Emma-Grace Kim, violin

Meet Emma-Grace Kim

Emma-Grace performs on Show 424. She also performed with her sister, Ella, in Facebook Live concert in 2020.

Emma-Grace Kim (violin) is a 16-year-old violinist from Herndon, Virginia. She began her violin studies at age seven and currently studies with Jing Qiao of the NSO. In 2023, she had the honor to perform as a featured soloist at WETA Classical’s Annual Salon Series held at the House of Sweden and at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the US-ROK Alliance. Emma-Grace participated in NPR From the Top’s Learning and Media Lab Fellowship, where she recorded a performance with pianist Peter Dugan and violinist Charles Yang. She has been a member of the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras (AYPO) and has served as concertmaster for multiple seasons. She attended Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute in 2024, where she was concertmaster of the Young Artists Orchestra and performed in a masterclass with BSO concertmaster Nathan Cole. This past summer, Emma-Grace participated in the National Youth Orchestra of the United States (NYO-USA), where she had the opportunity to tour Asia with Maestro Gianandrea Noseda and violinist Ray Chen. She is the co-founder of ITZArt4you, a non-profit organization that provides weekly music lessons to children in underserved communities.

Show 424 Bio:

Emma-Grace Kim (violin), 13, is from Herndon, Virginia, and attends Rachel Carson Middle School. In 2019 and 2021, Emma-Grace won first prize in the Northern Virginia Music Teachers Association (NVMTA) Concerto Competition and was given the opportunity to perform as a soloist with the Amadeus Orchestra. In addition, she performed at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, as a prize winner of the Feder Memorial String Competition and was invited to perform as a soloist with her school orchestra. In 2021, Emma-Grace hosted an Instagram Takeover for Washington DC’s WETA Classical, highlighting her life as a young classical musician. She was featured on WETA Classical’s Facebook event, where she performed and was interviewed by John Banther, WETA Classical’s radio host and producer. In the summer of 2022, Emma-Grace was accepted into the Heifetz Junior Division, where she had the opportunity to participate in a three-week summer program for young string musicians, in Staunton, Virginia. She has been a member of the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestra (AYPO) for the last four years and was concertmaster during the 2021–2022 season. Emma-Grace is currently a part of the American Symphonic Orchestra (AYSO). Most recently, she was invited to perform at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library’s 50th anniversary celebration in Washington DC, as a member of the AYPO Junior Chamber Ensemble. Emma-Grace and her sister recently launched a student-led organization called Itzart4you, which provides free music lessons to students in Title I schools. Outside of music, Emma-Grace enjoys watching anime, listening to K-pop, and playing with her dog.