He is a violinist born in Carbondale, Illinois who started studying violin when he was just 3 years old. He took further studies at the Juilliard School where he earned both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees.
In 1986 he became the only American to become a prize-winner in Moscow at the International Tchaikovsky Competition, where he won the sixth prize.
From 1998 he was a founder and artistic director for the Kingston Chamber Music Festival at the University of Rhode Island which ended after 10 years in 2008. He has also served as Artist in Residence at Eastern University in Suburban Philadelphia.
He became concertmaster and a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1999 and has also been heard performing with several other American and international orchestras including the All-Star Orchestra.
Annually he is a guest with the hymnwriters Keith and Kristyn Getty at Venues such as Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center and the Grand Ole Opry.
Recordings he has been heard on include Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 6/Piano Quartet and Peter Tchaikovsky – Symphony No. 6 “Pathetique”/Dumka with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Metallica and the San Francisco Symphony and Mass for Double Choir with the Westminster Choir and Joe Miller.
In the field of musical education he has given masterclasses and teaching and performance residences at the Manhattan School of Music and Bob Jones University as well as at music festivals. He has been a member of the Advisory Board of the San Jose Youth Symphony and is a Distinguished Artist at Mercer University’s Robert McDuffie Center for Strings.
Dickinson College, Eastern University in Suburban Philadelphia and the University of Rhode Island have all awarded him honorary doctorates.
Sources:
- http://davidkimviolin.com/?page_id=5
- https://www.philorch.org/your-philorch/meet-your-orchestra/musicians/david-kim/
- https://www.pcmsconcerts.org/artist/david-kim-violin/
- https://mcduffie.mercer.edu/faculty/david-kim
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Kim_(violinist)
- https://www.discogs.com/artist/4625590