Soon-Mi Chung Barratt-Due

After a sensational violin debut in 1982, Soon-Mi Chung Barratt-Due toured Norway as a soloist with all of the Norwegian symphony orchestras. She has also performed at the Bergen International Festival, in Northern Norway, and at numerous chamber music festivals. Her achievements include multiple CD recordings, TV appearances, and concerts in the USA, Israel, most Central European countries, and Asia.

Soon-Mi Chung Barratt-Due is originally from South Korea. At 17, she was admitted to the Conservatoire National de Paris, where she received 1st prize in violin after two years. She later studied at the International Menuhin Music Academy in Gstaad, Switzerland, and at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

From 1981 to 1984, she was first solo violist in the Norwegian Broadcasting Orchestra and served as concertmaster for the last two years. For her duo collaboration with violinist Stephan Barratt-Due, she received Oslo City’s Cultural Prize in 1998. Several composers have written works for her or the Chung/Barratt-Due duo, including Arne Nordheim and Kjetil Hvoslef. Olav Anton Thommessen’s viola concerto premiered with Chung and the Oslo Philharmonic on the orchestra’s 75th anniversary in 1995.

Soon-Mi received the prestigious Lindeman Grant in 2007. In 2010, she was awarded Anders Jahre’s Cultural Prize for “outstanding contribution to Norwegian musical life.” For her pedagogical work, she received the Arts Council’s Honorary Award in 2012.

Since 1985, Soon-Mi Chung Barratt-Due has been affiliated with Barratt Due Institute of Music as a teacher. She is the artistic director of the Barratt Due Junior Orchestra (JORK), which she established when she began teaching at the institute. In September 2020, Barratt-Due was promoted to professor.