Jisoo Ok

Cello

Primary Academic Program: Bard Conservatory of Music: Preparatory Division

Biography: As a Latin Grammy nominee, Jisoo Ok enjoys a multi-faceted and vibrant musical career as a cellist, festival director, arranger, orchestrator, recording artist and educator of classical and tango music.

Jisoo is deeply committed to exploring connections with musicians from other backgrounds and disciplines. This deep commitment can be seen in her collaborations with distinguished artists, such as latin jazz clarinetist Paquito D'Rivera, tango pianist Pablo Ziegler, bandoneonist Hector Del Curto, jazz violinist Regina Carter and bassist Ron Carter.

She has performed at prestigious venues and festivals, such as Carnegie Hall, Aspen Music Festival, La Jolla Music Society's SummerFest, the Chautauqua Institute, Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, Blue Note, and National Concert Hall in Taiwan. As a soloist, she has performed with Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and Lancaster Symphony Orchestra.

Jisoo's arrangements, orchestrations and transcriptions have been performed by top orchestras, such as Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Vermont Symphony Orchestra, Lancaster Symphony Orchestra, Billings Symphony Orchestra, Aspen Music Festival Chamber Orchestra, Hector Del Curto Tango Orchestra and Stowe Tango Music Festival Orchestra.

Her dedication as a teacher can be seen in the success of her cello students, who have won numerous competitions and were accepted to New England Conservatory, Manhattan School of Music, Indiana University, The Juilliard School Pre-College, All-National Honors Orchestra and All-New York State Orchestra. She has recently published Hello Cello Positions!, a series of cello method books for young cellists to learn and understand the positions on the cello.

Jisoo was born in Seoul, Korea and raised in New Zealand. She received her Bachelor's and Master's degrees from The Juilliard School as a recipient of the Irene Diamond Graduate Fellowship and the Heward Memorial Scholarship, studying with Bonnie Hampton and Fred Sherry and she studied chamber music with Itzhak Perlman and Robert Mann. She has participated in numerous Master Classes with Janos Starker, Bernard Greenhouse, Paul Katz, Laurence Lesser and Anner Bylsma.

She is the co-founder and executive director of the Stowe Tango Music Festival, the premier tango music festival in the United States noted both for its unique series of performances and its high level of tango music training.
Department: Arts