Christy Kim, violin

Meet Christy

Christy performs on Show 440.

Christy Kim(violin), 18, is a junior at William Mason High School in Ohio. She started playing the violin at the age of six, and currently studies with Desiree Ruhstrat. She won top prizes in the 2023 Matinée Musicale Cincinnati Nancy F. Walker Memorial Scholarship Competition, the 2021 David L. Pierson Concerto Competition, the 2020 Jack & Lucille Wonnell Young Artist Concerto Competition, and the 2018–19 Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra (Concert) Concerto Competition and performed as a soloist with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, the Blue Ash Montgomery Symphony Orchestra, and with the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra (Concert). She was also awarded prizes in the 2023 YoungArts National Competition, the 2023 Walgreens National Concerto Competition, the 2022 and 2023 Overture Awards, the 2022 Sejong Music Competition, the 2022 Society of American Musicians Violin Competition, and in the 2019 Louisville Young Artist Concerto Competition.

Christy is the concertmaster of the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra (Philharmonic), and also plays in the Mason Symphony Orchestra and her school Symphony Chamber Orchestra. She served as concertmaster of the Ohio Music Education Association All-State and Southwest Regional Orchestras for the 2022 and 2023 seasons, as well as the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra (Concert) for the 2018–19 and 2019–20 seasons. She participated in the National Youth Orchestra 2 (2022).

Christy has traveled to diverse festivals, including the Bowdoin International Music Festival (2019, 2020), the Innsbrook Institute of Music (2018), and the Cincinnati Young Artists Music Festival (2017, 2019). She has played in masterclasses for Marina Chiche, Vadim Gluzman, Karen Gomyo, Tessa Lark, Timothy Lees, and Esther Yoo.

Outside of music, Christy enjoys reading classic novels, sketching, and spending time with her younger sister.