'Plucky' harpist has won competitions worldwide

Fourteen-year-old Jane Yoon strode confidently across the stage at the 2001 USA International Harp Competition in her yellow silk dress. She was not competing; however, she was a guest performer. The previous year she won the Japanese International Harp Competition in Tokyo, making her the youngest participant and the only Korean to win. She had also begun her studies under Susann MacDonald at IU.\nGracefully perched on a stool, she pulled the giant instrument toward her and began to coax a mesmerizing tune from the 47 strings.\nYoon, now a sophomore, began playing the harp when she was six years old. Her mother's best friend, who had studied with MacDonald at IU in her college days, took Yoon under her wing, and Yoon began performing with friends at small recitals at her elementary school.\nWhen she was only 13, Yoon moved from Korea to America to take private lessons from MacDonald. \n"I have many students of former students who send them to study with me. I affectionately call them my grandchildren," MacDonald said. \nThe IU harp department is the largest of its kind in America, and Yoon said MacDonald is the premiere teacher. Soon after they met, MacDonald had Yoon practicing four hours each day. \n"When you first start, you get blisters and they pop," Yoon said. "You have to build calluses in order to play well. It was painful, but I got to see the result right away from my practice."\nYoon has gotten many prestigious performance opportunities. She played 11 concert engagements in and around France after winning a competition. She also played the first harpist performance on the British Broadcasting Company's live radio session. She was a member of a panel discussion at the World Harp Congress in Dublin, Ireland. On her 17th birthday, she played live on Korean television.\nYoon began classes at IU last year. She did not even receive an orientation packet because she has been around campus for so long. In her current classes, she is often required to participate in collegiate performances. Last winter, she was the harpist for "The Nutcracker."\nPresently, Yoon is not practicing for any particular show. She is building her repertoire to include some more contemporary pieces and is excited to be playing music of her choosing.\nShe is pursuing a career as a solo artist, but she would eventually like to teach.\n"I believe Jane will have a wonderful future as a professional harpist," MacDonald said. "She has all the necessary qualities and gifts to bring her great success, both in life and in her art"