Soovin Kim & Friends Open RCMS Season

Renowned violinist Soovin Kim will open the Rochester Chamber Music Society concert season this Sunday, July 17 at 4 p.m. at the Rochester Federated Church. Admission is by donation.

The Rochester Chamber Music Society will open its 2007 season with three nationally and internationally-recognized members of the Johannes String Quartet, Sunday, June 17 at the Federated Church on Main St. in Rochester. A pre-concert talk by Larry Hamberlin begins at 3:30 p.m., followed by the concert at 4 p.m. Admission is by donation.

Kim is increasingly sought after for the character, nuance, and excitement of his performances as concerto soloist, chamber musician, and recitalist, both in the U.S. and abroad. He has performed in the U.S. with orchestras such as the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Baltimore, San Francisco, and Indianapolis Symphonies; in Europe with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony, the Prague Chamber and Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestras; and in Asia with the Hong Kong Philharmonic and KBS Symphony.

Kim won first prize in the 1996 Paganini International Competition and was awarded the Henryk Szeryng Career Award, the Avery Fisher Career Grant, and most recently the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award.

Stumpf became principal cellist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the beginning of the 2002-03 season. He is in great demand as a chamber musician around the world, performing in series at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Concertgebouw, and Casals Hall in Tokyo. As a member of the Boston Musica Viva he has explored extended techniques including micro-tonal compositions and numerous premieres. He earned a BS degree from Curtis Institute of Music and an Artist Diploma from the New England Conservatory.

Chang was appointed principal viola of the Philadelphia Orchestra in April 2006. He was a double major in violin and viola at the Curtis Institute of Music, studying with the late Jascha Brodsky and Joseph dePasquale. He has made solo appearances with the Curtis Symphony, Temple University Symphony Orchestra and the KBS Symphony Orchestra at the Seoul Arts Center, and toured throughout the United States with the Musicians from Marlboro program.

Chang devotes much of his time to teaching younger violinists and violists as a faculty member of the Temple University’s Esther Boyer College of Music and Preparatory Division.

The Sunday afternoon program will include Beethoven’s Trio in E-flat major, op. 3, and Mozart’s Divertimento in E-flat major, KV 563.

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