Lisa Sung
SPCO Musician
Hailed by the Australian Daily Telegraph as a "viola prodigy," Australian-Korean violist Lisa Sung is a laureate of the 12th Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition and the 10th Gisborne International Music Competition. She has performed the Bartók Concerto at the Sydney Opera House and has played in other prominent venues such as Carnegie Hall, Seoul Arts Center, Berlin Philharmonie, and Royal Albert Hall. She has had the distinct honor of performing for the Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard, has been featured live on WQXR, Medici TV, and 2MBS-FM (Sydney), and has received recognition in both Australian and Korean national publications.
Sung brings her passion for orchestra and chamber music to the forefront of her career. She has performed extensively with world-class orchestras including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony and San Diego Symphony, and has worked under the batons of luminaries such as Herbert Blomstedt, Gustavo Dudamel, Andris Nelsons, Esa-Pekka Salonen, John Williams and Jaap van Zweden. Sung joined the New York Philharmonic’s first international tour post COVID-19 to Germany in 2022, as well as the Boston Symphony’s nine-city Europe tour in 2023, and the Kansas City Symphony’s inaugural Europe tour in 2024.
An avid chamber musician, she has shared the stage with distinguished artists such as Gary Hoffman, Robert McDonald, Paul Neubauer and Donald Weilerstein. Her musical collaborations extend across diverse series such as the Jupiter Chamber Players, Chameleon Arts Ensemble, A Far Cry and Fermata Chamber Soloists. Her festival appearances include Verbier Festival Academy, Perlman Music Program Chamber Workshop, Taos School of Music, Music@Menlo, Yellow Barn, Krzyżowa-Music, Four Seasons and Norfolk Chamber Music Festival.
In addition to performing, Lisa is a passionate educator. During the pandemic from 2020–2021, she coached the Sydney Youth Orchestra, developed a large private teaching studio, and taught at several private schools in Australia, including King's School, Abbotsleigh, and her alma mater, MLC School. Moreover, Sung is deeply committed to using music to unite people. Since age six she has performed biweekly in nursing homes and hospitals throughout her hometown of Sydney, giving over 300 community engagement performances in a span of twelve years. Since then, Sung has continued to expand her reach, bringing music to audiences across Europe and Asia, and in various community engagement programs, such as the Gluck Fellowship at Juilliard, Music@Menlo Winter Residency, Chamber Music Society of Palm Beach and the Perlman Music Program Community Engagement Retreat.
Originally from Sydney, Australia, Sung holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School where she was a proud recipient of the inaugural Kovner Fellowship, and a Graduate Diploma degree from the New England Conservatory. Her teachers include Paul Neubauer, Cynthia Phelps, Kim Kashkashian and Tobias Breider.
Since the 2023.24 season, Sung has been a member of the esteemed Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. She will join the viola faculty at the University of Minnesota (School of Music) in the fall of 2024.