14-year-old violinist Yena Oh was born in California and began music lessons when she was 5 years old. Because her mother is a piano teacher, she started with piano lessons. The following year, she began violin after being inspired by an orchestral performance on a movie. She currently studies with Joan Kwuon from the Colburn School, and her former teachers were Richard Schwabe and Soo.

Since she started competing, Yena has been recognized in various local and international competitions. Some of her recent awards include First Prize and Judge’s Distinction Award in the 2022 Pelican International Music Competition, Second Prize in the Open Category of the 2021 Satori International Competition, and Third Prize in the Southern Youth Music Festival.

As an orchestral musician, Yena performed with many different orchestras. Her most memorable performance was with the Southern California Youth Philharmonic at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, where she performed Pirates of the Caribbean and Leroy Anderson’s Fiddle Faddle. Although she was the youngest member of this orchestra at 10 years old, she performed as first violinist. This opportunity inspired Yena to continue working hard to perfect her craft. Since then, she has taken the stage with the Junior Chamber Music at UCI Winfred Smith Hall where they performed Beethoven’s Ghost Trio. As second violin co-principal in the Colburn Chamber Orchestra, she has performed two times at Zipper Hall showcasing works by Bach, Britten (Part 1 and Part 2), Barber, Shostakovich, and Mozart.

When Yena isn’t playing the violin, she enjoys spending her time playing soccer and volleyball, singing, and dancing. She’s active in her school’s speech and debate program, and in 2022, she won Third Place at Nationals. In the future, Yena wants to attend an Ivy League school and continue to perform in orchestras and chamber ensembles.