JI YOUNG LIM

“.. an impressive arsenal of strengths – a range of colors that extended from a brilliant shimmer on top to an almost viola-like richness and graininess on the bottom, the ability to race from one end of the finger-board to the other with a tap dancer’s agility and precision, a dramatic flair and an inclination. ..”

By Joan Reinthaler by from The Washington Post

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In 2015, when Ji Young Lim became the first Korean winner at her age of 20 in the violin category of the Queen Elizabeth Competition, which is one of the world’s top 3 competitions, she showed various musical strengths including amazing concentration, bold and stable performance, as well as well-trained techniques, so she made her name known to the world by winning a unanimous agreement of the jury among the prominent candidates from various countries. 

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She graduated from Korea Arts Education Institute, Yewon School, Seoul Arts High School, and entered Korea National University of Arts for gifted student, then graduated art diploma program studying under Nam-Yun Kim. After that, she studied abroad in Germany while studying in KNUA then she graduated from Kronberg Academy with a master’s degree and a professional performer diploma. And then, she graduated from Cologne University of Music with doctoral degree. She won Kumho Musician Award at Kumho Asiana Cultural Foundation in 2015, Proud Korean Award at Korea Press Association, and Daewon Music Award at Daewon Cultural Foundation in 2016, and she even put her name down as only classical musician selected by Forbes, “Asian Leaders Under 30”.

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Since the debut with Kumho Gifted Concert at the age of 14, Ji Young Lim has had various concerts. As particular characteristic soloist, she collaborated with Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Munich Kammers Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Brussels Philharmonic, Luxembourg Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Marinsky Orchestra, Philharmonic Poznan, Toulouse Kapiton. She also performed with world-class musicians including Andras Schiff, Gidon Kremer, Stephen Isleris, Alexander Shelley, David Jinman, Tugan Sokiev, Alexander Lazarev, Christopher Essenbach, Kevin Kenner, Dang Tai Son, and Matthew Leifman to show her colorful and various musical world, and in 2017, her first album, which recorded Mozart’s violin sonatas and Beethoven’s violin sonatas with pianist Dong-hyuk Lim was released worldwide by Warner Classics.

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In Korea, she had recitals at Kumho Art hall, Music in PyeongChang (former: Great Mountains Music Festival), and collaborated with Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, KBS Symphony Orchestra, Korean Symphony Orchestra, Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra, and Daegu Philharmonic Orchestra, and even she performed as a concertmaster at One Korea Orchestra led by a conductor Myung-whun Jung, and also performed chamber music on stages such as Kumho Asiana Soloist, Music in PyeongChang Winter, and Pohang Music Festival. Moreover, she is very active in Korea and international festivals including Hong Kong Arts Festival, Copenhagen Summer Festival, Gstad Menhin Festival, Music in PyeongChang, Hong Kong HKGNA Music Festival, and Seoul Arts Center Music Festival. She performed as a classical artist representing Korea at various national concerts, including a concert hosted by King of Belgium visited Korea in March 2019 as well as the first anniversary of Panmunjom Declaration in April 2019. In 2020, during Covid-19 pandemic, she challenged performing Eugene Ysaye’s all violin sonatas to expand her musical world.   

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Ji Young Lim is currently performing with Sasserno Stradivarius made in 1717 on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation. In 2023, she became the youngest person ever to be appointed as a faculty member at the department of Instrumental Music at Yonsei University.