Adventure and collaboration are at the heart of violinist Clara Kim’s multi-faceted career as new music performer, chamber musician, and educator. By commissioning, premiering, and championing works from living composers, she has quickly established herself at the forefront of her generation in the interpretation of contemporary music. 

Clara has had the honor of working with some of today’s most celebrated and imaginative musical voices such as John Adams, Christopher Cerrone, Donald Crockett, Martin Bresnick, Stephen Hartke, Ted Hearne, Andrew Norman, Kaija Saariaho, Juri Seo, Chris Theofanidis, Augusta Read Thomas, and Jacob TV. In 2015, Clara commissioned and premiered Jordan Nelson’s Concerto for Violin, Four Singers, and Chamber Ensemble, as well as another violin concerto in 2018 for solo violin and sinfonietta ensemble by Patrick O’Malley.  Other concerto highlights have included performances of Edward Nesbit’s Violin Concerto with Montreal’s Nouvel Ensemble Moderne (Domaine Forget, Canada) and Jonathan Harvey’s Scena with Thornton Edge (Los Angeles, California).

Clara has performed on some of the world’s most prestigious stages such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, Jordan Hall, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t Ij, Roulette, Rockport Music, National Sawdust, and Miller Theatre, and participated in festivals such as Albany’s American Music Festival, Birdfoot Festival, and Carnegie’s Kronos and American Soundscapes workshops.  She is the first prize winner of the 2012 International Solo Violin Competition in Cremona, Italy.

Dedicated to collaboration at the highest artistic level, Clara regularly performs with ensembles such as the Argus Quartet, A Far Cry, and Switch~ Ensemble.  With her quartet, Argus Quartet, Clara has won first prizes at the MPrize Chamber Arts Competition and the Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition, and has been in residence at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, James Madison University’s Contemporary Music Festival, Yale University, and The Juilliard School.  Argus has received support towards their commissioning efforts from organizations such as Chamber Music America, The Koussevitzky Foundation, Concert Artists Guild, and Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, as well as additional awards from the Tarisio Trust Young Artists Grant and the Classical Recording Foundation.

Equally passionate about education, Clara has taught at a number of leading academic institutions, including the University of Southern California where she also coordinated the Non-Major Strings Program.  She currently directs Midori’s Orchestra Residencies Program, where she coaches and performs as Midori’s duo partner, and is on faculty during the summers at the Interlochen Violin Institute, Juilliard Nord Anglia Summer Performing Arts Program, Composers Conference, and Greenwood Junior Music Camp.

Clara holds degrees from Tufts University (B.A. Literature, Magna Cum Laude), New England Conservatory (B.M. Pi Kappa Lambda), The Royal Conservatory of The Hague (M.M.), The University of Southern California (D.M.A. Pi Kappa Lamda, Pi Kappa Lamda Doctoral Award), and The Juilliard School (A.D.).