followed by Itzhak Rashkovsky in London. Having been offered a full postgraduate scholarship from the Royal College of Music, she graduated with the highest performance mark of the year.
She is the winner of numerous prizes and awards, including the Hattori Foundation Postgraduate Award, the annual Musicians Company Award, the Countess of Munster Award, and Talent Unlimited.
Julia plays on a Peter Guarnerius of Mantua violin c.1698, on generous loan from the Alderson Trust.