• Program
• About the Artists
  • Samuel DeCaprio
  • Chaeyoung Park

Program

About the Artists

Samuel DeCaprio

Currently a C.V. Starr Doctoral Fellow at The Juilliard School, cellist Samuel DeCaprio is quickly establishing himself as one of today’s most creative artists and collaborators. With performances taking place from the jungles of Bali to the meditative depths of an underground New York City crypt to Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, he aspires to use his voice to bring the works of composers, both revered and underrepresented, to uplift modern audiences. Winner of the 2018 Aldo Parisot Prize from the Yale School of Music, awarded to “gifted cellists who show promise for concert careers,” he hopes to reach and inspire new listeners as an ambassador for classical music. Mr. DeCaprio was a winner of the Wilmington Music Festival’s 2019-2020 Emerging Artist Auditions and is currently on the Center for Musical Excellence Artist roster.

Mr. DeCaprio holds degrees from the University of Connecticut (Bachelor of Music, summa cum laude), Eastman School of Music (Master of Music), Mannes School of Music (Professional Studies Diploma), and Yale School of Music (Master of Musical Arts). While at the Eastman School, he was also awarded the prestigious Performer’s Certificate. Mr. DeCaprio performs on a 1714 Claude Pierray cello on generous loan from The Juilliard School.

Chaeyoung Park

Chaeyoung Park began studying piano at age 7. When she was 10, her teacher in Korea encouraged her parents to consider music education in the United States. Within a few months, her family relocated from Seoul to Lawrence, Kansas. “I could not speak English, nor did I understand American culture, so the only part of myself that I truly felt confident in was my ability to play music. Music became the pathway that helped me communicate with the world around me.” She studied in Kansas with Jack Winerock before moving to New York to attend The Juilliard School, where she earned her bachelor’s, master’s, and artist diploma degrees under Robert McDonald.

She was awarded first prize at the 2022 Young Concert Artists Susan Wadsworth International Auditions and was named the Mortimer Levitt Piano Chair at YCA. Winner of the 2019 Hilton Head International Piano Competition and Finalist at the 2023 Arthur Rubinstein International Master Piano Competition, she has since performed at venues including Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, and Morgan Library, and at Gilmore Rising Stars, Bravo! Vail, and Tongyeong International Music Festivals. Her concerto appearances include the Israel Philharmonic, Charlotte Symphony, and Maryland Symphony, and upcoming highlights include debuts with the Celebrity Series of Boston, Shriver Hall in Baltimore, and Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, and concerto appearances with the Kansas City, Knoxville, and Pensacola Symphony Orchestras.

Chaeyoung is passionate about creating community through music. She regularly performs with Groupmuse, a musician-led cooperative that presents music in intimate, informal settings across the country. Though she has lived in the United States for over 17 years, “music remains a core way that I form connections with people. It is a universal language which has made me feel at home in Korea, Kansas, and New York City, despite language and cultural barriers.”