Dennis Kim Jin-soo

Concertmaster of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra — the youngest in the Philharmonic's history, and certainly one of the world's youngest anywhere — the 25-year-old Dennis Kim is a highly respected soloist, chamber musician and orchestral violinist. Eminent conductors with whom he has collaborated include André Previn, Sir Simon Rattle, Yuri Temirkanov and Michael Tilson Thomas.

Born in Seoul, Mr. Kim moved to Canada as an infant and was introduced to the violin when he was four years old. From the ages of seven to 15 he studied on a scholarship with Victor Danchenko at the Royal Conservatory of Music. He was a yearly winner in all the major Canadian violin competitions, and made his solo debut with the Toronto Philharmonic when he was 14. He went on to receive his Bachelor of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music, and his Master of Music degree from the Yale School of Music in 1998.

Mr. Kim has been living in Hong Kong since 1998 and was appointed Concertmaster of the Hong Kong Philharmonic during its 1999-2000 season. By the end of the current season he will have performed with two of his teachers: Jaime Laredo in Bach's Double Concerto for Two Violins, and Peter Oundjian of Yale in Vivaldi's Concerto for Four Violins. Mr. Kim is a self-described sports fanatic and enjoys baseball, basketball, football, golf, ice hockey, soccer and squash.

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