Violinist Karen Kim was named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts by the United States Department of Education in 2001. She was a recipient of the Music for Youth Foundation Scholarship in 2001 and the Grand Prize Winner of the 2000 American String Teachers Association National Solo Competition. Ms. Kim has presented solo performances at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D. C., and Steinway Hall in New York City. She has appeared as a soloist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Madison Civic Orchestra, and the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra, and has performed in Puerto Rico, Minnesota, Tennessee, and Florida for the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts.

Ms. Kim began her violin studies at age 4 in La Crosse, WI, and at 8 became a student of Gerardo Ribeiro in Evanston, IL. She has participated master classes with Mstislav Rostropovich, Vadim Repin, Pamela Frank, and Janos Starker. A founding member of the Parker String Quartet, her chamber music coaches have included the Tokyo String Quartet, Kim Kashkashian, Paul Katz, Martha Strongin Katz, Peter Salaff, and Lucy Stoltzman. Ms. Kim is currently pursuing her graduate degree in violin performance at the New England Conservatory in Boston as a student of Donald Weilerstein.