Born in South Korea, SunYoung “Sunny” Park (b.1988) started violin at age six and began her composition studies at seventeen. Since then, her works have been performed internationally and in some of the world’s top concert halls. Most recently, she won the 44th Pan Music Festival International Competition with Pierrotfor Violin and Piano. It was the piece she was commissioned to write for violin and piano by a Munich violinist Mariella Haubs, which was originally premiered in Gasteig, Munich Germany. As the winner of the prestigious New Juilliard Ensemble (NJE) competition, SunYoung was commissioned to write Legend, a chamber ensemble work that premiered at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. The New York edition of The Korea Timesapplauded her experiment of combining Western music with Eastern sound, with a particularly Korean sound. One of her most recent performance of the piano trio, HEEM, performed by Allant Trio in New York gained a big success: the trio and the piece, HEEM,was invited to perform in Carnegie Weill Recital Hall. Her music has been performed in concert halls including Gasteig Hall of Germany; Alice Tully Hall, the Juilliard School, Korean cultural Center of NY; Suntory Hall, Izumi Hall of Japan; Central Conservatory of China; Opera House of Vietnam; the Keum-Ho Art Center, An-Yang City Hall, Seoul Art Center, Lotte Art Center of Korea. 

The daughter of celebrated Korean composer Jungsun Park, SunYoung’s choral and vocal music career began early. Most recently, her choral work Arirang Jazz versionand Jat Sound (잣떨어져요)were published by Jubilate Music Alliance in March 2018. Her most popularly performed work is Alpha and Omega, which was published in Joong-Ang Church Choral Series book by JoongAng Art; and I will dwell in his house (Psalm 23), forever written for the SATB acapella choir was also published by Ki-Um publishing company.

 

SunYoung is also a co-founder, South Korea Director of Asia/America New Music Institute(AANMI) since 2013. It is a non-profit organization that promotes new music relationships between Asia and the Americas.AANMI’s recent album, Trendcendent (Delos), as well as her music is gaining great reviews from many prestigious magazines such as Gramophone, UK and Stereophile: "Transcendent' speaks volumes for the high level of creativity flourishing in the 21st century."With group of composers all over the world affiliated with AANMI, SunYoung has traveled to Thailand (Thailand International Composers Festival), USA, Vietnam (Asia-Europe New Music), Japan, Korea, China (Beijing Modern Music Festival) and Singapore in 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 season. In 2017-2018 season, she travelled to Japan to give concerts in 6 different cities, funded by US Embassy in Japan. 

 

As a 2019 Grand Valley State University’s composer-in-residence, she spent 6 years at The Juilliard School, where she received her Master of Music (MM) under Christopher Rouse and her Bachelor of Music (BM) under Samuel Adler. She recently finished her Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree at Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University under Kevin Puts.

 

SunYoung is working in the Orchestral Studies Program at Stanford University, Department of Music. She is also working as a composer/ arranger of motion picture music as a member of the Invisible Sea Productions. As a composer, most recently, she assisted in orchestrating an orchestral suite of Joe Hisaishi’s music from the Studio Ghibli film Kiki’s Delivery Service for a concert tour that would take place that year. She also has taught composition, music theory and ear training at Pasadena City College, music department, for two years as an adjunct professor.