Photo courtesy of Siwoo Kim
Amateur violinist Albert Einstein once said, “I know that the most joy in my life has come to me from my violin.”
Westerville South High School alumnus Siwoo Kim may not have the scientific background of Einstein, but the two share a passion and love for the instrument. Kim’s passion has allowed him to perform internationally, as well as start a music festival here in his hometown.
“I knew at a very early age that I wanted to make a career out of something I love,” says Kim. “I once seriously searched for an alternative career path, but nothing resonated with me the way the violin did.”
Kim lives in New York City and has performed across the world. He has brought his violin to four continents, and will add a fifth with an upcoming month-long tour of South Africa.
“In a world wrought with conflict, I love the idea of performing as a spiritual alignment,” says Kim. “I love how a concert is a place where people can share the most beautiful sentiment with no words necessary.”
Kim, whose parents both play instruments, was born in South Korea and began playing the violin when he was 2 ½ years old.
“My mother was my first teacher and had a music school in South Korea,” says Kim. “As soon as I could crawl, I would socialize with the students by banging on one of the 50 pianos.”
Kim’s family immigrated to the U.S., eventually moving to Westerville when he was 11. He began performing with the Westerville South High School orchestra when he was a sixth-grader at Blendon Middle School, and played a Tchaikovsky violin concerto with the Westerville Symphony at age 13.
As Kim progressed in his musical endeavors in middle and high school, he also had the opportunity to study under Almita Vamos, one of the world’s leading violin instructors.
“Almita Vamos had the greatest influence on me,” says Kim. “We immigrated to the United States primarily for my musical education, and Mrs. Vamos was the teacher my parents hoped I would study under. I met her when I was seven and officially started studying with her three years later.”
Though Vamos was teaching full-time at the Musical Institute of Chicago by the time Kim’s family settled in Westerville, it did not end their student-teacher relationship.
Photo courtesy of Siwoo Kim
“My parents drove me to Chicago most weekends for lessons, and I studied with her until college,” says Kim. “I took a hiatus from playing the violin when I was 15 because of family and financial burdens, but Mrs. Vamos pulled me back by getting me scholarships, loaning me a violin and not charging me for lessons until graduation. I would be a drastically different person if it hadn’t been for her and my parents.”
After graduating from South in 2008, Kim attended the prestigious Juilliard School in New York City.
“I grew further as a musician thanks to my private teachers, the focused environment, performance opportunities and, most importantly, colleagues,” says Kim. “After my private teacher retired, I even studied under pianists who opened up a new world to me because everything was geared toward harmonic and textural awareness.”
Despite the fact that he has played all over the world, one performance at Juilliard continues to stand out for Kim because of its symbolism.
“A month after we moved to the United States, my mom took me to New York City,” says Kim. “We went to Juilliard and she said, ‘One day you will go to school here.’ We walked to Carnegie Hall, and she said, ‘One day you will perform here.’ I won the school’s violin competition during my senior year, and the prize was a rare opportunity to play concerto with the Juilliard Orchestra at Carnegie Hall’s main stage, Stern Auditorium. I was always so aware of all the sacrifices my parents made for me, so walking onstage as a soloist with the Juilliard Orchestra was a surreal experience.”
Kim also remembers Juilliard president Joseph Polisi stressing the concept of “artist as citizen.” This motivated him to look beyond performing and make a difference in society. He eventually found an opportunity to implement the concept with musician and Upper Arlington native John Stulz.
Kim and Stulz first met at a music festival when they were young. They reconnected when Stulz moved to New York as a fellow of Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect program while Kim was completing his master’s degree at Juilliard. The two friends wanted to celebrate and share their passion of classical music, and the result was the VIVO Music Festival.
“We both love chamber music and cared deeply about where we lived, so a Columbus-based chamber music festival was a no-brainer,” says Kim. “The funding initially came from those who believed in us as individual, aspiring musicians. We then expanded our network of support, and it’s continually growing. The name ‘VIVO’ means ‘with life’ or ‘lively’ in musical terms.”
The VIVO Music Festival debuted in 2015, and this year’s event will be held Aug. 30-Sept. 3. Though Kim has performed at VIVO, his priority is to showcase the colleagues he and Stulz have met locally and throughout the world.
“I hope the VIVO Music Festival continues to fill a niche by showing future generations that it’s possible to lead fulfilling lives as musicians,” says Kim. “Seeing the audience comprised of mostly young people the first year made me excited about the future of Columbus’ music scene. Witnessing the guest artists’ performances last year made me feel like a proud father.”
Kim has not reached his 30s, but he has a seemingly neverending list of musical achievements and awards. His future plans include combining his personal and professional interests.
“I would like to slowly start adding more structure to my life so I can have a family,” says Kim. “Eventually, I would like to become a concertmaster of a major orchestra and grow the VIVO Music Festival to international status.”
Each VIVO show features a small ensemble performing at a different venue, with performance sites including the Columbus Museum of Art, the North Market and Short North Stage. For more information on the VIVO Music Festival, visit www.vivofestival.org.
Westerville resident Chris Woodley is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
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