Jocylin Braun is a flutist from the San Francisco Bay Area and is in her third year at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City studying with Professor Linda Chesis. Jocylin loves to play in all collaborative settings, ranging from solo pieces with piano to large orchestras. Jocylin has been a part of the New York Youth Symphony Orchestra led by Mr. Andrew J Kim for the past three seasons where they played at Carnegie Hall, and has been principal flute for the past two. Last season, she was also in the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, conducted by Benjamin Zander, and performed in Boston Symphony Hall. Jocylin has traveled on tour with both BPYO last summer to Mexico as well as NYYS two summers ago to Greece. Last year, she founded Minerva Wind Quintet, a woodwind quintet made up of all female players studying at the Manhattan School of Music. Minerva Wind Quintet will be competing in the 2026 Fischoff International Chamber Competition, as well playing a recital in the Spring of 2026. Jocylin has attended many summer festivals, such as the Brevard Summer Seminar Flute Seminar, studying closely with Amy Porter, Molly Barth, Dilshad Posnock, and Danielle Maeng. She has also participated in the Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival, working with Mr. Brandon Patrick George and all the members of the esteemed Imani Winds. She was co-principal flute of the Golden State Youth Orchestra’s Senior Symphony (GSYO) during the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 seasons under the baton of Maestro John Eells and Dr. Yun Song Tay. During the summer of 2022, Jocylin joined the Senior Symphony on their Europe tour to Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic. Jocylin has attended numerous competitions such as the Junior Bach Festival in Berkeley, California, which has invited her to perform at their winner’s concert three years in a row. She has also attended many summer institutes such as The Juilliard School's Summer Winds Program, Northern California Flute Camp, Flute Summer Intensive at the Eastman School of Music, and California Orchestra Academy, where she played principal flute on Tchaikovsky's 4th Symphony. Jocylin has played for many renowned flutists from all over the world, including Emmanuel Pahud, Jasmine Choi, Sir James Galway, Jim Walker, Catherine Karoly, and Carol Wincenc. As a result of being chosen as a first-place winner in the American Protege International Concerto Competition 2022, Jocylin performed in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall in December 2022. In November of 2022, Jocylin was accepted as a Finalist for the 2023 Honors Performance Series and performed as Principal Flute of the Honor Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall in February 2023. Jocylin has received a first-place award in the category of advanced flute, young prodigy, from the US International Open Music Competition. She was also awarded First Prize from Great Composers International Competition for the Best Mozart Performance. Jocylin shares her love of music by teaching weekly lessons to the two young students in her private music studio, and has been teaching privately since 2018.