Born to Korean parents and raised in Germany, Clara-Jumi Kang is internationally renowned for her musicality and virtuosity. Throughout her career, she has received many awards and accolades, including first prize at the Indianapolis International Violin Competition, the Sendai Violin Competition, and the Seoul Violin Competition.

Upcoming highlights include festival appearances at the BBC Proms, a return to perform the Mozart Sinfonia Concertante alongside Timothy Ridout, a performance at the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the second consecutive season, as well as her debut at the Salzburg Festival under Andrew Manze.

Later in the season, she will return to the Israel Philharmonic for the third time since her debut in September 2023, perform with the Seoul Philharmonic in concerts at Lotte Concert Hall and on their domestic tour alongside Music Director Jaap van Zweden, before making debuts with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Ottawa, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, the Utah Symphony Orchestra, the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, the Oregon Symphony Orchestra, the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, and the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra. She will also undertake a recital tour across Korea, culminating at the Seoul Arts Center, and make her recital debuts at the Boulez Saal in Berlin and the Hong Kong City Hall, as well as perform solo recitals in Rome and Torino.

Other recent highlights include performances with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic at the Isarphilharmonie and on tour to Korea alongside Myun-whun Chung, the Budapest Festival Orchestra with Lahav Shani, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, Melbourne Symphony, NHK Symphony Orchestra, and Bournemouth Symphony.

Since making her concerto debut with the Hamburg Symphony at the age of five, Clara-Jumi Kang has regularly worked with leading conductors including Paavo Järvi, Xavier Roth, Stéphane Denève, Vasily Petrenko, Kazuki Yamada, John Storgårds, Nicholas Collon, Daniel Harding, Lahav Shani, Thomas Fischer, Charles Dutoit, Christoph Reif, Markus Bihlmaier, Kwamé Ryan, and Long Yu. In 2012, she was selected as one of the top 100 “Most Promising and Influential People of Korea” by the major Korean newspaper Dong-A Times and was awarded the Daewon Music Award the same year for her outstanding international achievements. She was also named Kumho Musician of the Year in 2015.

Clara-Jumi Kang has made two recordings for Decca: Modern Solo, featuring works including Schubert’s “Last Rose,” “Erlkönig,” and Ysaÿe Sonatas, and a Brahms/Schumann album with pianist Yeol-Eum Son. Her cycle of Beethoven Violin Sonatas with pianist Sunwook Kim was released on Accentus last season to outstanding reviews and nominations. A devoted chamber musician, she regularly participates in chamber music festivals and collaborates with renowned artists such as Janine Jansen, Gidon Kremer, and Mischa Maisky.

Born in Germany to a musical family, Clara-Jumi Kang took up the violin at the age of three and a year later enrolled as the youngest ever student at the Mannheim Musikhochschule. She went on to study with Zakhar Bron at the Lübeck Musikhochschule and, at the age of seven, was awarded a full scholarship to the Juilliard School to study with Dorothy DeLay. Having received musical guidance from Daniel Barenboim starting at the age of 11, she was invited to perform with him and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at age 12. She completed her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at the Korean National University of Arts under Nam-Yun Kim before finishing her studies at the Munich Musikhochschule with Christoph Poppen.

Clara-Jumi Kang plays on the 1702 “Thunis” Stradivarius.