Bokyung Byun Winner of the 2021 GFA Competition

Winner of the highly prestigious Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artist Competition

(2021) and the JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition (2018), young Korean guitarist

Bokyung Byun started playing the guitar at six and gave her first recital at age eleven. After moving to

the United States at age sixteen she attended the Julliard School, graduating with both Bachelor and

Master of Music degrees, and subsequently received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the

University of California. Her interest in new music for guitar led her to co-found Sounding Board, a

project that facilitates collaborations between composers and performers, and which held its inaugural

festival in Besanon, France in 2019. She is also one of the founders of Guitarlab, which provides an

online learning platform and advanced classes for young professional players. Recent career highlights

include performances for the Kumho Young Artist Series, the Aspen-Salida Concert Series, the Toronto

Guitar Weekend and the Montreal Guitar Festival. Bokyung Byun is currently on the guitar faculty at

California State University Fullerton.