Danbi Um
Violin
Praised by The Strad as an “utterly dazzling” artist, with “a marvelous show of superb technique” and “mesmerizing grace” (New York Classical Review), violinist Danbi Um captivates audiences with her virtuosity, individual sound, and interpretive sensitivity. A Menuhin International Violin Competition Silver Medalist, winner of the prestigious 2018 Salon de Virtuosi Career Grant, and a recent top prizewinner of the Naumburg International Violin Competition, she showcases her artistry in concertos, solo recitals, and in collaboration with distinguished chamber musicians.
Her recent and forthcoming engagements include solo appearances with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia (Kimmel Center), Brevard Philharmonic, and New York recital debut at Lincoln Center presented by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Rockefeller University, San Francisco recital debut on Music@Menlo’s celebrated “Carte Blanche” series, Chicago recital debut on Dame Myra Hess Concert Series, and Philadelphia recital debut presented by Astral Artists. In addition, she will debut at the Wolf Trap in Washington D.C., and her return to the Parlance Chamber Music Series (NJ), Caramoor Festival as well as a national tour with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. During 2017-18 season, She also debuted for the Palm Beach Chamber Music Society with pianist Juho Pohjonen, the Philadelphia Orchestra’s “Morning Musicales”, and at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., with pianist Orion Weiss.
After winning the 2014 Music Academy of the West Competition, Ms. Um made her concerto debut in the Walton Violin Concerto with the Festival Orchestra, conducted by Joshua Weilerstein. Recent concerto engagements include appearances with the Israel Symphony, Auckland Philharmonic, Vermont Symphony, and the Dartmouth Symphony. She also recently appeared in recital and in chamber music performances in such venues as the Kennedy Center, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Harris Theatre in Chicago, Wigmore Hall in London, and at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.
An avid chamber musician, Ms. Um is a current artist member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMS) and will see her opening the CMS’s 50th anniversary season in fall 2019 at Alice Tully Hall. Festival appearances have included those at Marlboro, Ravinia, Yellow Barn, Moab, Seattle, Caramoor, and North Shore. This past summer, Ms. Um made critically acclaimed debut at the Moritzburg Festival in Dresden, Germany at the invitation of Jan Vogler. Her chamber music collaborators have included Anthony Marwood, Vadim Gluzman, Pamela Frank, Cho-Liang Lin, Paul Neubauer, Frans Helmerson, Jan Vogler, David Shifrin, and Gilbert Kalish.
Born in 1990 in Seoul, South Korea, Ms. Um began violin lessons at the age of three. In the year 2000, she moved to the United States to study at the Curtis Institute of Music, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree. She also holds an Artist Diploma from Indiana University. Her teachers have included Shmuel Ashkenasi, Joseph Silverstein, Jaime Laredo, and Hagai Shaham.
Ms. Um is a winner of Astral’s 2015 National Auditions. She plays a 1683 “ex-Petschek” Nicolo Amati violin, on loan from a private collection.
