Jennifer Koh, violin

Born: in Chicago, Illinois to Korean parents

Notable appearances: the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts (Philadelphia), the National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.), the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the 92nd Street YMCA (New York); music festivals at Marlboro, Wolf Trap, Ravinia, Grant Park, Bravo! Vail Valley, Vancouver and Santa Fe, among others; solo performances with the San Diego Symphony, Singapore Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, St. Louis Symphony, the Czech Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Detroit Symphony, and the Moscow Radio Symphony, among many others

Awards: winner of the 1994 International Tchaikovsky Competition and the Concert Artists Guild Competition; recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant

Education: studied with Jaime Laredo and Felix Galimir at the Curtis Institute (Philadelphia); received a performance diploma from the Oberlin Conservatory (Ohio); also received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature; maintains an active interest in literature and writing

Recordings: chaconnes by Bach, Barth and Reger (Cedille Records); violin concerti by Menotti (Chandos), Nielsen (Kontrapunkt) and Klami (BIS); fantasies by Schubert, Schumann, Schoenberg and Ornette Coleman (Cedille)

Educational outreach: began the Music Messenger program which brings music to classrooms throughout the country; also a member of the board of directors of the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts

Instrument: plays the 1727 ex-Grumiaux ex-General duPont Stradivari violin on loan from an anonymous benefactor

High praise: Jennifer Koh “…supports her mesmerizing flights of fancy with beguilingly silvery tone, fabulous technique and dead center intonation.” — The Strad