[Rising virtuosos] From mannequin violin to world stage: Kim Search engine marketing-hyun’s musical journey has simply started

With out her violin, Kim Search engine marketing-hyun seems even youthful than her age of 15.

However as soon as she holds the violin, she transforms right into a charismatic violinist who captivates her viewers with each word.

Only a 12 months in the past, she grew to become the youngest winner of the Tibor Varga Worldwide Violin Competitors in Switzerland, the place she not solely secured first prize but in addition gained the Youth Jury Prize, in addition to the prize for greatest interpretation of a commissioned obligatory piece by Silvia Colasanti.

She entered the competitors after weighing her choices between the junior and senior classes.

“I used to be 14 and eligible for the senior competitors, which had no decrease age restrict. Watching my older friends take part, I made a decision to use, hoping to be taught from older contributors,” Kim instructed The Korea Herald in an interview earlier this 12 months.

“With out the strain of getting to carry out completely, I truly felt extra comfortable,” she recalled.

Though she didn’t anticipate profitable, being the youngest winner was not unprecedented. In August 2022, Kim took house the highest prize on the 2022 Thomas and Evon Cooper Worldwide Competitors, which is open to musicians aged 13 to 18.

Her resolution to compete within the senior section of the Tibor Varga Worldwide Violin Competitors final 12 months marked a big turning level in her profession.

After profitable the competitors, Kim, an introvert who normally prefers staying at house, has been touring the world, acting on numerous phases.

Along with quite a few home performances, together with one on the Tongyeong Worldwide Music Competition in March and a recital in April, in Might, she carried out on the Chamber Music Connects the World competition, hosted by the Kronberg Academy in Kronberg, Germany. The competition positioned 30 excellent younger musicians into chamber ensembles with a number of the world’s most celebrated artists, together with violinists Gidon Kremer and Antje Weithaas.

In July, she toured 5 cities in Spain and carried out in Switzerland. She is about to carry out with the Wisconsin Philharmonic Orchestra on Sept. 29 and return to Switzerland in October.

“Performing around the globe sounds unimaginable, and I’m desirous to expertise it,” Kim mentioned.

Collaborating within the Tibor Varga led her to a different outstanding alternative: taking part in the violin as soon as owned by the famend Hungarian violinist and conductor Tibor Varga. His son, Gilbert Varga, who can also be a violinist and conductor, reached out to her by way of electronic mail to supply the instrument. She visited a vault at a financial institution in Switzerland to attempt it out.

“After I performed it for the primary time, I fell in love with it and felt extremely grateful for the chance,” Kim mentioned.

“Attending to play the instrument appears like a message to maintain working arduous and to do my greatest in every little thing any longer,” she added.

Her first violin was a mannequin violin made out of paper and cardboard, with which she started on posture, on the age of 5. Despite the fact that it was a mannequin violin, Kim remembers her coronary heart pounding with pleasure.

The previous 12 months has been transformative for her. With every efficiency, she’s gaining invaluable expertise and increasing her repertoire past her beloved Brahms.

“After studying a biography of Beethoven, I grew to become captivated by his symphonies and began listening to them so much. My curiosity about symphonies led me to start out learning Beethoven. I’ve discovered a lot of his works to be vivid and simpler to grasp. I’ve additionally grown to understand the attraction of Shostakovich,” Kim mentioned.

The aspiring musician, who loves planning for apply and by no means feels absolutely glad after apply, mentioned, “The technical side is a towering problem to overcome, whereas mastering pitch is a lifelong endeavor.”

After graduating from Yewon College, a prestigious arts center college in Seoul, she determined to review at house with tutors to safe extra time for apply and mull the potential of pursuing schooling overseas. Although it means forsaking her mother and father and youthful sister — who’s a giant Ok-pop fan and infrequently argues along with her over music decisions throughout automotive rides — she is keen to discover the world past Korea. To organize, she is learning each English and German.

Wherever she performs, she hopes to turn into somebody who, by way of her music, evokes a variety of feelings in her viewers.

“Since I’m the one delivering the music, I really feel that I have to be completely satisfied for the viewers to really join with it,” Kim mentioned. “I’d fairly folks come to expertise my music than to simply see me. I wish to be the sort of performer who brings out a broad spectrum of feelings by way of my music,” she added.