Mikyung Sung
Classical Double Bassist
Hailed as one of the world's most expressive classical double bass soloists and an audience favorite, Mikyung Sung is noted for her fearless virtuosity along with her deeply musical, colorful, and emotional playing.
She was the winner, at age 17, of the 2010 J.M. Sperger International Double Bass Competition in Germany, along with the audience prize and several special prizes. In 2015 she won the Thomas Martin Prize for the best performance of a work by Bottesini at the ISB (International Society of Bassists) Competition in Colorado, at which she placed 2nd overall. In 2017 she won the internet-voted prize for best finals performance, for the Bottesini Concerto No. 2, at the Bradetich Foundation Double Bass Competition in Texas, while receiving honorable mention overall. In Korea she had also previously won 1st prize at numerous competitions.
She has been invited to perform as soloist with the Seongnam Philharmonic Orchestra, Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie, Philharmonie Baden-Baden, Colburn Orchestra, KNUA Orchestra, and Caesura Youth Orchestra, and with conductors such as Ludovic Morlot. She has worked closely with composers Árni Egilsson and Frank Proto in preparing performances of their works. In the 2018-19 concert season she was a principal double bass of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and an instructor at the Shanghai Orchestra Academy.
Originally taught by her father, a 30-year veteran of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, she gained early admission to Korea National University of Arts, where she studied with Ho-gyo Lee. After graduation, she won auditions for two Korean orchestras, including assistant principal of her father's own orchestra, but instead chose to continue studying in America. She received her Artist Diploma from the Colburn School in Los Angeles, studying with Peter Lloyd. She also participated in master classes with Janne Saksala, Rinat Ibragimov, Joseph Conyers, Klaus Trumpf, violinist Arnold Steinhardt, and cellists Peter Wiley and Hans Jørgen Jensen.
In the 2018-19 season, Mikyung was a Principal Bassist of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and taught at the Shanghai Orchestra Academy. Mikyung formed her Emeth Ensemble double bass quartet with several friends in 2020. In 2023, she moved to the Atlanta area in the United States with her husband and son, and her debut album, "The Colburn Sessions", recorded at The Colburn School with pianist Jaemin Shin, has been receiving glowing reviews.
Mikyung plays a 3/4 size Charles Quenoil double bass made in 1951
