Kangin Joo began learning the violin at the age of 8 from South Korea. Before moving to the United States in 2014, Kangin Joo performed in the Heavenly Sound Youth Orchestra in Seoul, South Korea for 3 years. After moving to Arkansas from South Korea, Kangin Joo continued his musical career with the Arkansas Symphony Youth Orchestra. He was the winner of the UALR Piano&String Festival for several years and a finalist for the Stella Boyle Smith Competition. In 2018, Kangin Joo moved to Atlanta, GA, and continued his musical career with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony Orchestra where he served as the concertmaster for two concert cycles. Later, Kangin Joo joined the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra after a competitive audition process and performed with them until he joined the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University in 2021.
Kangin Joo won prizes and awards in several competitions. In 2018, Kangin Joo received an Education Grant from the Rachel Barton Pine Foundation. Kangin Joo also won 2nd prize in the Great Composers competition – Masters of Violin Concerto in 2020. In the same year, Kangin Joo won 2nd prize in the New York International Music Concours for two consecutive years and received the Edward Braunstein New York State Assembly Award and Ron Kim New York State Assembly Award. Kangin Joo received scholarships from the Korean American Scholarship Foundation after winning prizes from their annual music competitions.
Kangin Joo has performed in the Los Angeles Sinfonietta for two consecutive summers in the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, CA. In 2023, Kangin Joo also served as the concertmaster at the California Orchestra Institute under the baton of Larry Livingston. Kangin Joo has been participating in the Montecito International Music Festival for three years.
Kangin Joo has studied with Joseph Lim, Tatiana Kotcherguina, Olga Shpitko, and Sergiu Schwartz. He is now pursuing his Bachelor’s in Violin Performance with Professor Boris Abramov at the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University.
You can find Kangin’s 2023 Romantic Music Competition violin performance here.