Ellen Hayun Lee

Ellen Hayun Lee, a Korean-American flutist, was born in Pittsburgh, USA and raised in the Republic of Korea. She began her flute studies at the age of ten and was soon accepted into the prestigious Yewon School in Seoul. That same year, she was selected as a Kumho Prodigy Artist. She graduated with honors from Yewon in 2018, having received numerous accolades including the Performance Excellence Award, as well as scholarships from the Seoul Arts Academy and the Lee Dae-woong Foundation.

Following her early success in Korea, Ellen moved to Paris to pursue advanced musical studies. She was admitted to the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), where she earned both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees under the guidance of Professors Philippe Bernold and Florence Delépine-Souchard. Her studies were fully supported by a prestigious five-year scholarship from the Kwanjeong Educational Foundation.

Ellen has distinguished herself in numerous national and international competitions. In Korea, she received multiple first prizes in major national competitions. Internationally, she was awarded Third Prize at both the Japan Sendai Flute Competition (Adult Division, 2017) and the Japan Flute Convention Competition (Adult Division, 2019). In 2020, she won First Prize (Category B) at the Napolinova 1st World Flute E-Competition in Italy, leading to an invitation to perform in Naples.

She has performed in renowned venues and festivals around the world, including appearances at the Kumho Prodigy Concert, the Yejin Young Artist Concert, and a joint concert presented by the Korea Entertainment Promotion Agency. In 2019, she was invited to perform at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris. She was also selected to join the Verbier Festival Junior Orchestra (VFJO), performing under the batons of David Mazur, Stanislav Kochanovsky (2019), and James Gaffigan (2021).

Her recent engagements include a 2023 performance at Smetana Hall in Prague with the North Czech Philharmonic. In 2024, she appeared with the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic Orchestra at the Golden Hal of the Musikverein in Vienna and with the Szolnok Symphony Orchestra at the Mozarteum Großer Saal in Salzburg. She has also been invited to perform at the 2024 Český Krumlov International Music Festival.