Grace Shim
Grace Shim maintains a distinguished career as both a violinist and violist, with an active presence as a performer and educator, which has led her to appear in music capitals of the Americas, Asia, and Europe. Her performance was praised by International Times as “immaculate and splendid,” and by MBC Television as “a fantastic performance.” Busan Daily News wrote, “The artist vividly brought out the musical colors and images that the composer embedded into the notes such as cheerfulness, purity, beauty, freshness and brightness, romantic duet, melancholy, sorrow, and grief.” Her performance in the Philippines was lauded by the Manila Bulletin as “strictly world-class” for her “impressive interpretation of Beethoven’s Sonata ‘Kreutzer,’” noting that she “sparkled, glowed, shone, and impressed the audience while also winning their hearts.”
Recently, she appeared as a soloist with the Palisades Sinfonietta Orchestra, performing Mozart Violin Concerto No. 5. She was also a featured soloist with the Busan Sinfonietta Orchestra, and the Seoul Royal Symphony Orchestra in Korea. She has performed at Rachmaninoff Hall in Moscow, Russia; Instituto de Providencia and Centro Cultural Monte Carmelo in Santiago, Chile; the Seoul Arts Center; Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall; and the Beacon Theatre in New York. She has also toured annually in South America, performing in various music venues in Santiago, Antofagasta, Osorno, and Temuko, where her concerts were broadcast live.
Ms. Shim has also distinguished herself as an educator. She has served on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music since 2000 and teaches in the Summer Strings program at New York University (NYU Steinhardt). She has been invited to present masterclasses at both institutions as part of their Strings Masterclass Series. She previously held faculty positions at Centenary University, Suwon University, and the Yewon School in Korea.
Her students have earned top prizes and accolades in numerous competitions, including First Prize at the Kingsville International Competition, First Prize at the Aspen Music Festival Competition, the Corpus Christi International Competition, First Prize at the William Paterson University Competition, and the Sphinx Music Competition. They have appeared as soloists with orchestras such as the Aspen Festival Orchestra, and the William Paterson University Orchestra, among others.
Her students have gone on to compete and won awards at prestigious international competitions worldwide, including the Queen Elizabeth International Competition in Belgium; the Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition in Hannover; the Michael Hill International Violin Competition in New Zealand; the Andrea Postacchini International Violin Competition in Italy where a student won Second Prize; the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition in the United Kingdom, where a student won three prizes including the Yuri Bashmet President of Jury Prize; the Schoenfeld International String Competition in China; the Tibor Varga International Violin Competition in Switzerland; and the Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition in China. Her students have also matriculated at top music schools in the U.S. and abroad, including the Manhattan School of Music, Yale University, and The Juilliard School.
Grace Shim received her Master of Music degree in Viola Performance from the Manhattan School of Music, where she was awarded a full merit scholarship, after earning her Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance from the Mannes College of Music. She also studied at the Moscow Conservatory with Gregory Feigin, who taught in the tradition of his teacher, the legendary violinist David Oistrakh. Her principal teachers included Daniel Avshalomov, Margaret Pardee, Almita Vamos and Roland Vamos. In addition to her musical career, Ms. Shim holds a Juris Doctor degree from New York Law School.