"An outstanding musician, who is capable to communicate his musical visions - which emanates from his great musical knowledge and experiences as chamber- and orchestra musician - through clear, elegant and expressive conducting." - Jorma Panula
The conductor and violinist Jehi Bahk is without question an exceptional musician who, after an international career as the first violinist of the renowned Hugo Wolf String Quartet (Wien) has already made a name for himself as a versatile and inspiring conductor.
Born in Vienna/Austria, Jehi Bahk received his first education in piano, violin, composition and conducting at the age of four. He was admitted into the pre-college piano class of the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna at the age of five and appeared also as a composer, which has been chronicled in a german magazine with an article titled 'A little Mozart from Korea'. He is holding a master degree in violin performance of the University of Music and performing Arts in Vienna where he studied with Michael Frischenschlager and Dora Schwarzberg and a master degree in orchestra conducting of the Korean National University of Arts, where he studied with Chiyong Chung, a pupil of Michael Gielen. Further studies led him to mentors like Jorma Panula (Helsinki Panula Academy), Kurt Masur (International Mendelssohn Academy Leipzig), Riccardo Muti (Muti Opera Academy), Massimiliano Caldi (Florence Conducting Masterclass), and Gianluigi Zampieri (Nepi Festival).
Jehi Bahk has been the leader of the internationally acclaimed Hugo Wolf Quartet, which he cofounded during his studies. With his ensemble he won coveted awards as the Special Prize of the Wiener Philharmoniker, the European Cultural Award for chamber music, and the 1st prize at the International String Quartet Competition in Cremona, which culminated in the nomination as "Rising Stars" of the European Concert Hall Organisation (ECHO), which led him to major international concert halls like Carnegie Hall New York, Berlin Philharmonie, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Wigmore Hall London, Wien Musikverein, Prag Rudolphinum, Cite de la musique Paris, Symphony Hall Birmingham.
Jehi Bahk served as concertmaster of several orchestras in Korea like the Philharmonia Corea, Prime Philharmonic Orchestra, and as associate concertmaster of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, and performed with conductors like Stephen Asbury, Andrey Boreyko, Myung-Whun Chung, Mikko Frank, Ion Marin, Rossen Milanov, Ludovich Morlot, and Francois Xavier Roth. As a sought after guest leader he performed with orchestras like the Real Orquesta Sinfonica de Sevilla, Orquesta Filarmonica de Gran Canaria, Busan Philharmonic Orchestra, Hwaum Chamber Orchestra, Incheon Philharmonic Orchestra, New World Philharmonic Orchestra, Tongyeong International Festival Orchestra, etc.
Jehi Bahk is a sought after pedagogue and has been full time professor at the University of Suwon and the German School of Music Weimar (a cooperation between the Franz Liszt Musikhochschule Weimar and the Kangnam University in South Korea). As of 2023, Jehi Bahk has returned to Vienna and is currently teaching at the Friedrich Gulda School Wien while also holding the position of Director of Development for Asia at the JAM Music Lab Private University.
