Hye-Jin Kim , violin

Winner, 2009 CAG International Competition

www.hyejinkim.com

Describing the artistry of violinist Hye-Jin Kim, Winner of the 2009 Concert Artists Guild International Competition, The Stradlauded her “…supremely musical playing, well-thought out, yet of the moment.”  Ms. Kim’s sensitivity to the expressive and contextual components of the violin repertoire enables her to transport audiences beyond mere technical virtuosity, and this remarkable musical depth and passion led to her First Prize at the 2004 Yehudi Menuhin International Competition when she was only nineteen.

Highlights of her 2011-12 recitals include performances on the Kravis Center Young Artist Series in West Palm Beach, LeFrak Hall at Queens College’s Copland School of Music, Howland Cultural Center for the Patrons for Young Artists Series, and the Chamber Music Society of Little Rock. With orchestra, she will be the featured concerto soloist in New York with the Greenwich Village Orchestra and in Minneapolis with the Minnesota Sinfonia. Also this season, she will tour the US as a member of Musicians From Marlboro.

Ms. Kim has performed as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra under the direction of Christoph Eschenbach and the New Jersey Symphony led by Gerard Schwarz as well as with the BBC Concert Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Pan Asia Symphony (Hong Kong) and the Hannover Chamber Orchestra, where she led the ensemble in Mozart’s A Major Concerto at age 12. She has appeared in major venues across North America, Europe and Asia, including the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater, Kimmel Center Verizon Hall, Salzburg’s Mirabel Schloss and St. John’s, Smith Square, London. At the invitation of Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, she was honored to perform at the U.N. Headquarters in both Geneva and New York. Ms. Kim has also served as a cultural representative for Korea in Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan through concerts and outreach opportunities.

In addition to her prizes in the CAG and Menuhin Competitions, Ms. Kim has also won the Philadelphia Orchestra Concerto Competition, the Virtuosos of the 21st Century in Moscow, and was awarded the Kay H. Logan Chamber Music Award. A rising force in the chamber music world, Ms. Kim’s festival appearances have included Marlboro, Ravinia, Music from Angel Fire, Music at Menlo, Madison (GA) Chamber Music Festival, Chamber Music at Gretna, Kansas City’s Sunflower Festival and Prussia Cove’s Open Chamber Music. She has collaborated with renowned artists such as Paul Biss, Miriam Fried, Gilbert Kalish, Kim Kashkashian, Ida Kavafian, Jaime Laredo, Menahem Pressler, Mitsuko Uchida, and the members of Guarneri, Juilliard, Miami, and Orion String Quartets. Ms. Kim has served as concertmaster of both The Curtis Symphony Orchestra and New England Conservatory Philharmonia.

Dedicated to engaging local communities to share her music, Ms. Kim strives for a more direct presence with audiences via more intimate concert appearances. These efforts have included concerts for public school students, performances for people with special needs, and frequent programs for senior citizens.  In fall 2011, she joins the faculty of East Carolina University in Greenville, NC, as Assistant Professor of Violin.

Born in Seoul, Korea in 1985, Hye-Jin Kim began her violin studies with Dong-Hyun Kim at the age of 8. When she was 14, Ms. Kim entered The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, studying with Jaime Laredo and Ida Kavafian. She earned her Masters degree studying with Miriam Fried at Boston’s New England Conservatory as a recipient of NEC’s prestigious Emma V. Lambrose Presidential Scholarship. Ms. Kim plays a Gioffredo Cappa violin, crafted in Saluzzo, Italy in 1687.

Beyond her musical activities, Ms. Kim is an avid reader of classic literature, with particular interest in the writings of 19th century British authors. During her travels, she has toured the homes and haunts of the Bronte sisters, Jane Austen, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and C.S. Lewis. Ms. Kim also enjoys needlepoint embroidery and spending time with her friends and family, both in Korea and the US.  Her blog, A String of Notes, can be found at http://astringofnotes.wordpress.com/.