Acclaimed as 'sensitive and sensible', Dr. Sun-Young Gemma Shin is an internationally sought-after performer on both baroque and modern violin as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestra leader. Dr. Shin held leadership positions at the Sarasota Opera, Chamber Orchestra of Sarasota, Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia da Camera, Baroque Artists of Champaign-Urbana (BACH), and was a former Fellow and Concertmaster of the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra in Alabama.

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Winner of numerous competitions, Dr. Shin is a frequent guest artist and adjudicator. She has given masterclasses at universities, workshops, and summer festivals throughout the United States and has adjudicated at reputable competitions including the Blount-Slawson Young Artist Competition.

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As a versatile musician, Dr. Shin is equally well-versed in historically informed performance practice as she is in music by living composers. Her notable presentations include the College Music Society’s National Conference in San Antonio, TX (2017) where she premiered Dr. Sebastian Birch’s Nice, 14 Juillet 2016 for solo violin and received a standing ovation. Her doctoral thesis "Solo Violin Works by Augusta Read Thomas” was accepted for a presentation at the 2015 College of Music Society Regional Conference in Lansing, MI.

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In 2022, Sun-Young co-founded DeSota Baroque, Florida’s premiere professional period ensemble committed to making 17th and 18th-century music more approachable for a wider audience through in-depth research and application of historical performance practice. Creating a fresh approach to baroque music, DeSota Baroque quickly captivated audiences in Florida and Indiana since its inauguration. Her baroque violin technique and style had strong influences from Charlotte Mattax, Martha Stiehl, Elizabeth Blumenstock, Robert Mealy, Julie Andrijeski, Nancy Wilson, and Stanley Ritchie. She has performed throughout the United States collaborating with renowned musicians such as harpsichordist Charlotte Mattax-Moersch, Martha Stiehl, Jason Moy, and Stephen Alltop, and performed with the American Bach Soloists, the Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute, the Illinois Bach Festival, and Marie Morgan Bach Festival.

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Shin has collaborated with esteemed artists such as the Grammy Award-winning Pacifica Quartet, St. Petersburg Quartet, Martha Graham Dance Company, and John Corigliano, and played with the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, Euro-Asian Orchestra, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Naples Philharmonic Orchestra, Sarasota Orchestra, Utah Festival Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, and performed at major venues such as the Seoul Arts Center, Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, Shanghai Oriental Art Center, Getty Center in Los Angeles, Symphony Center in Chicago, and Carnegie Hall, among others. 

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​A noted pedagogue and a dedicated educator, Dr. Shin maintains a successful private studio for both violin and viola. Her award-winning students have received admissions to music schools such as Northwestern University, DePaul University, Oberlin College, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of South Florida, and the University of Central Florida, and hold positions in professional orchestras around the United States. She has taught at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp (MI), Illinois Summer Youth Music, Illinois Chamber Music Symposium, and her collegiate teaching positions include the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Huntingdon College (AL), Illinois State University, Illinois Wesleyan University, and the State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota.

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​​Dr. Shin received her BM from Oberlin College-Conservatory of Music, MM and Performance Certificate from Northwestern University, and DMA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where she was the sole fellowship recipient. Her teachers include Gregory Fulkerson, Roland and Almita Vamos, and Simin Ganatra of Pacifica Quartet respectively. 

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​Her Naxos recording of Czerny Piano Trios was aired on BBC and is available on Apple Music, Spotify, and Amazon.