Biography

Regarded as one of the most outstanding violinists of her generation, Clara-Jumi Kang is celebrated for her exceptional musicality, technical mastery, and artistic depth. She has received numerous awards and accolades, including First Prize at the 2010 Indianapolis International Violin Competition.

In the 2025–26 season, Kang is Artist-in-Residence with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. As part of her residency, she will perform concertos by Lalo, Shostakovich, and Bernstein with Chief Conductor Ryan Bancroft. Other highlights this season include her subscription debut with the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, a tour with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and the Philharmonia Orchestra on their Korean tour.

Kang regularly appears at major international festivals including the BBC Proms, the Hollywood Bowl alongside the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Salzburg Festival, Verbier Festival, Edinburgh Festival, and the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo. In 2025, she was the soloist for the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra’s major tour to China and Europe with Zubin Mehta.

Kang has made two recordings for Decca: Modern Solo, featuring works by Schubert and Ysaÿe, and a Brahms-Schumann album with Yeol Eum Son. In 2021, she released a cycle of Beethoven’s Violin Sonatas with pianist Sunwook Kim.

A dedicated chamber musician, she collaborates with musicians including Martha Argerich, Gidon Kremer, Mischa Maisky, and Janine Jansen.

Born in Germany to Korean parents, Clara-Jumi Kang took up the violin at age 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 age seven was awarded a full scholarship to The Julliard School to study with Dorothy Delay. Having received musical guidance from Barenboim starting from the age of 11, she was then invited to perform with him and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at age 12. She took her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at the Korean National University of Arts under Nam-Yun Kim before completing her studies at the Munich Musikhochschule with Christoph Poppen.