Minkyung Chu was born on May 14, 2001.

In 2012, she was selected to join the Korea National Institute for the Gifted in Arts and won first prize in the Yookyoung National Competition.

In 2013, she was awarded first prize in the Music Education News Concours and the National Music Journal Concours, and in 2014, she won the grand prize in the Young Chang Music Concours.

In 2015, as a middle school student, Minkyung took third place in the International Clarinet Association Competition in Madrid, Spain.

She was also awarded first prize in the Osaka International Competition wind division.

 

Minkyung has performed as a soloist with numerous orchestras and ensembles, including the Zemlinsky Quartet, the Lucerne Festival, the Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra, the Sungnam Philharmonic Orchestra, the Korea National University of Arts Clarinet Choir and the KNUA Symphony Orchestra.

She held solo recitals in the Kumho Arts Hall for the Prodigy Concert in 2015 and for the Young Artist in 2018.

As the youngest competitor, she had the honor of participating in the Geneva International Competition in 2018.

She also participated in the ARD Munich Competition as the youngest entrant in 2019, reaching the third round.

 

At age 15, Minkyung was admitted to the Korea National University of Arts as a gifted student and began her bachelor's degree under Professor Jerry Jaeil Chae, and graduated at age 19 . During her studies, Minkyung was the top student in the clarinet class and one of the top three graduates from the Music Department.

In 2021, she had the honor of performing at the Chosun Newspaper Debut Concert and was scouted by Romain Guyot to earn her master’s degree at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Genève.

 

In 2022, she participated in the Ghent International Clarinet Competition and made it to the semifinals where her Brahms clarinet quintet performance with the Zemlinsky Quartet was selected as the competition’s best recording. This performance was included in the CD recording, released on Spotify and Apple Music.

In 2022 and 2023, Minkyung was a semifinalist in the Young Concert Artists competition as well.

In June 2023, she was also invited to play the Weber Clarinet Concerto with the Lucerne Festival in Lucerne, Switzerland.

 

When Minkyung received her master's degree from the Haute Ecole de Musique de Geneve (Geneva Conservatory) in November 2023, she was offered the Master Soloist program to continue her studies in Geneva, which is offered only to the top student in the woodwind department, recommended by the woodwind faculty.

 

In December 2023, Minkyung was announced the Laureate of Belgian Clarinet Patrimony and invited to play as a soloist at the European Clarinet Congress in Tilburg, Netherlands.

She was also invited to play with the Zemlinsky Quartet in Ghent, Belgium, for the World Premiere of a contemporary work from the Belgian composer, Wilfried Westerlinck. Her performance was such a success that Westerlinck requested that she play his solo clarinet work in the upcoming year.

 

Through the years, Minkyung has been highly recognized by world-leading clarinetists such as Charles Neidich, Olivier Patey, Romain Guyot, Yehuda Gilad, David Shifrin, Michel Lethiec, Richard Stoltzman, Kari Kriikku, Sharon Kam, and Shirley Brill.

While completing her bachelor’s degree, German oboist, Ingo Goritzki, claimed that Minkyung would become one of the greatest woodwind players of the next generation.

She is ccurrently studying at the Colburn School under Mr. Yehuda Gilad for the Artist Diploma and she is focusing on pursuing a solo career that supports her interest in contemporary works and creative projects.