In this Flute Unscripted interview, Jasmine Choi delves into the new creative outlets she discovered during the height of the pandemic and how she manages to juggle all of her commitments on a daily basis. Jasmine also shares the personal history she has with her first gold flute, Brannen #3040, and the ways it was like a friend to her through her formative years. Jasmine’s Brannen is listed for sale through the Flute Center of New York.

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Flutist Jasmine Choi is one of the most celebrated flutists of our time, known for her virtuosity and refined musicianship, as well as her adventurous projects. She has performed across the globe in a variety of genres from classical solo, chamber, and orchestral to experimental, jazz, and pop.

A former principal flute of the Vienna Symphony under Fabio Luisi and associate principal of the Cincinnati Symphony under Paavo Jarvi,  Ms. Choi has performed as a soloist with the Vienna Symphony, Salzburg Mozarteum, Philadelphia Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony, St.Petersburg Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic, Salzburg Mozart Players, Berlin Symphony, New York Classical Players, Seoul Philharmonic, Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, as well as at recitals in Paris, Vienna, London, Munich, Geneve, New York, Tokyo, Seoul, and Hong Kong.

Her infinite curiosity has also led her to make her own arrangements of major works, including the Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky violin concertos, as well as performing new works by living composers. She has published numerous arrangements of hers through Theodore Presser Company, and has premiered more than 10 flute concertos written for her.

Ms. Choi has been the Artist-In-Residence of the New York Classical Players for three consecutive seasons(2018-2021), and served as the Artist-In-Residence at Sejong Arts Center in Seoul for its 40th anniversary season.

She has recorded several solo CDs under the Sony Classical label, including Mozart Flute Concertos, Fantasy (Virtuoso Flute Works), Claude Bolling Jazz Suite, Mozart Flute Quartets, Works of Brahms, Schumann, Reinecke. Other recordings include Telemann Fantasies, Love in Paris (from a live recital), Trio Joy (free improvisation), and three single albums including her arrangement of Paganini's Caprice No.24, Clarke's Great Train Race and Reichert's Encore Solo.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms. Choi has started sharing educational videos on YouTube for the advanced flutists, as well as collaborating with young pianists and introducing them in order to kickstart their careers, and interviewing leading classical musicians via live streamings and recorded videos.

In May 2021, Ms. Choi has launched the SmartCase, an innovative flute case that is light, durable, secure and fits to normal bags, making every flutist's wish come true. In August 2021, she has published the flute method books for beginners (Seoul Music Publishing) which made it to the bestseller chart in no time. She also writes articles for Flute Talk Magazine in the US and the Auditorium Magazine in Korea.

Between concerts, Ms. Choi enjoys teaching and guiding young students in master classes. She has previously taught master classes at Juilliard, the Curtis Institute of Music, Indiana University, Colburn School of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Florida University, Harvard University, Universität für Musik in Vienna, among others.

Growing up as a third generation of a classical music family in Korea, she started learning piano and violin from the very early age. A year after picking up the flute as a nine-year-old, she performed the Haydn Concerto in D Major with a local orchestra. She became the last pupil of the legendary Julius Baker when she was accepted at Curtis Institute of Music at sixteen years old. Ms. Choi continued her studies at Juilliard School with Jeffrey Khaner, and later had private studies with Thomas Robertello and Robert Stallman.

Ms. Choi’s performance was featured during the 2018 Winter Olympics’ celebrations in PyeongChang, Korea, and she is the official Cultural Ambassador of her hometown Daejeon, Korea. 

Ms. Choi speaks English, German and Korean, and resides in Austria between concert tours. She has a strong presence on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, and enjoys communicating regularly with her fans.