Violinist Esther Yoo, who completed her master's degree at London's Royal College of Music (RCM), has been appointed to the school's teaching faculty. She will step into the role in time for the 2025/26 academic year, and she is joined by two other new string appointees, harpists Elizabeth Bass and Oliver Wass.

As soloist, Yoo has appeared with many of the world's leading orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, Orquestra Sinfónica RTVE, Melbourne Symphony, and the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra — as well as in venues such as Lincoln Center, the Royal Albert Hall, and the Seoul Arts Center, and at festivals such as the Aspen Music Festival and the BBC Proms.

She launched her career in 2010, when she became the youngest prizewinner of the International Sibelius Violin Competition, repeating the same feat at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in 2012. Since that time, she has released a number of critically acclaimed albums on the Deutsche Grammophon label, and in 2018, she was named as one of Classic FM’s Top 30 Artists under 30.

A passionate chamber musician, she is a founding member of the Z.E.N. Trio, in which she appears alongside pianist Zhang Zuo and cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan.

"As a former student of this prestigious institution, returning as a professor is a great honor and means a lot to me," Yoo said. "It's a privilege to be able to work with the next generation of violinists while also continuing my international solo career."

"We also welcome the brilliant violinist Esther Yoo, who has performed as an international soloist with many of the world's leading orchestras and whose work as a recording artist for Deutsche Grammophon will further enhance and complement the exceptional quality of the violin faculty," said Gary Ryan, Head of Strings at the Royal College of Music.