Korean-American violinist So Jin Kim has been praised by critics and audiences alike for her “powerful interpretation…[and] flawless sound” (Cuxhavener Nachrichten) and “creating tones of poetry” (The Strad). Following her successful solo debut with the Juilliard Orchestra in Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall in 2006, she has appeared as a soloist throughout North America, Europe, and Asia with ensembles such as the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra, St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra, I Musici de Montreal, Seoul Chamber Ensemble, and the Budapest Symphony Orchestra.

Her debut CD recorded in Leipzig Gewandhaus was released worldwide in 2018 under Genuin Classics with raving reviews from publications including Klassik Radio Austria, Klassik Heute, and Das Orchester. Her second album of Mozart Violin Concertos with Kurpfälzisches Kammerorchester Mannheim under Ars Produktion was nominated for the 2020 OPUS KLASSIK award.

An experienced orchestral musician, she was appointed as a concertmaster of the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra in Switzerland at the age of 24, a post she held until 2013, and currently serves as the associate concertmaster of Munich Radio Orchestra. From 2014-2020 she served on the faculty of Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover in Germany. Since 2016, she has served as the artistic director of Yeosu International Music Festival & Ensemble in South Korea, of which she is the founder. She currently resides in Southern California and serves on the faculty at The Colburn School.

 

She received both her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School, and her Doctor of Musical Arts Degree from Rice University. She studied with Cho-Liang Lin, Naoko Tanaka, Hyo Kang, and Donald Weilerstein. She also studied with Krzysztof Wegrzyn at Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover as part of the prestigious Solo Klasse program.