Jennifer Koh, Violin

Biography

Violinist Jennifer Koh is recognized in the U.S. and abroad
for her ability to fuse intensity of temperament with a classical poise and
elegance. In the words of The New York Times, she is a "fearless
soloist" who has a formidable capacity for "living through" the
music she performs on stage. Equally at home in the classic and contemporary
repertoire, Ms. Koh revels in the unexpected.

2006&07 found Ms. Koh in high demand as a guest soloist with important
American orchestras and in recital at several of the country's most prestigious
venues. In July 2006, she made her debut with the New York Philharmonic
performing the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in the orchestra's Concerts in the
Parks series in New York, and also in Vail, Colorado, during the orchestra's
residency at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival. During the remainder of the
season she was heard as soloist with the Oregon Symphony, Marin (CA) Symphony,
Spokane Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Whatcom (WA)
Symphony, Honolulu Symphony, Orchestra 2001, Greenwich Symphony, Tallahassee
Symphony, and Annapolis Symphony. Her recital engagements included performances
in Philadelphia at the Kimmel Center, in San Francisco at the Herbst Theater,
in San Juan (PR), at Oberlin College, and in New York at the 92nd Street Y.

Continuing her commitment to new music, Ms. Koh premiered two new works
commissioned especially for her: 'string Poetic' for violin and piano by
Jennifer Higdon, commissioned by the 92nd St Y, Kimmel Center in Philadelphia,
San Francisco Performances, Johnstown Community College, and Oberlin College,
received its world premiere performance in October 2006, and 'spin 5,' a violin
concerto by Charles Wuorinen, commissioned for Ms. Koh by the Miller Theater at
Columbia University, was premiered in April 2007.

In January 2008, Ms. Koh was soloist in the world premiere performance of
Jennifer Higdon's concerto for violin, orchestra, and chorus, entitled The
Singing Rooms with The Philadelphia Orchestra and Philadelphia Singers Chorale,
Christoph Eschenbach conducting. She is scheduled to repeat this work in March
2008, with the Atlanta Symphony conducted by Robert Spano, and with the
Minnesota Orchestra led by Osma Vänskä in May 2008. She also opens the Bravo!
Vail Valley Festival with the Rochester Philharmonic in the Mendelssohn Violin
Concerto; performs the Beethoven Violin Concerto in July at the Colorado Music
Festival and the Sibelius Concerto with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Rossen
Milanov; and opens the Houston Symphony season in Beethoven's Triple Concerto
(with pianist Jeremy Denk and cellist Sophie Shao) under Hans Graf. For
November 2008, she is heard in Bernstein's Serenade with the National Symphony
led by Michael Christie and plays the Brahms Violin Concerto with the Oregon
Symphony.

Koh came to international attention in 1994 when she took the top prize and all
of the special prizes awarded at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. She was
also a winner of the Concert Artists Guild Competition and a recipient of the
Avery Fisher Career Grant. Since these triumphs, she has been heard with the
world's leading orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, The
Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit, Cincinnati,
Minnesota, Houston, Iceland, Moscow Radio, and Washington National Symphonies;
the Cleveland Orchestra; and the Helsinki and Czech Philharmonics; among many
others. Her festival appearances include Marlboro, Wolf Trap, Mostly Mozart,
Santa Fe, Spoleto, Vail, Ravinia, and Schlewsig-Holstein in Germany (in recital
with Christoph Eschenbach).

Born and raised in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, Ms. Koh studied with Almita and Roland
Vamos at the Music Center of the North Shore in Winnetka, Illinois (now known
as the Music Institute of Chicago). At 11 she had already appeared as a soloist
with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and at age 15 she won first place at the
1992 Illinois Young Performers Competition, sponsored by the CSO. Jennifer Koh
completed her studies with Jaime Laredo and Felix Galimir at the Curtis
Institute of Music in 2002. She received a Bachelor's Degree in English
Literature from Oberlin College and a Performance Diploma in Music from the
Oberlin Conservatory. Ms. Koh enjoys outreach activities, working with students
of all ages in masterclasses and lecture/demonstrations. Her uniquely personal
education program, "Jennifer Koh's Music Messenger," introduces
children to music and encourages music-making as a means of self-expression
that can transcend boundaries of culture, language, race, and socio-economic
background. Ms. Koh currently resides in New York City.

This is Jennifer Koh's fifth CD for Cedille Records. She has also recorded Gian
Carlo Menotti's Violin Concerto for Chandos Records, Carl Neilsen's Violin
Concerto on the Kontrapunkt label, the Violin Concerto by Uuno Klami on BIS,
and Andrei Eshpai's Violin Concerto No. 4 for Albany. Ms. Koh wishes to thank
her private patron for the generous loan of the 1727 Ex Grumiaux Ex General
DuPont Stradivari which she uses in performance and for this recording.