Since her victory at the 2022 Queen Elisabeth Competition, Hayoung Choi has established herself as one of the most versatile and adventurous cellists of her generation. Her repertoire spans contemporary works by Lutosławski, Vasks, Janáček and Weinberg, as well as romantic and modern masterpieces by Schubert, Poulenc and Messiaen.
She has returned to Belgium on numerous occasions. In 2025, she appeared with the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra as the central guest of Elisabeth Week. In addition, she joined her sister, violinist SongHa Choi, for duo recitals aimed at the Competition’s young audience, with further performances in Ostend and Knokke.
Internationally, her career has expanded across continents, with tours in Brazil and North America. Each year, she presents extensive concert series throughout Korea, performing both solo and concerto repertoire with leading ensembles such as the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, the KBS Symphony Orchestra, and several regional philharmonics. In 2025, she serves as Artist in Residence at the Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul.
Other recent concert highlights include performances with Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Beethoven Fruhling Orchestra, LA Philharmonic Orchestra, Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester, European Union Youth Orchestra and Filarmônica de Minas Gerais.
In addition to her orchestral engagements, Hayoung Choi has built a remarkable recital career, appearing at major venues such as the Phillips Collection in Washington, Carnegie Hall in New York, Wigmore Hall in London, and other halls across the USA, Canada and Taiwan.
She has been invited to the Amsterdam Cello Biënnale, where she performed, among other works, Jörg Widmann’s 5 Albumblätter, the compulsory piece of the 2022 Queen Elisabeth Competition final. Other notable festival engagements include the Gstaad Menuhin Festival, Kronberg’s Chamber Music Connects the World, Troja Festival, Moritzburg Festival, BBC Proms Korea, Cervo Music Festival, Levanto Music Festival, Estivales de Medoc and Musiq3 Festival.
Looking ahead to the 2025–26 season, she will make her debuts with West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Bremer Philharmonic, Oregon Symphony Orchestra and Basel Chamber Orchestra. Her upcoming festival appearances include Z+ International Music Festival and Dresden Music Festival.
In 2023, Hayoung Choi was honoured as the inaugural recipient of the FENDI Music Award (Korea). She plays on the 1707 Ex-Starker Joseph filius Guarneri cello, generously on loan from an anonymous patron.
Watch her perform Schubert's Arpeggione Sonata with pianist Joachim Carr last summer at the Fuchan International Chamber Music Festival: