Min-Young Kim, violin
Kyu-Young Kim, violin
Jessica Thompson, viola
Raman Ramakrishnan, cello

An active chamber musician, violinist Min-Young Kim has toured extensively with Musicians from Marlboro, American Chamber Players and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and has collaborated with members of the Guarneri, Juilliard, and Cleveland Quartets.  She made her New York recital debut at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in January 2001 as a winner of the Artists International Competition and has performed as a soloist with orchestras in Cleveland and Boston.  With interests ranging from Baroque to contemporary music, Ms. Kim has performed and recorded with Apollo’s Fire and the Cleveland Baroque Orchestra, and premiered numerous works in the Boston and New York areas as well as new music festivals in Spain and Greece.  She is also strongly committed to education, and was one of the first recipients of the Morse Fellowship at Juilliard, teaching music in inner city classrooms through creative activities.  A graduate of Harvard University, The Juilliard School, and the Cleveland Institute of Music, Ms. Kim is currently on the faculty of Columbia University.  Her principal teachers have been Donald Weilerstein, Robert Mann, and Shirley Givens.  She lives in Manhattan with her husband and daughter.

Hailed by the Chicago Tribune for his “flawless musical and technical command,” violinist Kyu-Young Kim is an award winning soloist and chamber musician.  Mr. Kim has been soloist with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, of which he served as Associate Concertmaster, and the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra of Poland.  A former member of the Pacifica Quartet, with which he won the  Walter W. Naumburg Chamber Music Award, he has presented solo recitals throughout the United States, and in Korea, Japan, Germany, and New Zealand.  Mr. Kim and his wife, cellist Pitnarry Shin, were awarded a 2002 McKnight Fellowship as the Soyulla Duo.  He has also been the winner of the Marcia Polayes National Young Artists Award and a Jury Commendation Award at the Michael Hill World Violin Competition in New Zealand.  Educated at the Curtis Institute and the Juilliard School, Mr. Kim’s principal teachers include Donald Weilerstein, Robert Mann, Jaime Laredo, Yumi Scott, and Shirley Givens.

Violist Jessica Thompson was a member of the Chester String Quartet, resident ensemble of Indiana University South Bend, where she served as Associate Professor, until joining the Daedalus Quartet.  Ms. Thompson has been soloist with the Minnesota Orchestra and has performed in recital in Philadelphia, Minneapolis, and Washington, D.C.  While a student at the Curtis Institute, she was a member of the Grancino Quartet and participated in Isaac Stern’s Chamber Music Seminar in Jerusalem.  As a result she was chosen for the singular honor of performing at the Isaac Stern Memorial Concert at Carnegie Hall.  Ms. Thompson has spent several summers at the Marlboro Music Festival and tours with Musicians from Marlboro in the 2002-2003 season.  Her principal teachers have been Karen Tuttle, Korey Konkol, and Alice Preves.

Cellist Raman Ramakrishnan has given solo recitals in New York and Boston and performed chamber music at Alice Tully Hall, for Caramoor’s “Rising Stars” series, at Bargemusic, and at the Marlboro, Bravo! Vail, Charlottesville, and Four Seasons Chamber Music Festivals.  He has toured with Musicians from Marlboro and performed frequently with such ensembles as the Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra, the International Sejong Soloists, and the contemporary chamber ensemble Proteus 5.  As a member of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, he has collaborated with musicians from the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra and will perform in Agra, India in the 2004-2005 season.  Mr. Ramakrishnan holds a Bachelor’s degree with honors in physics from Harvard University and a Master’s from The Juilliard School.  His principal teachers have been Fred Sherry, Andrés Diaz, and André Emelianoff.