PRINCIPAL SECOND VIOLIN
Peter A. Benoliel Chair
Kimberly Fisher joined The Philadelphia Orchestra in 1992 and became principal second violin in 2002. She has appeared as soloist with numerous orchestras, including repeatedly with The Philadelphia Orchestra (her debut was in February 2002), and the Vancouver and Victoria symphonies in Canada. As a recitalist and chamber musician she has performed across the United States and Canada, and in many countries in Europe, Asia, and South America in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Mogador Theater in Paris, the Kimmel Center, and the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, and in collaborations with internationally renowned artists such as Wolfgang Sawallisch, Christoph Eschenbach, and Jean-Yves Thibaudet, and many others.
Ms. Fisher has been awarded multiple Canada Council grants and was invited to perform as soloist at the Governor General’s concert in Canada. She has been featured on National Canadian Radio and on Canada’s CBC television. Her teachers have included her father, Lawrence Fisher; Yumi Ninomiya Scott; Aaron Rosand; David Cerone; and Jascha Brodsky. In 2017 she received The Philadelphia Orchestra’s C. Hartman Kuhn Award, given annually to “the member of The Philadelphia Orchestra who has shown ability and enterprise of such character as to enhance the standards and the reputation of The Philadelphia Orchestra.”
In 1997 Ms. Fisher co-founded the Philadelphia International Music Festival (PIMF), a highly successful summer music program in residence at Bryn Mawr College, to encourage and inspire musicians of all levels. Originally just for string players, the Festival now includes all symphonic instruments plus piano, and features innovative specialty programs to help students prepare for auditions, improve practice, and address performance issues. PIMF includes students of all ages and all levels who attend from around the world to study privately with musicians of The Philadelphia Orchestra. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, PIMF was one of the first music programs to successfully adapt to virtual access to master classes, lessons, and full summer camp for students.
Ms. Fisher is an active pedagogue whose students have performed as soloist with major orchestras, have attended distinguished music conservatories, are members of professional orchestras, and have won many awards and competitions. Her energetic, communicative teaching style has led to invitations to present master classes, lessons, and seminars around the world.
Photo by Jessica Griffin