Karen Kim - Violin

Violinist Karen Kim has performed throughout North America and Europe as both a soloist and chamber musician. She has presented solo performances at Jordan Hall in Boston, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. and Steinway Hall in New York City. Ms. Kim has appeared as a soloist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Madison Civic Orchestra, and the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra, and performed in Puerto Rico, Minnesota, Tennessee, and Florida for the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts. She was named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts by the United States Department of Education in 2001, a recipient of the 2001 Music for Youth Foundation Scholarship, and the Grand Prize Winner of the 2000 American String Teachers Association National Solo Competition.

Ms. Kim has also gained international acclaim as a member of the Parker String Quartet. In 2005, the quartet won the Grand Prix and Mozart Prize at the 2005 Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition. As part of this prize, the quartet will be touring in Europe as well as recording a CD in Paris. The Parker Quartet also won the Management Prize at the 2005 Concert Artists Guild International Competition and regularly performs throughout North America under these services. The quartet has given performances in Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall, Jordan Hall, the Corcoran Gallery, and the 92nd St. Y. Upcoming engagements include concerts in Washington, D. C., Los Angeles, Chicago, and Panama, as well as numerous concerts throughout New York and Massachusetts. The quartet was formed in 2002 at the New England Consevatory and that same year was named the conservatory's Honors String Quartet. The ensemble has participated in workshops with the Emerson, Juillliard, Takács, and Tokyo String Quartets and been coached by Donald Weilerstein, Kim Kashkashian, Martha Strongin Katz, Roger Tapping, Paul Katz, and Lucy Stoltzman. They are currently in residence in the New England Conservatory's Professional String Quartet Training Program.

Ms. Kim is a native of La Crosse, WI, and began her violin studies at age 4. At 8, she became a student of Gerardo Ribeiro in Evanston, IL.

She received her undergraduate degree in violin performance from the New England Conservatoryof Music as a student of Donald Weilerstien and is currently pursuing her Masters of Music degree in both violin performance and chamber music as a student of Donald Weilerstein and Paul Katz.