Musician Spotlight: Cherry Yeung, Associate Principal Second Violin

Cherry Yeung is a violinist born and raised in Hong Kong. Winning her first job at one of the major orchestras in the United States at the age of 21, Ms. Yeung is now the Associate Principal Second Violin of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra. When not playing music you can catch Cherry playing video games or trying out new recipes at home. Read on to learn more! 

1. Tell us about your musical journey. How did you decide to become a professional classical musician? How did you come to the San Diego Symphony? 

I started the Violin totally by accident at nine years old. My brother wanted to learn cello growing up and so my mom tried signing us both up for cello lessons. Unfortunately, all the cello classes were filled, so they recommended we try violin instead. That’s how I started on violin! And fun fact, my brother actually quit violin after a month because he got tired of standing up while playing. I ended up continuing and eventually decided that I wanted to be a professional classical musician.

In my last year in school, I started the audition process. The San Diego Symphony audition was one of my first auditions I had taken that year and luckily it worked out! I ended up getting the Associate Principal Second Violin job. I remember my parents were so happy about it, because they love San Diego and my brother used to live in San Diego, so my family thinks it was truly fate that brought me here to San Diego.

2. What is your favorite San Diego Symphony memory so far? 

My favorite San Diego Symphony memory would be playing my very first concert here, the program Verdi’s Requiem. I remember almost tearing up when the audience gave us a standing ovation and feeling like all the hard work paid off. I have played with many professional orchestras before, but nothing can top your very first concert as a full-time professional musician. It was a momentous occasion that marked the start of my career.

3. What concerts are you looking forward to playing this summer?

I am most looking forward to the Jason Mraz concert. I grew up listening to his songs and I just love them—listening to them as well as singing them for karaoke. His songs are just so classic and it’s cool that he lives in San Diego!

4. Jacobs Music Center reopens on September 28^th. What are you looking most forward to being back in our indoor music hall?

I am very excited for the reopening of Jacobs Music Center. Since I joined the symphony in 2022, I have never seen the hall before, and I’ve spent most of my time here playing at The Rady Shell. I am very excited to be going back to our indoor music hall because the acoustics there are just so wonderful. We also have lots of great programs next season and we get to play with some really good soloists, so I am just very excited

5. When not performing with the San Diego Symphony, how do you like to spend your free time?

I am such a homebody. I love staying in and just watching different kinds of movies. I also love playing video games too. Some of my favorites are Mario Kart, Mario Party and PUBG where I reached ace master tier. I also love cooking and trying out different recipes at home.