Bobby Boogyeom Park's heroes: Perlman, Vengerov, his parents...
Bobby Boogyeom Park (18), 2021 Stulberg Bronze Medalist
At the young age of 18, violinist and Stulberg medalist Bobby Boogyeom Park already has quite a backlog of accolades. He has been awarded top prizes at prestigious competitions in the United States, Korea, Russia, and China; performed alongside acclaimed violinists such as Maxim Vengerov, and has been a guest soloist at international concerts and festivals including the Shanghai International Arts Festival at Oriental Art Center in Shanghai. We are honored to have such a talented performer join us on November 2nd, to kick off our 5th annual Saturdays with the Stulberg recital series.
Bobby has prepared quite the program for our audience, with works such as Paganini’s Caprice No. 5, Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 4 in A minor, and Bach’s Violin Partita No. 2 in D minor. The upcoming program is quite distinct from the character of the Prokofiev Violin Concerto we heard from Bobby at the 2021 Stulberg Competition.
Bobby’s history with the violin began at age 7. Although born in Seoul, South Korea, Bobby spent nine years of his childhood in Shanghai due to his father’s career. At 11, Bobby’s family immigrated to the United States. Since 2017, Bobby has been studying music in New York and is an alumnus of the Juilliard Pre-College where he studied with Catherine Cho and Donald Weilerstein for seven years. Bobby quickly proved his talent for performing as he took top prizes in music competitions both domestically and abroad. In 2018, at age 12, he made his New York debut at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall after winning first prize at the New York International Music Competition and American Protégé International Music Competition.
Following in the footsteps of rising stars such as Randall Goosby and Nathan Meltzer, Bobby is now an alumnus of the Perlman Music Program and has recently begun his undergraduate studies with Itzhak Perlman and Li Lin at The Juilliard School where he is the proud recipient of a Kovner Fellowship.
When asked about his biggest supporters, Bobby expresses his gratitude for his parents: “..who supported him unwaveringly, and inspired him to become a good-hearted musician and a good person.”
Since he began playing the violin, Bobby’s heroes have been Itzhak Perlman and Maxim Vengerov. Bobby quotes, “I feel extremely blessed to have Mr. Perlman as my teacher, and to have performed alongside Mr. Vengerov on the same stage, in the most prestigious Carnegie Hall.” Shortly after the 2021 Stulberg Competition, Bobby received the opportunity to perform alongside Vengerov, representing the Juilliard Pre-College, in a collaborative concert between the Juilliard Pre-College and the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra.
More of Bobby’s accolades around and following his time at the Stulberg Competition include a feature on NPR’s radio show “From The Top” with violinist Tessa Lark and host Peter Dugan, and features on NY1 News and Teen Kids News following his success at competitions. Most recently, he was nominated as a semifinalist for the 2024 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts—one of the highest honors for young artists in the United States.
We are so excited for Bobby as he begins a big step in his career as a performing artist and we wish him luck during his time at The Juilliard School! Don’t miss Bobby’s performance this Saturday, November 2nd, at 10:30AM, streaming on YouTube, Facebook, and AnywhereSeat. See you there!