Sunday, May 17, 2026, 4:00PM
The Happy Feat Trio
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The Happy Feat Trio, formed in 2022
and coached by Jia Kim, comprises
Juilliard Pre-College students Lauren Yoon (violin),
Evelyn Joung (cello), and Xuanyan Jessie Gong (piano).
Their name is a playful nod to the Juilliard penguin mascot.
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In 2025, they were selected to represent
the Pre-College Division at Juilliard's prestigious annual
ChamberFest. The Trio was awarded first place in the Camerata Artists International Competition and the Enkor International Music Competition in 2023. Additionally, they were selected as one of the four finalists at the Coltman Chamber Music Competition in Austin, Texas.
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Lauren Yoon, born in South Korea in 2008, began violin studies at 5. She presently studies with Professor Masao Kawasaki at the Juilliard School's Pre-college division. She has participated in masterclasses with a number of violinists and educators, including Midori Goto, Zakhar Bron, Paul Roczek, Robin Wilson, and Kirill Troussov. An avid orchestral and chamber musician, Lauren is a member of the Grammy Award winning New York Youth Symphony and the Happy Feat Trio. Lauren performed as a concertmaster of the Juilliard Pre-college Orchestra for its 2024-2025 opening concert at the Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center.
Lauren's recent achievements include being named a 2024 National YoungArts Winner with Distinction, one of only three violinists selected nationwide. She received 6th prize at the 2025 Cooper International Competition. Lauren was awarded the Carl Flesch Prize at the 2024 Carl Flesch Academy in Baden-Baden Germany, receiving an invitation to perform with the Baden-Baden Philharmonic. Throughout the years, Lauren has won top prizes from many other prestigious competitions and soloed with orchestras in venues such as the Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Geffen Hall Lincoln Center, Merkin Hall, and the DiMenna Center.
In her leisure time, Lauren enjoys cooking at home. She is also passionate about giving back to her community by volunteering to teach violin to young students and performing at senior care facilities.
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Evelyn Joung, age 17, started playing the cello in 2014. In 2019, she was accepted into Juilliard’s Pre-College Division as its youngest cello student. She studies with Clara Minhye Kim.
Evelyn made her orchestral debut with the Orchestra of Camerata New Jersey in 2022. After winning the 2023 Juilliard Pre-College Concerto Competition, she performed the Herbert Cello Concerto No. 2 with the Juilliard Pre-College Symphony. The youngest Semifinalist invited to the 2022 Johansen International Competition and a 2023 YoungArts Finalist, Evelyn also received a full scholarship to the Morningside Music Bridge Summer Festival in 2021, where she had masterclasses with Laurence Lesser and Zvi Plesser. She spent the summers of 2022, 2023, and 2024 in the Perlman Music Program. Evelyn was also selected as the youngest Semifinalist for the 2024 Klein String Competition. Since 2017, she has been a member of Pro Sono, a non-profit organization that shares the love of classical music
Born in Shanghai, Xuanyan Jessie Gong has lived in New York since 2018, attending theJuilliard Pre-College division, where she studies piano with Ernest Barretta. Her musical journey began in a humble instrument shop on the streets of Shanghai, where she was captivated by a grand piano that seemed like a giant toy. Little did she know the immense role this “huge toy” would play in her life a decade later. It was in that shop that she formed an unbreakable bond with music.
In 2022, Jessie won first prize in the senior division of both the Kaufman Music Center International Piano Competition and the Metropolitan International Piano Competition. She also appeared on NPR’s From the Top and participated in the Valissima Institute, a program for highly advanced female instrumentalists with a keen interest in conducting. In 2023, she was a member of the Artemesia Foundation and competed in the Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition, the Cleveland International Junior Competition, and the Thomas & Evon Cooper International Competition. Most recently, in January 2025, she won first prize in the Yamaha Senior Division of the 11th Bösendorfer and Yamaha International Piano Competition.
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Beyond solo performance, Jessie has a deep passion for chamber music and conducting. She is a founding member of the Happy Feat Trio, formed in 2022, which has won multiple international chamber music competitions. She has also been taking conducting classes at Juilliard Pre-College since Fall 2021.
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Jessie’s dedication to music is rooted in her belief in its transformative power: “I believe that music is a language of peace; it can heal people’s hearts, unite them through shared emotions, and make the world a much better place than it might otherwise have become.” ic with all generations. Evelyn is a junior at the Chapin School in New York City.