Florence Wei, age 12, is from Saratoga, California. Florence started her musical journey playing the piano at age five. At age eight she began playing the cello and is currently studying under Jihee Kim. In 2019, Florence made her solo debut at Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall at the age of ten. Florence won various music awards, including 2020 United States International Music Competition (USIMC) Special Bach Theme, 2019 American Protégé International Piano and Strings Competition, 2019 Silicon Valley Youth Music competition, and U.S. Open Music Competition (USOMC). Florence is cellist in the Sinfonietta orchestra of the Golden State Youth Orchestra (GSYO) for the current 2020-21 season. For the 2019-20 season, Florence was the cello co-principal for GSYO Galbraith Honors strings. During summers, Florence has participated in music camps playing chamber music and performing in honors recitals. Florence enjoys sharing music with others and performs regularly at senior centers and district community music outreach program. She also enjoys choir and has toured with her school in 2020. In addition to cello playing, Florence participated in various speech tournaments and has won awards in speech competitions. When she is not playing her music, Florence enjoys digital drawing, writing poetry, skiing, swimming, reading, traveling, and great food.
