About Susie
Sydney native Susie Park first picked up a violin at age three, made her solo debut at five, and, by 16, had performed with every major orchestra in her country. Susie has grown into a musician distinguished by unusual passion and versatility, and today performs internationally as an orchestral, chamber, and solo artist.
Susie's international career was launched at age 16, when she took first place in the Yehudi Menuhin International Competition in France. This led to performances and re-engagements throughout the US, Europe, and her native Australia, where highlights included performances for crowds of over 120,000. Susie went on to receive additional top honors at the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis and the Wieniawski Competition in Poland.
Susie has since concertized around the world, soloing and touring with European orchestras including the Vienna Symphony and the Royal Philharmonic; American orchestras including the Pittsburgh Symphony and San Francisco Symphony; Korea's KBS Orchestra; Orchestra Wellington in New Zealand; and all major symphony orchestras in Australia. Working with conductors including Simon Rattle, Hans Vonk, Alan Gilbert, Fabio Luisi and Yehudi Menuhin, Susie has been heard in venues ranging from New York’s Carnegie and Alice Tully Halls, Boston's Symphony Hall, Chicago's Millenium Park, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, Washington's Smithsonian Institute, Vienna's Musikverein, Cologne's Philharmonie, Düsseldorf's Tonhalle, and Sydney's Opera House.
Susie was recently appointed first associate concertmaster of the Minnesota Orchestra, and can be seen this season both leading and soloing with the ensemble. Susie will also tour with the conductorless East Coast Chamber Orchestra, of which she is a founding member. Other season highlights include judging the Michael Hill international violin competition in New Zealand; serving on the faculty of the Bowdoin International Music Festival; touring her home country as guest first violinist of the Australian String Quartet, which prompted the The Australian to dub Susie as "the one that got away" and "a world-class artist;" and touring India with the Australian World Orchestra under the baton of Zubin Mehta.
“The one that got away...a world-class artist.”
As a member of the Eroica Trio for six years, Susie toured three continents and recorded the ensemble’s eighth album, a Grammy-nominated EMI release. Prior to the trio, Susie was a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Two, and, for three consecutive summers, was in residence at the Marlboro Music Festival, subsequently touring as part of Musicians from Marlboro. Susie's chamber music collaborators include members of the Guarneri, Juilliard, Emerson, and Cleveland Quartets, as well as Kim Kashkashian, Pamela Frank, Jason Vieaux, Cho-Liang Lin, and Jaime Laredo. Among her festival engagements have been performances at Music from Angel Fire, the Caramoor, Skaneatles, Aspen, Ravinia and Bowdoin festivals in the U.S.; Open Chamber Music at Prussia Cove in England; Bermuda Festival; the Mozarteum Sommerakademie in Austria; and Keshet Eilon in Israel.
“Prodigiously talented.”
Susie's diverse musical interests have also led to collaborations with artists such as trumpeter Chris Botti, which whom she performed 41 consecutive shows at the Blue Note jazz club in New York.
Susie holds degrees from the Curtis Institute and the New England Conservatory; her principal teachers include Jaime Laredo, Ida Kavafian, Donald Weilerstein, Miriam Fried, Shi-Xiang (Peter) Zhang, and Christopher Kimber.
She performs on a G.B. Guadagnini violin made in 1740; the instrument was once featured in a documentary of which Susie herself was a subject.
Susie enjoys a variety of creative arts, including cooking, sewing, clothing design, and carpentry. Recent creations include several purses, a dining table, and bespoke muppets.