Noted by the New York Times for giving "the proceedings an invaluable central thread of integrity and stylishness," violinist Ariana Kim made her New York recital debut at Carnegie's Weill Hall in March 2008 as the recipient of a prestigious Artists International Award and is now a violin professor at the University of Indianapolis. She served an interim season as acting concertmaster of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra in New Orleans, and has made extensive solo and collaborative appearances with various orchestras, ensembles, and musicians that have taken her throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe. At the age of 11, Ariana made her debut as orchestral soloist and has since become one of the budding young artists of her generation.

Born in Minneapolis, Ariana began studying the violin at the age of three, giving her first solo recital just one year later. After making her debut with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra at 17, Ariana went on to a distinguished appearance on the Schubert Club International Young Artists Recital Series. A year later, following her debut with the Rochester Symphony Orchestra, a review in the Post Bulletin hailed Ariana's performance of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto as "a blazing performance, playing with a burnished tone, fine musicianship, subtle phrasing and great technical prowess." As a devoted chamber musician, Ariana was a member of the Chamber Music Society of Minnesota Junior Artists Program and is currently in her ninth season with the CMSM as a Senior Artist with whom she can be heard on Minnesota Public Radio. Her most recent collaborations with the Society include performances with pianist Leon Fleisher, violinist Robert Mann, cellist Fred Sherry, violists Nobuko Imai and Samuel Rhodes, and clarinetist Charles Neidich. During her summers, Ariana has enjoyed an international travel schedule with past performances in South Korea, Italy, France, and Spain, and has participated in such festivals as Courchevel MusiqueAlp, Orford Centre d'Arts, Yellow Barn, and the Ravinia Festival's Steans Institute.

During her time as an undergraduate student of Ian Swensen and Camilla Wicks at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Ariana performed the SFCM debut of Andrew Imbrie's Violin Concerto, and served as a concertmaster of the Conservatory Orchestra and the Conservatory Opera Orchestra. In addition, Ariana was featured with the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra playing Mozart's Symphonie Concertante and on several chamber music series performances throughout the Bay Area, including the distinguished Isaac Stern Memorial Concert.  Her interest in teaching and encouraging youngsters to become involved in the arts also brought her to several San Francisco public schools as a volunteer music instructor.

Following her work in San Francisco, Ariana went on to earn a Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Robert Mann. She served as a concertmaster of the Juilliard Symphony and the Juilliard Opera Orchestra, was a member of the Five Points Quartet, and participated in the Columbia University Exchange Program during which she studied at both institutions. Her New York performances have taken her to such concert venues as Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Hall at Kaufman Center, the Tenri Institute, Issue Project Room, The Kitchen, and the Chelsea Art Museum, as well as radio appearances on WQXR. This year marks Ariana's eighth season as a member of the New Yorker-acclaimed contemporary-improv music ensemble, Ne(x)tworks, with whom she records for Mode Records. Their debut CD of chamber works by Earle Brown was released in April of 2007. She is also a member of The Knights, an imaginative and diverse ensemble that performs programs ranging from unconducted string orchestra works to the great symphonic masterpieces of the 20th century. In March 2009, The Knights completed a recording of American works featuring Copland, Ives, and Dvorak for SONY Classical Records.

In recent seasons, Ariana presented the world premiere performance of Concertino by the late Andrew Imbrie, a concerto for violin and chamber orchestra, written especially for her. The premiere, which received great critical acclaim, was given with the Richmond Symphony in Virginia under the direction of Mark Russell Smith. She then traveled to Spain where she appeared with the Orbon Chamber Orchestra playing Beethoven's Triple Concerto with renowned artists cellist Adolfo Gutierrez and pianist Alasdair Beatson. Shortly after her return to New York, she presented a doctoral recital featuring ten different works, five of which were world premieres, all written by Juilliard composers spanning three generations from Milton Babbitt to Raymond Lustig.  She appeared as a soloist with the Louisiana Philharmonic on several occasions, as well as the Indianapolis Symphony Festival Orchestra, Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, and the University of California-Berkeley Symphony Orchestra.

Currently, Ariana co-resides in Indianapolis and New York City where she recently received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Juilliard under the tutelage of Robert Mann.  Her most recent engagements have included solo appearances with the Indianapolis Symphony Festival Orchestra under the baton of Raymond Leppard, a Ne(x)tworks residency at the Greenwich House Music School in New York, a European concert tour with The Knights, and a Chicago debut recital on the Dame Myra Hess Concert Series.  Her upcoming plans include a new recording project with The Knights, solo appearances with the University of Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra and New World Youth Philharmonic, a return to her native Minnesota for subscription concerts with the CMSM, and preparing for a Ne(x)tworks performances in honor of John Cage's 100th birthday.