Sungmin Shin
Korean-born American musician Sungmin Shin maintains a vigorous schedule seamlessly navigating the unpredictable musical landscape of the 21st century. Dr. Shin is an artist-teacher, arts leadership advocate, composer, consultant, engineer-producer, ensemble director, entrepreneur, improviser, multi-instrumentalist, music theorist, and scholar. Redefining what it means to be genre-bending, Sungmin balances his serious classical training with his deep roots in diverse musical cultures to seek new modes of expression through performance, improvisation, and composition. He is frequently invited to adjudicate, compose, perform, speak, and teach at major international competitions, events, and festivals including the Guitar Foundation of America International Convention & Competition, Iserlohn International Guitar Festival (Germany), Rochester International Jazz Festival, and many more. Known for his artistic and professional collaborative work in music and with interdisciplinary projects, Sungmin is a member of the internationally acclaimed guitar ensemble Tantalus Quartet and 8-piece rock band Lauren & the Good Souls.
Dr. Shin is a devoted educator that believes high quality music education should be available and accessible to all students and shares his passion for music with students of all ages and levels. He is Associate Professor of Practice at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York where he directs the guitar program and guitar ensembles. He has presented concerts and masterclasses at top level university music programs including at the Eastman School of Music, Seoul National University of Education (South Korea), Shenandoah Conservatory, University of Louisville, University of South Carolina, and more. Former students of Dr. Shin are currently working as professional musicians in Western NY and beyond and have gained admission to top music schools such as Belmont, Berklee, Eastman, Northwestern, North Texas and many more at the undergraduate and graduate levels with scholarships. Dr. Shin is the Director of the Penfield Guitar School and serves on the faculty of Guitar Workshop Plus in Toronto during the summers.
