Violinist Michelle Kim, born in Seoul, South Korea, moved to the United States with her family at the age of 11, when she began her violin studies. She was named a Presidential Scholar and went on to study with Robert Lipsett at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music as a recipient of the Starling Foundation scholarship. Her mentors have included Heiichiro Ohyama and Henry Gronnier.

Ms. Kim joined the New York Philharmonic in 2001 as Assistant Concertmaster, The William Petschek Family Chair. Since then, she has maintained an active career as a soloist, appearing with the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, New Jersey Symphony, Pacific Symphony, and orchestras throughout Korea. An accomplished chamber musician, she has collaborated with distinguished artists such as Cho-Liang Lin, Christian Tetzlaff, Pinchas Zukerman, Mstislav Rostropovich, Lynn Harrell, Lang Lang, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Alisa Weilerstein, and Yefim Bronfman. She also served as first violinist of the Rossetti String Quartet.

Ms. Kim is currently on the violin faculty of the Mannes School of Music. Her previous teaching positions include the USC Thornton School of Music and the Colburn School. She is also the founder of the Doublestop Foundation (2011–2018), an organization dedicated to providing string instruments to young musicians during the critical transition period between their studies and the start of a professional career.