JUDY KANG

Bio:

Canadian violinist Judy Kang, has established herself as one of the most gifted violinists of this generation. In a nationally acclaimed televised performance at age 10 with the National Arts Center Orchestra, The Ottawa Citizen enthusiastically stated, "If there was a star tonight, it was Judy Kang. Blessed with a gift for the violin that is exceptional, she moves about the instrument at her disposal with an ease that is awe-inspiring." She began her solo career at the tender age of 4 in her native Edmonton, Canada and since toured all across North and South America, Europe, Asia, and the Carribean Islands. She has performed with all the major orchestras and ensembles of Canada and those of the US, Europe, and Asia and has performed in recitals and chamber music to diverse audiences in prestigious venues including Tokyo Suntory Hall, Wigmore Hall, Lincoln Center, Sejong Cultural Center, Seoul Arts Center, Schubert Hall in Vienna, the National Arts Center as well as at the Metropolitan and Guggenheim Museums in New York among others. She made her debut to a sold-out audience in Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall to critical acclaim and performed as soloist with the Korean Symphony at Stern Hall at Carnegie Hall. The New York Times wrote, "Judy Kang, a Canadian violinist and most likely the only musician to have worked with both Pierre Boulez and Lady Gaga, was featured in Brahms’s Violin Concerto. Ms. Kang, who drew whoops from the audience before playing a single note, offered a lean, focused sound, pinpoint intonation and expressively molded phrasing. Every line seemed to mean something personal in what amounted to an amorous serenade." She was accepted with full scholarship to the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music at the age of 11, and at just 17, she graduated with a Bachelor in Music as the youngest graduate in its history. Upon graduation, Judy captured the Grand-Prize as well as the "Best Interpretation” prize at the CBC Competition for Young Performers, Canada's most honoured competition. Ms Kang gave a solo performance for former Canadian prime-minister Brian Mulroney and performed for all of the major Ambassadors of Canada and has also had the privilege to perform in front of former US president Bill Clinton. Judy has collaborated with distinguished artists such as Claude Frank, Miriam Fried, David Geringas, Gary Hoffmann, Lynn Harrell, Cho-Liang Lin, Kyung-Wha Chung, Leon Fleisher, Richard Goode, Bruno Canino, Barry Douglas, Gene Bertoncini, Eugenia Zuckerman, David Soyer, Marcy Rosen, Warren Jones, Isidore Cohen, Peter Wiley, Sigfried Palm, Chee-Yun, Samuel Rhodes, Felix Galimir, Samuel Wong, Bramwell Tovey, Nurhan Arman, Jean-Francois Rivest, Alistair Willis,Yoav Talmi, Nance Geum, Mario Bernardi, and Boris Brott. She has performed at major festivals as Marlboro, Ravinia, Bargemusic, Manchester, Aspen, Evian, Banff, Orford, Ste. Petronille, the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, the Pablo Casals Festival, Lenaudiere International Festival, the 'Focus’ Festival in New York, the Northern Lights Festival in Mexico, and has performed and given master classes at the 'Sean Jackson and Friends Festival’ for the development of classical music in Barbados. She performed in a special concert celebrating the inauguration of the Korean-American Jewish-American Forum (KAJA). As a member of the renowned ensemble Sejong, Judy toured Asia and America and was presented as soloist and concert-master with Sejong in performances across the US, Korea, the UK, France and at the launching of the Great Mountains Festival and School in Korea, where she also coached chamber music each summer. She frequently collaborates with living composers and has worked closely with notable composers, Leon Kirchner, Richard Danielpour, Alexander Goehr, Huang Ruo, Michael Patterson, and Pierre Boulez, with whom, after an intense week of collaboration, lead to a successful culminating concert. Canadian composer, Michael Matthews, has written a violin concerto for her. From childhood, Judy has expressed an inclination and interest in improv and creativity. She continues to broaden her scope and break through the limits of traditional boundaries collaborating and often times performing spontaneously on stage with diverse musicians and bands including that of her own 'The Simple Machines''. Most recently, she was invited personally by Lady Gaga to be a part of her world tour for 2010-2011. A founding member of the piano quartet 'Made In Canada', formed at the Banff Center in 2006, the group immediately earned recognition in their native Canada and have received scholarships and awards including the eminent 2006 Galaxie Rising Stars Award. They were featured in Chatelaine Magazine for Women as one of 80 women to watch. At the age of 19, Judy was granted the Lily Foldes Scholarship from the Juilliard School, and graduated with a Masters Degree. She became the first graduate, with high honours, of the prestigious Artist Diploma at the Manhattan School of Music, which holds the distinction of the highest level of education, significantly above all other programs. Her mentors include Sylvia Rosenberg, Robert Mann, Lorand Fenyves, Aaron Rosand, and Felix Galimir. She won many competitions locally, nationally and internationally such as the Grand-Prize of the Canadian Music Competition several years in a row, and top prizes at the Nielsen, Dong-A, Kreisler, and Naumburg International Violin Competitions. Judy has been the subject of newspaper and magazine articles and has appeared on CBC, CNN, and MTV. She has released two critically acclaimed CDs on the CBC Records label, which have been nominated for awards such as the Opus award and the Gemini in her native Canada. She is also frequently heard live and through broadcasts on national and international radio such as CBC (Canada), BBC (London), and on WQXR (New York). Judy has received numerous and continued support from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, the Winspear Foundation, the Anne Burrows Foundation for Young Musicians, and the Canada Council for the Arts, among others. She won the 'Sylva Gelber' Prize given to the most talented musician under 30. In recognition of her outstanding achievement and contribution to the arts, she is featured as an accomplished artist and inspiration in a book entitled Korea and Canada: A Shared History. She takes part in many benefit events and visits public schools, daycare, hospitals, and nursing homes through music outreach. Judy is a mentor and artist for Young Audiences (YA), the nation's largest nonprofit arts in education organization. She is also an artist and ambassador for WorldVision, a Christian relief and development organization dedicated to helping children and their communities worldwide reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty. Judy has performed on a 1747 "Palmason" Januarius Gagliano, generously awarded by the Canada Council. She currently plays on the 1689 "Baumgartner" Stradivarius, also on generous loan from the Canada Council for the Arts. ....

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June 26, 2006

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