Chee-Yun came to the United States when she was 12 to study at the Juilliard School with Dorothy DeLay, one of the most influential violin teachers of a generation.
DeLay, who died in 2002, worked with violinists from Itzhak Perlman (who now holds DeLay’s teaching post at Juilliard) to Midori and Sarah Chang.
Chee-Yun says she was terrified at their first meeting.
“She’s the greatest teacher in the world, and here’s this little girl from Korea,” the violinist said. “And she was the nicest lady I’ve ever met. So kind. So complimentary.
“Immediately, she gave me so much confidence because she believed in me. I thought, ‘If she believes in me, I can make it happen.’ ”
DeLay told her that music needed to be her entire life.
“I must be willing to sacrifice everything else for it,” Chee-Yun said. “But she did all this through so much kindness and so much love. You never felt like she thought of you as just another talented student.
“She knew how to get the best out of each one of her students.”