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. In addition to performances with the Philadelphia Orchestra each season, Mr. Kim teaches and performs around the world. He serves as distinguished artist at the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. He will continue to appear as concertmaster of the 10-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. His instruments are a J. B. Guadagnini from Milan, Italy (ca. 1757) on loan from the Philadelphia Orchestra and a Francesco Gofriller from Venice, Italy (ca. 1735). Mr. Kim exclusively performs on and endorses Larsen Strings from Denmark.