Ariana Kim
Noted by the New York Times for giving "the proceedings an invaluable central thread of integrity and stylishness," violinist Ariana Kim made her New York recital debut at Carnegie's Weill Hall in March 2008 as the recipient of a prestigious Artists International Award, and is the newly appointed violin professor at the University of Indianapolis. She recently completed an interim season as acting concertmaster of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra in New Orleans, and has made extensive solo and collaborative appearances with various orchestras, ensembles, and musicians that have taken her throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe. At the age of 11, Ariana made her debut as an orchestral soloist and has since become one of the budding young artists of her generation.
An avid chamber musician of both the contemporary and traditional literature, Ariana marks a fifth season as a member of the critically acclaimed new music ensemble, Ne(x)tworks, with whom she improvises, performs, composes, and records. Their most recent CD of Earle Brown chamber works was released on Mode Records in April of 2007. She was a member of the Chamber Music Society of Minnesota Junior Artists Program and is currently in her sixth season with the CMSM as a Senior Artist with whom she can be heard on Minnesota Public Radio. Her most recent collaborations with the Society include performances with pianist Leon Fleisher, violinist Robert Mann, cellist Fred Sherry, and clarinetist Charles Neidich.
During her summers, Ariana has enjoyed an international travel schedule with past performances in South Korea, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Finland, and has participated in such festivals as Courchevel MusiqueAlp, Orford Centre d'Arts, and the Ravinia Festival's Steans Institute. Her passion for chamber music was cultivated during her time as an undergraduate at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where she studied with Ian Swensen, Bonnie Hampton, and Nathan Schwartz. A devoted teacher and chamber coach herself, this summer Ariana will join the faculty of the Palo Alto Chamber Ensemble Workshop for the eighth consecutive year and the Northern Lights Chamber Music Institute for the sixth year.
In the winter of 2005, Ariana performed the world premiere of Concertino for violin and chamber orchestra, written especially for her by the late Andrew Imbrie. The premiere, which received much critical acclaim, was given with the Richmond Symphony under the baton of Mark Russell Smith. Shortly thereafter, she traveled to Spain for a performance of Beethoven's Triple Concerto and then returned to New York to present a recital program comprised entirely of works by Juilliard composers spanning three generations from Milton Babbitt to Raymond Lustig. Ariana is also a member of The Knights, an imaginative and diverse flux ensemble that performs programs ranging from conductorless string orchestra works to the great symphonic masterpieces of the 20th century. In October of 2008, The Knights completed a recording of American works featuring Copland, Ives, and Dvorak for SONY Classical Records.
Ariana recently completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Juilliard, studying with Robert Mann. Her most recent engagements have included two solo appearances with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, a return to her native Minnesota for subscription concerts with the Chamber Music Society of Minnesota and performances of Beethoven's Violin Concerto, an Ohio recital tour with pianist Ieva Jokubaviciute, as well as a Ne(x)tworks residency at the Chelsea Art Museum in downtown Manhattan where "Patterns," a work of her own, was premiered. Ariana's upcoming plans include fulfilling an invitation to return to Carnegie Hall for a second New York recital, a European concert tour with The Knights, teaching and coaching at the Merit School in Chicago, and assuming her new duties at the University of Indianapolis, where she will be featured in Mozart's G-Major Concerto with Maestro Raymond Leppard in September.