CONCERTMASTER
Dr. Benjamin Rush Chair
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.
Highlights of Mr. Kim’s 2022–23 season include appearing as soloist with The Philadelphia Orchestra; teaching/performance residencies at Georgetown University and the Australian National Academy of Music in Melbourne, as well as solo appearances with orchestras across the United States. He will also continue to appear as concertmaster of the nine-time Emmy Award–winning All-Star Orchestra on PBS stations across the US and online at the Kahn Academy, as well as present recitals and speaking engagements nationwide.
Each season Mr. Kim appears as a guest in concert with the famed modern hymn writers Keith and Kristyn Getty at such venues as the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and Carnegie Hall. 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, 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. He resides in a Philadelphia suburb with his wife, Jane, and daughters, Natalie and Maggie. He is an avid golfer and outdoorsman.
Photo by Allie Skylar Photography