Lauren Yejin Kang, violin

Meet Lauren

Lauren performs on Show 478.

Lauren Yejin Kang (violin), 15, from Vestavia Hills, Alabama, began playing the violin at the age of 5. She received early training in South Korea under Sunny Lee at the Seoul Central Conservatory and has been studying for the past two and a half years at the Juilliard Pre-College with Professor Sheryl Staples.

Lauren has participated in masterclasses with renowned artists including Fabiola Kim, WonHee Bae, Sungsic Yang, Peter Schuhmayer, Ian Swensen, Soojin Han, Yoojin Jang, and Gyehee Kim, winner of the 2023 Tchaikovsky International Competition. In 2025, she was named a national finalist in the MTNA Junior Strings Competition, representing the Southern Division.

She attended the Heifetz International Music Institute in 2023 and 2024, the International Musikfestival Zell am See in Austria in 2023, and the Meadowmount School of Music in the summer of 2025. At the age of 12, she made her concerto debut with the M Philharmonic Orchestra at Youngsang Art Hall in Seoul and gave her first solo recital at the Sun Art Hall of the Seoul Central Conservatory. Most recently, she gave a solo recital at Juilliard’s Paul Hall.

In her free time, she loves playing with her dog, Teddy Bear.