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The San Francisco Symphony has announced the five string players that will be joining the orchestra in the 2025–2026 season. Violinist Jason Issokson takes up the role of associate concertmaster, following violinist Nadya Tichman stepping down in 2022 after 31 seasons in the position.
Violinist Yvette Kraft joins the first violin section, while violinists Hyeon Hin ‘Jane’ Cho and Kingston Ho join the second violin section, and cellist Sarah Chong joins the cello section. The sixth addition was Brooks Fisher as the orchestra’s new second oboe.
Issokson studied with violinist Midori and is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music and the University of Southern California. He won the first prize at the Andrea Postacchini International Violin Competition and has received prizes at competitions including the Max Rostal Competition, the International Alberto Curci Violin Competition, and the first prizes at the Concert Artists Guild Competition and M-Prize Chamber Arts Competition as part of chamber ensembles.
Issokson was a founding member of the Argus Quartet, a member of the Rolston Quartet, and has played with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra since 2019.
Kraft is a graduate of the Colburn Conservatory of Music and has studied with teachers including Simon James and Robert Lipsett. She won first prize at the Aspen Music Festival Violin Concerto Competition and the Frances Walton Competition, as well as the DeLay Fellowship Award, the Frances Rosen Prize, and prizes at the Grumiaux and Louis Spohr international violin competitions.
She has had solo roles with ensembles including the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, the Seattle and Spokane symphony orchestras, and performed as the concertmaster of the New York String Orchestra Seminar at Carnegie Hall in 2024.
Cho has received qualifications from the Yehudi Menuhin School, the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, London’s Royal College of Music, the Juilliard School, and the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel. She was a finalist in the International Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competiiton in 2022, and has performed as a substitute musician with the New York Philharmonic. She recorded her debut CD in 2019 with the Debussy Quartet, and performs on a c.1775 Giuseppe Nadotti violin.
Ho studied with Robert Lipsett at the Lipsett at the Colburn School of Music and at the Vanderbilt University with Cornelia Heard. He has won first prize at the Vanderbilt University Concerto Competition and the National YoungArts Foundation Competition, the first prize at MTNA National Chamber Music Competition as part of the Eunoia Quartet, and a special prize at the Fritz Kreisler Competition.
Ho was also a semi-finalist at the Premio Paganini Competition, and a quarter finalist at the Michael Hill, Carl Nielsen, and Queen Elisabeth competitions, and has performed with the US National Youth Orchestra and the New York String Orchestra Seminar.
Chong is a graduate of the Northwestern University, studying with Hans Jørgen Jensen and Wei Yu. She has won prizes at the MTNA, United States Open Music, and the American Fine Arts Festival competitions.
As a chamber musician, she has performed at Music@Menlo, the Meadowmount School of Music, and Musique Dans le Gers, and has received coaching from the Dover Quartet. As a soloist, she has performed with the Prometheus Symphony Orchestra and the FilAm Music Foundation.
The string players will all perform in the annual All San Francisco Concert on 11 September and the Opening Gala the following day. The orchestra welcomed the new players in a post on social media:
’We are thrilled to welcome six new musicians to the San Francisco Symphony… Make sure to check out these new musicians in action this month!’