Violinist to Perform for President Lee
By Kim Yon-se
Korea Times Correspondent
NEW YORK ― A female South Korean violinist of the New York Philharmonic, who performed in tears when the orchestra held a historic concert in Pyongyang last February, will give a performance for President Lee Myung-bak here.
Michelle (Mi-kyung) Kim, 36, has been invited to the Korea Society's annual dinner on Tuesday, Eastern Standard Time, at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, where Lee is scheduled to deliver a keynote address in front of a group of Korean-Americans.
She will perform Handel's Passacaglia in G minor and Codelly's Maestro I largamente for 20 minutes in front of Lee, his wife Kim Yoon-ok and winners for the 2008 James A. Van Fleet Award.
Furthermore, a traditional Korean song as an expected encore, is likely to touch the hearts of Korean-American guests.
``After the performance in Pyongyang, I was greatly encouraged by many Koreans and Korean-Americans,'' Kim was quoted by a presidential aide.
Kim also said she hopes that a North Korean philharmonic will pay a shuttle visit to the United States, adding she is willing to play the violin for their concert.
She joined the New York Philharmonic as an assistant concertmaster in 2001. Her previous appointments include concertmaster with the New Hampshire Music Festival Orchestra, 20th Century Unlimited Chamber Orchestra, Fresno Philharmonic, Riverside Philharmonic, Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra and Asia America Symphony Orchestra, among other ensembles.
As a soloist, the prolific performer has appeared with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony and New Jersey Symphony, and in 1999 she was invited to become first violinist of the Rossetti String Quartet.
She graduated from the University of Southern California/Thornton School of Music as a Starling Foundation scholarship recipient.
The Korea Society, a leading organization in the United States devoted to promoting Seoul-Washington relations, will honor the former Peace Corps Korea volunteers and journalist Don Oberdorfer with its 2008 James A. Van Fleet Award.
The award is provided to prominent Korean and American individuals or organizations for outstanding contributions to the South Korea-U.S. relationship.