Flutist Julia Kwon, a senior at Independence High School in Ashburn, has won this year’s City of Fairfax Band Association Young Artist Competition and will be the ensemble’s guest soloist in concert on May 14.
Kwon won the competition after performing “Fantasie” by Georges Hue. She will publicly perform the piece at the Katherine Johnson Intermediate School auditorium, 3801 Jermantown Road in Fairfax, at 7:30 pm.
“Hue Fantasie, the piece I performed for the competition, was actually one of my college audition repertoires. After all the hard work I put in for college auditions, winning the competition was very rewarding for me. I am grateful for ending my senior year with this amazing opportunity,” Kwon said.
Since 1996, The City of Fairfax Band Association has sponsored its annual Young Artist Competition to encourage the development of area stand-out high school musicians who plan to pursue a musical career.
The high school instrumentalist’s achievements began with an early childhood interest in music, starting with piano. As her enthusiasm and skills grew she was introduced to the recorder, a small wooden forerunner to the modern flute. She says she fell in love with that instrument and practiced it for hours—that is until her mother presented her flute for Julia to try. That was in fourth grade in Korea.
Kwon studies under Dr. Jennifer Lapple, a noted area flute instructor and former George Mason University adjunct professor. Kwon studied previously with Shinjung Oh, flute professor at Korea’s Inje University.
She has been accepted into the University of Southern California flute studio of Los Angeles Philharmonic member Dr. Catherine Karoly. The acceptance aligns with Kwon’s aspiration to play in the Los Angeles Philharmonic someday.
The young soloist’s time for music and school the past four years has been divided among virtual, online and in-person instruction and performance. It included being principal flutist in ensembles at the Governor’s School and performing in the American Youth Philharmonic and the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition to participating in her high school ensembles, she won spots in the All-Virginia Band and Orchestra in 2021 and the All-District Concert/Symphonic Band for four years. She received the Certificate of Commendation at Virginia’s 2021 Summer Residential Governor’s School in Visual and Performing Arts.
Combining music and leadership, Kwon started the Independence Flute Choir Club. It included recruiting members and conducting weekly rehearsals.
Kwon also has excelled academically. She is a member of the National Honor Society, Mu-Alpha Theta (Math Honor Society), the Science National Honor Society, and the Tri-M Music Honor Society. She achieved a 4.49 GPA. Outside music, she has tutored others in science and math and has coached students in the Korean language.
Tickets to Kwon’s May 14 performance with the City of Fairfax Band are available online at a www.fairfaxband.org/product-category/tickets/ or at the door.
For more concert information, visit the band’s website, www.fairfaxband.org.