South Korean violinist Seohyun Kim was revealed as a rising star on the international stage when she became the youngest-ever winner of the 2023 Tibor Varga International Competition at only 14. Prior to this, she had already won first prize at the Ysaÿe International Music Competition and the Leonid Kogan International Violin Competition in 2021, as well as the Cooper International Competition in 2022, making her the youngest winner in the competition's history.

 

Born in 2008, Seohyun Kim garnered attention for her extraordinary performance of the Sibelius Concerto at the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra's New Year's Concert, conducted by Jaap van Zweden in 2025. Other recent performances with orchestras include the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra in Tallinn, Hungary's Pannon Philharmonic Orchestra at Müpa Budapest under the Maestro Gilbert Varga, Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, Basque National Youth Orchestra, Canton Symphony Orchestra in Ohio, Wisconsin Philharmonic, as well as several Korean orchestras (Korean National Symphony Orchestra, Kumho Young Artist Concert, Seongnam Philharmonic Orchestra, Jeonju Philharmonic Orchestra, Mokpo Philharmonic Orchestra, Daejeon International Music Festival Orchestra, and the Daegu Opera House). In 2026, she will tour with the WDR Sinfonieorchester in Germany and Korea, playing the Brahms Double Concerto with Daniel Müller-Schott under Andris Poga.

 

Kim is also quite active in the recital and chamber music scene. Recent recitals include her debuts at the Tongyeong International Music Festival (TIMF), Gstaad Menuhin Festival and Dame Myra Hess Series in Chicago. She has played chamber music with Gidon Kremer, Miklós Perényi, and Lawrence Power at the Kronberg Academy's Chamber Music Connects the World Series and with Julia Fischer at the Tonhalle Zurich. Recent chamber music performances included collaborations with Daishin Kashimoto, Alessio Bax, Clara-Jumi Kang, Maximilian Hornung, and Sunwook Kim.

 

Seohyun, currently supported by the DAEWON Cultural Foundation and AJU Group, is studying with Sunny Lee at the Seoul Central Conservatory and will continue to study with Mihaela Martin at the Kronberg Academy in Germany this fall. She also has been mentored by Maestro Gilbert Varga, and she plays a 1753 G.B. Guadagnini violin generously loaned by the Tibor Varga Family.