Jaemin Han

Born in 2006 in Wonju, South Korea, cellist Jaemin Han came to international attention in May 2021 when he was awarded the Grand Prix of the George Enescu International Competition as the youngest prize winner in its history. Further prizes at the Geneva International Music Competition and ISANGYUN Competition followed, establishing him as one of the most exceptional young soloists to emerge in recent years. Han has performed with numerous renowned orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, the Rotterdam and Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestras, Athens State Orchestra, Stavanger Symfoniorkester and Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia, and Filarmonica George Enescu. Under the baton of conductors such as Jaap van Zweden, Myung-Whun Chung, Gustavo Gimeno, Andris Poga, Alexandre Bloch, Pietari Inkinen, and Shi-Yeon Sung, Han performs mainstays of the cello repertoire by Shostakovich, Dvořák, Tchaikovsky, and Haydn, alongside concertos by Isang Yun, Friedrich Gulda, and George Enescu.

In 2022, Han recorded a showcase recital on Stage+ by Deutsche Grammophone as part of their ‘Rising Stars’ series. He has also recorded Isang Yun’s Cello Concertowith the Korean National Symphony Orchestra and David Reiland for Decca Records, released in autumn 2024. Coming from a family of musicians, Jaemin Han started playing the cello at the age of five and made his debut three years later in his hometown with the Wonju City Symphony Orchestra; he has since performed with all leading Korean ensembles. His exceptional talent was recognised from an early age when he won first prizes at the Osaka International Music Competition 2015, International Cello Competition ‘David Popper’ for Young Cellists 2017 and International Dotzauer Competition for Young Cellists 2019.

Jaemin Han is currently studying at the Kronberg Academy, Germany, under the tutelage of Wolfgang-Emanuel Schmidt. Prior to this, he studied with Myung-Wha Chung, Kangho Lee, and Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi at the Korea National Institute for the Gifted in Arts. He was recipient of the 2020 Shinhan Music Award and currently holds a scholarship from the Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-Koo foundation. He plays a Giovanni Grancino cello on generous loan from the Samsung Foundation of Culture.