Jinho Hong is a cellist who graduated from Seoul National University and completed both his master’s degree and the Konzertexamen with highest honors at the University of Music Würzburg in Germany. He has received top prizes in prestigious international competitions, including the Würzburg University Competition, the Mendelssohn Competition, the Bordeaux International Competition (France), the Schoenfeld International Competition (China), and the Giorgio Bergamo Competition (Switzerland), earning international recognition for his musical excellence.

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He has performed as a soloist with the Central Germany Chamber Orchestra, the Würzburg University Orchestra, the Shumen Municipal Orchestra (Bulgaria), among many others. He also collaborated with renowned musician Cristian Bend to record a commemorative album honoring the Velvet Revolution in the Czech Republic. His chamber music activities have led to invitations to prominent festivals such as Musethica (Spain) and Zeister Muziekdagen (Netherlands), establishing him as a sought-after artist on the international stage.

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In 2019, Hong gained national attention by winning the Korean TV audition program Superband, which propelled him beyond the boundaries of classical music into a broader spectrum of genres. He has since appeared on major television programs including JTBC’s Begin Again, KBS Open Concert, Yoo Hee-yeol’s Sketchbook, and EBS Space Empathy. He has performed at national ceremonies such as the March 1st Independence Movement Day and West Sea Defense Day commemorations, and took part in the MBC documentary The Veterans and the Boys, marking the 70th anniversary of the Korean War.

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In addition to classical stages, he has participated in major crossover events such as the Seoul Jazz Festival and the Awesome Music Festival, offering a wide range of repertoire from classical to jazz. His major solo performances include a debut concert at Lotte Concert Hall (2020), a recital at the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall (2021), and a highly acclaimed recital at LG Arts Center in 2024.

Hong also launched Jinho’s Bookstore, a live-streamed program on Naver that combines music and the humanities, presenting performances that transcend the boundaries between online and offline stages. In 2023, he served as host and performer for the “Classics to Start the Day” series at the Daejeon Arts Center, and in 2024, he continued his role as music director for the matinee concert series at both the Daejeon Arts Center and the Chuncheon Cultural Foundation, curating and performing diverse musical programs in collaboration with leading artists.

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His discography reflects his evolving musical journey as both a performer and a composer. In 2021, he released his first live concert album Purify under Universal Music, capturing the intensity and presence of his onstage performances. This was followed by his first studio album Modern Cello, which showcased a refined interpretation of contemporary works and marked a new chapter in his recording career. In 2024, he released Dear Forest, an album composed entirely of his original works, offering a deeply personal and lyrical soundscape rooted in nature and introspection. The following year, he continued to explore his compositional voice through City Melody (2025), a collection that portrayed the rhythms and textures of urban life through the cello. These two consecutive albums highlighted the depth and breadth of his artistry beyond traditional performance.

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Looking ahead, he is preparing a solo concert at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in March 2026, which will feature selections from his original albums, bringing his compositional and performance worlds together on stage.

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Jinho Hong performs on a fine Italian cello crafted by Ferdinando Garimberti.