Saejin Yoo is eighteen years of age and currently studies with the distinguished artist/teacher, Dr. Joseph Zins, of Crocus Hill Studios in Saint Paul, Minnesota.  Enrolled for the past three years in the Studio’s high intensity Performance Studies for the Gifted and Talented Pre-College Student, she is a member of the Premier Class. 

 

Saejin was a finalist in this season’s St. Paul Piano Teachers (SPPTA) Concerto Competition which resulted in an invited guest performance for that organization.  Also in 2017, she performed the first movement of Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor with the East Ridge Symphony Orchestra at The East Ridge High School Southeast Conference Festival.  In the summer of 2016, Saejin studied at The International Institute for Young Musicians (IIYM) Academy at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, where she studied with Jack Winerock and John McCarthy and was selected for the Honors Recital.  In 2016, Saejin was an invited guest artist for the China Service Ventures Benefit Concert in Minneapolis.

 

Prior to her joining Crocus Hill Studios in the fall of 2014, Saejin had studied piano for seven years.  Relocating to the Twin Cities from her home state of Connecticut in the fall of 2013, Saejin studied with Stephanie Wendt during the 2013-2014 Season.  In Connecticut, she worked with Bridget de Moura Castro for four years.  Saejin also received coaching sessions and artistic advice from de Moura Castro’s famed husband, the renowned international pianist, Luiz de Moura Castro.  During this time, she was influenced by many prominent musicians who visited the Castro home, including Luis Rodriguez Salva.  In 2014, Saejin performed in the Master Class of Inon Barnatan.  In the summer of 2014, she studied at both the CT Virtuosi Academy and the Indiana University Piano Academy.  In the summer of 2013, she studied at the Hotchkiss Summer Piano Portals.  In addition to her committed and passionate pursuit of the art of piano playing, Saejin loves experiencing nature, reading novels, and playing the violin.  She is a resident of Woodbury, Minnesota, and will attend Boston University School of Music as a Piano Major this fall, studying with Gila Goldstein.