David Kim

Violinist David Kim was named Concertmaster of The Philadelphia Orchestra in 1999. Born in Carbondale, Illinois in 1963, he started playing the violin at the age of three, began studies with the famed pedagogue Dorothy DeLay at the age of eight, and later received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The Juilliard School.

Mr. Kim’s 2023-24 season begins with appearances with The Philadelphia Orchestra in the Bach Double Violin Concerto (with Principal Second Violinist Kimberly Fisher) at Philadelphia’s Longwood Gardens as well as the Tchaikovsky Concerto under the baton of Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin on tour in North Carolina. Winter and Spring months include multiple Philadelphia Orchestra performances of the “8 Seasons of Vivaldi and Piazzolla.” Among others, Mr. Kim’s masterclass and performance schedule will see him visiting the Curtis Institute of Music, Dartmouth College, Georgetown University, The Manhattan School of Music, as well as concerto and recital appearances across the U.S. Summer festival visits will highlight Festival Napa Valley and Music in the Vineyards, also in Napa. He will continue to appear as concertmaster of the 9-time Emmy Award winning All-Star Orchestra on PBS stations across the USA and online at the Khan Academy. Mr. Kim’s first book was released in 2022: The Audition Method for Violin, published by GIA Publications. This long-awaited collection of standard orchestral excerpts walks the reader through each work with his suggestions on execution, audition strategy, bowings and fingerings.

Mr. Kim is a frequent touring guest of famed modern hymn writers Keith and Kristyn Getty at venues such as the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and Carnegie Hall. He is also a regular performer around the nation at events for YoungLife, Illuminations, and The Gathering. Mr. Kim serves as Distinguished Artist at the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. He frequently serves as an adjudicator at international violin competitions such as the Menuhin and Sarasate. Mr. Kim has been awarded Honorary Doctorates from Eastern University in suburban Philadelphia, the University of Rhode Island, and Dickinson College. His instruments are a J.B. Guadagnini from Milan, Italy ca. 1757 on loan from The Philadelphia Orchestra and a Francesco Gofriller ca. 1735. Mr. Kim exclusively performs on and endorses Larsen Strings from Denmark.

Mr. Kim is an avid golfer and outdoorsman. He resides in a Philadelphia suburb with his wife Jane and daughter Maggie, and until recently, his late daughter Natalie.