Claire Youn

Mentor Claire Youn is a senior attending Sunset High School in Portland, Oregon, and started her violin studies at age five under the instruction of Hae-Jin Kim. As a solo musician, Claire won first place in the American Protégé: International Piano and Strings Competition in 2021 and received second prize in both the 2020-2021 Canadian International Music Competition and the GLORY Int’l Competition. In 2022, Claire won first place in the OMEA Oregon State Chamber Ensemble Contest and won second place in the Monday Musical Club Scholarship Competition. She has been actively involved in many chamber music groups and orchestras. In 2015, Claire joined the Portland Youth Philharmonic Association, where she has been Principal Second Violin since season 98. In 2021, she played in the NAfME All-National Honors Symphony, OMEA All-State Orchestra, and Honors Performance Series at Carnegie Hall, NYC by WorldStrides. She participated in the National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute in 2021 and attended Interlochen Arts Academy’s Violin Intensive Camp in the summer of 2022. She performed in masterclasses coached by Ara Sarkissian, Jun Iwasaki, the Mivos Quartet, and Teresa Stanislav from the Calder Quartet.

Claire is enthusiastic about teaching and giving back to the community, and is honored that she has this opportunity to do so through Music4Harmony.