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Grace Shim, violin/viola
Grace Shim’s musical career has included teaching both violin and viola as well as performing. She has appeared in the principal music capitals of the Americas, Asia, as well as eastern Europe. Invited by the University of the Philippines to perform at Abelardo Hall, Ms. Shim was praised as “strictly world-class” in her “impressive interpretation of Beethoven’s Sonata ‘Kreutzer’” in which she “sparkled, glowed, shone, and impressed the audience while also winning their hearts” (Manila Bulletin). At the Inaugural Concert of the Garam Arts Hall in Busan, Korea, her performance with the Busan Sinfonietta was critically acclaimed as “immaculate and splendid” (International Times), a “fantastic performance” (MBC Television) in which “The artist vividly brought out the musical colors and images that the composer embedded into the notes such as cheerfulness, purity, beauty, freshness and brightness, romantic duet, melancholy, sorrow, and grief” (Busan Daily News). She has also appeared as the featured soloist for the season-opening Gala Concert of the Seoul Royal Symphony Orchestra. Other notable venues in which she has appeared include the Rachmaninoff Hall in Moscow, Russia; the Instituto de Providencia and Centro Cultural Monte Carmelo in Santiago, Chile; the Seoul Fine Arts Center in Seoul, Korea; and the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall; as well as at the Killington Music Festival in Vermont and the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado, amongst many others. For many years, she also performed annually on tour in South America in various music venues in cities including Santiago, Valparaiso, Antofagasta, Osorno, and Temuko where her concerts were aired live via radio.
Ms. Shim has also distinguished herself as an educator. She is a faculty at the Manhattan School of Music since 2000 and also teaches at New York University during the summer. Recently, she gave master classes in the college division of the Manhattan School of Music and at New York University. She had formerly been a professor at Centenary University, and Suwon University as well as a faculty at the Yewon School. Ms. Shim’s students have gathered prizes and accolades in numerous competitions, including first prize at the Kingsville International Competition, first prize at the Aspen Music Festival Competition, the Corpus Christi International Competition, first prize at the William Paterson University Competition, and Sphinx Music Competition, as well as having appeared as soloists with the Aspen Festival Orchestra, William Paterson University Orchestra, amongst others.
Ms. Shim’s students have gone on to compete and take awards at renowned international competitions around the world such as the Queen Elizabeth International Competition (Belgium); the Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition (Hannover); the Michael Hill International Violin Competition (New Zealand); the Andrea Postacchini International Violin Competition (Italy), winning the 2nd prize; the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition (U.K.), gathering three prizes including the Yuri Bashmet President of Jury Prize; the Schoenfeld International String Competition (China); the Tibor Varga International Violin Competition (Switzerland); and the Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition (China). Her students have also matriculated at top music schools in the U.S. and abroad, including the Manhattan School of Music, Yale University, and the Juilliard School.
Grace Shim received her Master of Music degree in Viola Performance from the Manhattan School of Music, where she was awarded a full merit scholarship, having earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the Mannes College of Music in Violin Performance. She also studied at the Moscow Conservatory with Gregory Feigin, who taught in the tradition of his teacher, legendary violinist David Oistrakh. Her teachers also included Daniel Avshalomov, Margaret Pardee, Almita Vamos and Roland Vamos.