CMSFW Ensemble

Pianist Jihye Chang Sung enjoys a diverse career as a soloist, collaborator, educator, scholar, and advocate for new music in the United States and abroad. Her performances focus on the creative process of collaborating with living composers, curating programs that connect to various audiences, and giving context to contemporary works.

She has earned international acclaim in competitions and as a soloist. In 2024, she premiered Igerthi, a piano concerto written for her by Sungji Hong, with Intersection Music in Nashville.

Collaborating with living composers has been an important part of her performance career. Since 2016, Dr. Sung has led a collaborative project called “Continuum 88,” in which she focuses each concert season on a different genre of the piano repertoire and programs masterworks alongside new commissions by younger composers in the same genres.

Her other interests include music by living women composers and Korean composers, which she has brought to American venues. She also specializes in working with young composers in academic settings and has led residencies at Texas Christian University, as well as other prominent universities.

Dr. Sung graduated summa cum laude from Seoul National University and earned her master’s and doctorate degrees from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. She is a faculty member at Boston University and the Brevard Music Center.

Jihye Chang Sung’s Website

Photo courtesy of Jihye Chang Sung

Gary Levinson is the senior principal associate concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the artistic director of the Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth.

Born in St. Petersburg, he began studying the violin at age 5 at the Leningrad Special Music School. He and his family immigrated to the United States in 1977, and he began winning top prizes at international competitions.

Known for his Bel Canto playing style and adroit technique, Mr. Levinson made his New York Philharmonic solo debut in 1991, coinciding with the completion of his master’s degree at The Juilliard School.

He was appointed in March 1998 as the first violinist of the Elysium String Quartet. He led the inaugural season of the Mykonos International Music Festival in August 1998, as well as a gala concert honoring the Elysium String Quartet at the United States ambassador’s residence in Athens, Greece.

Much sought-after as a chamber musician, he has collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma, Lynn Harrell, and Eugenia Zuckerman. He has recorded several CDs, including a bass and violin duo — performed with his father, renowned double bassist Eugene Levinson — written for and dedicated to the father and son team.

Gary Levinson travels and performs year round all over the globe, including summer music festivals. He also mentors young musicians through the CMSFW2 emerging artist program.

Gary Levinson’s Website

Photo by AJK Images

Praised by The Strad as an “utterly dazzling” artist, with “a marvelous show of superb technique” and “mesmerizing grace” (New York Classical Review), violinist Danbi Um captivates audiences with her virtuosity, individual sound and interpretive sensitivity. A silver medalist in the Menuhin International Violin Competition and winner of the prestigious 2018 Salon de Virtuosi Career Grant, she showcases her artistry in concertos, solo recitals and in collaboration with distinguished chamber musicians.

Ms. Um’s debut album, Much Ado: Romantic Violin Masterworks, was released worldwide in fall of 2023. Her second album, Poème Mystique, was released in February 2025.

Ms. Um made her New York recital debut in 2018 at Lincoln Center presented by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. She also has appeared in recital and in chamber music performances at the Kennedy Center, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Harris Theatre in Chicago, Wigmore Hall in London and at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.

Born in Seoul, South Korea, Ms. Um began violin lessons at the age of 3. She moved to the United States in 2000 to study at the Curtis Institute of Music, where she earned a bachelor’s degree. She also holds an artist diploma from Indiana University.

Danbi Um’s Website

Photo by Marco Borggreve