Jason Issokson joins the San Francisco Symphony as Associate Concertmaster, holding the San Francisco Symphony Foundation Chair, with the 2025–26 season. He has served as a member of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra since 2019.  Concerto highlights include engagements with the Fort Worth Symphony, Aspen Concert Orchestra, Waco Symphony, Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, East Texas Symphony Orchestra, Great Falls Symphony, Abilene Philharmonic, Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra di Teatro San Carlo, and the Orchestra Internazionale d’Italiae, among others.  

Over the past decade Issokson has performed extensively string quartets, first as a founding member of the Argus Quartet and subsequently as the second violinist of the Rolston String Quartet.

Issokson was awarded the top prize at the International Violin Competition “Andrea Postacchini,” third prize at the International Alberto Curci Violin Competition, and the prize for best performance of a commissioned work at the International Max Rostal Competition. Chamber music honors include first prizes at the M-Prize Chamber Arts Competition and the Concert Artists Guild Competition. 

He studied with Midori at the Manhattan School of Music and the University of Southern California. 

Jonathan Vinocour joined the San Francisco Symphony as Principal Viola in 2009 and was previously principal viola of the St. Louis Symphony and guest principal of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and Chicago Symphony. He has frequently soloed with the SF Symphony and has also played concertos with the St. Louis Symphony, La Jolla Music Society, Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra, and New World Symphony. With NWS, he is also a frequent coach and was a featured artist at their Viola Visions Festival alongside Tabea Zimmerman, Kim Kashkashian, Roberto Diaz, and Cynthia Phelps.
 
As a chamber musician, Mr. Vinocour is a regular guest of the Seattle Chamber Music Society, La Jolla Music Society SummerFest, Marlboro Music Festival, Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, Salt Bay Chamberfest, and ChamberFest Cleveland. His chamber music partners have included Yefim Bronfman, Yo-Yo Ma, Augustin Hadelich, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Igor Levit, and James Ehnes, among others. He also performs frequently on the SF Symphony Chamber Music Series and as a recitalist around the country.  
 
Mr. Vinocour graduated from Princeton University with a degree in chemistry and from New England Conservatory, where he studied with Kim Kashkashian. An active and dedicated teacher, he serves on the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music as well as the Aspen Music Festival and School. He plays on a 1784 Lorenzo Storioni viola on loan from the SF Symphony.
 
(1/2024)

Katarzyna Bryla joined the San Francisco Symphony viola section beginning with the 2022–23 season and is currently Acting Assistant Principal. She was born into a family of musicians and has earned more than two dozen prizes and awards in the US, France, and her native Poland. In 2019 she became a co-principal violist of Orchestra of St. Luke’s and a member of St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble. She has also been a member of the New York City Ballet Orchestra and the New York Pops. She has performed at Classical Tahoe, Napa Valley Music Festival, and Music@Menlo.

Leonid Plashinov-Johnson joined the San Francisco Symphony viola section at the beginning of the 2022-23 season. Previously a member of the St. Louis Symphony, he is a laureate of multiple competitions, most recently the Primrose International Viola Competition, and has participated in the Yellow Barn, Ravinia, and AIMS festivals. Born in Russia, he graduated from New England Conservatory, where he won the concerto competition.

Amos Yang joined the San Francisco Symphony in 2007 as Assistant Principal Cello and holds the Karel & Lida Urbanek chair. He was previously a member of the Seattle Symphony and a member of the Maia String Quartet. 

Born and raised in San Francisco, he was a member of the SF Symphony Youth Orchestra and San Francisco Boys Choir. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Juilliard School and now serves on the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the San Francisco Academy Orchestra.

Davis You joined the San Francisco Symphony cello section at the beginning of the 2024–25 season and holds the Lyman & Carol Casey Second Century Chair. He earned his bachelor of music from New England Conservatory, where he studied with Laurence Lesser and Paul Katz, and regularly appeared as principal cello of the NEC Philharmonia. He was a member of Quartet Luminera, which won the silver medal at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. A Bay Area native, You began his cello studies with Irene Sharp and Jonathan Koh. He has appeared on NPR’s From the Top, San Francisco International Piano Festival, Wellesley Chamber Players Series, Taos Chamber Music Festival, and Norfolk Chamber Music Festival.

Bowen Ha joins the San Francisco Symphony bass section at the beginning of the 2024–25 season. He is currently a master’s student at the Juilliard School, studying with Timothy Cobb and Harold Robinson, and has appeared as a substitute musician with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Indianapolis Symphony.

Born in Shanghai, Ha studied at the Middle School Affiliated to Shanghai Conservatory and then moved to the United States to study at Interlochen Arts Academy. He subsequently earned a bachelor of music at Juilliard. He has participated in festivals including the Pirastro Strings Elite Soloists Program at the University of North Texas, Verbier Festival Orchestra, and Aspen Music Festival as an orchestral leadership fellow.

Ha has been a prizewinner at numerous competitions including the Tang Rhyme Carnival International Double Bass Competition, Shanghai Conservatory Concerto Competition, Jacqueline Avent Concerto Competition of the Sewanee Summer Music Festival, Louisiana Bass Fest, International Concerto Competition of the Master Players Festival & School, and Juilliard Double Bass Concerto Competition.

Yubeen Kim joined the San Francisco Symphony as Principal Flute in January 2024 and holds the Caroline H. Hume Chair. He was previously principal flute of the Berlin Konzerthaus Orchestra and has frequently played as guest principal flute with the Berlin Philharmonic. He is also a professor of flute at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he is passionate about teaching and mentoring the next generation of musicians. He made his San Francisco Symphony concerto debut in Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 last November, and makes his solo debut with the full orchestra on this week’s program.

Kim won first prizes at the ARD International Music Competition and Prague Spring International Music Competition, as well as second prize at the Concours de Genève when no first prize was awarded. As a soloist, he has been invited to perform at numerous concerts and festivals, including the Prague Spring Festival, Nimus Festival, LA Philharmonic’s Green Umbrella New Music Series, Bemus Festival, Festival du Jura, Weiwuying International Music Festival, and Tongyeong International Music Festival. He has appeared as a soloist with the Bavarian Radio Symphony, Berlin Konzerthaus Orchestra, Bochumer Symphony, Turku Philharmonic, and Zagreb Philharmonic. He also performs regularly in Korea with the Seoul Philharmonic, KBS Symphony, Korean Chamber Orchestra, Korean National Symphony, Bucheon Philharmonic, Daejeon Philharmonic, Chungnam Philharmonic, Cheongju Philharmonic, and Ensemble of Tokyo.

Originally from South Korea, Kim started taking piano and violin lessons at age six before switching to the flute at nine years old. He studied at the Lyon Conservatory and Paris Conservatory, and graduated from the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin with a concert exam degree.

Learn more about Yubeen Kim here.

James Button was appointed Associate Principal Oboe of the San Francisco Symphony in September 2017. A native of Australia, he made his solo debut with the Melbourne Symphony at the age of 17. He later attended Temple University and the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Jonathan Blumenfeld and Eugene Izotov respectively. He has also studied with John Mack, John de Lancie, and Joseph Turner. Mr. Button was previously a member of the Nashville Symphony, Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, New World Symphony, and has appeared as guest principal with the Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Melbourne Symphony. He has performed at the Verbier, Edinburgh, and Tanglewood festivals, as well as Italy’s Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. His live recording of Jennifer Higdon's Oboe Concerto with the Nashville Symphony won a Grammy Award in 2018.

Joshua Elmore joined the San Francisco Symphony as Principal Bassoon in March 2025 and made his solo debut in September 2026. He previously served as principal bassoon of the Fort Worth Symphony and has also performed with the Boston Symphony, New York Philharmonic, and Chineke! Orchestra.

A graduate of the Juilliard School as a Kovner Fellow, Elmore also holds a Professional Studies Certificate from the Colburn School. He has been a fellow at Tanglewood Music Center and Music Academy of the West and contributed to a Grammy Award-nominated album with the National Orchestra Institute. Recently profiled by San Francisco Classical Voice, his playing was described as “evoking a river,” reflecting the expressive warmth and lyrical fluidity that characterize his artistry.

Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Elmore was principal bassoon of the Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony and a member of the Cleveland Youth Orchestra before touring internationally with the National Youth Orchestra of the United States.

Elmore is Professor of Bassoon at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and serves on the faculty of the Aspen Music Festival and School. Passionate about mentoring the next generation of musicians, he collaborated with Alfred Music on an intermediate bassoon method book and served on the bassoon faculty of the 2023 Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival in South Africa, presenting masterclasses and coaching young musicians. Outside of music, he enjoys cultivating his plant collection and spending time in nature.

Mark Inouye joined the San Francisco Symphony in 1999 and became Principal Trumpet in 2008, holding the William G. Irwin Charity Foundation Chair. He was previously principal trumpet with the Houston Symphony and Charleston Symphony and has been a guest principal trumpet with the New York Philharmonic and Chicago Symphony. He has toured the United States with Toccatas and Flourishes, the acclaimed organ and trumpet duo, and was a member of the Empire Brass Quintet. Inouye graduated from the Juilliard School, where he transferred after two years as a civil engineering major at the University of California, Davis.

With the SF Symphony, Inouye has been a soloist in Copland’s Quiet City, Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto, Bach’s Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, and Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 1 on three occasions with Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Yuja Wang, and Seong-Jin Cho. He also led and soloed on a Summer with the Symphony program in both jazz and classical styles. As a composer, his works have been performed on the SF Symphony Chamber Music Series.

Equally at home in classical music and jazz, Inouye was a founding member of the Juilliard Jazz Sextet at Lincoln Center and a guest performer at the Hollywood Bowl in the Playboy Jazz Festival. He appeared as soloist in Wynton Marsalis’s video Marsalis on Music, on a Disney Channel production featuring the Who at Carnegie Hall, and released his own debut jazz album, The Trumpet & The Bull.