March 22, 2026
It was a masterclass. The bone-chilling videos we all watched laid the groundwork – people dragged through the streets, pepper-sprayed, assaulted – and in the case of Renee and Alex, […] Read more
Kimchi Frittatas & Simple Pleasures
December 22, 2025
Well, a cheddar-scallion-Greek yogurt-kimchi frittata, to be exact. As I lay in bed post-op after my latest procedure (happily loopy from pain meds and too much sleep), I recalled this unexpected […] Read more
September 19, 2025
Shall we make some lemonade? “When life gives you lemons…” The old adage is a good one, most of the time. It reminds us to create something sweet out of […] Read more
Love for PBS + An India Blooper Reel
August 14, 2025
This’ll be brief: While in the midst of some taxing health goings-on, I’ve only been able to put together a mini-post (a proper post coming soon), so I leave you […] Read more
May 13, 2025
Squishy mud, slippery clay. Luscious moss, cat-faced trees. Steep ridges, fierce granite. Warm sunshine, pouring rain. Trash bag-encased Ebay violin, tent practice time. Sopping rain gear, warm caves. Heavy packs, […] Read more
February 27, 2025
The peacocks start calling around 6am. It’s nearly that time of year, when they summon all the eligible peahens in the land to witness the absurd beauty of their iconic […] Read more
Chopping Garlic & The Curse of Idealism
November 30, 2024
Gently rock the bulb against the cutting board. Pull a clove through the perfectly purple-and-white skin. Give it a good whack with the flat of a knife. Peel back the […] Read more
June 30, 2024
It looked just as it did in my 4th grade social studies textbook – only this time in technicolor. That iconic double staircase that gives way to the grand entrance […] Read more
February 29, 2024
The lights were brought to zero for the first of my six performances at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. It was more staggering than I imagined – it was pitch […] Read more
October 14, 2023
The splendor is entirely alluring, the scenery seemingly impossible. Each time I arrive in these places, cresting over a hill – whether on a mountain hike, training run, or evening […] Read more
April 1, 2023
Those beautiful, legendary creatures with a singular, spiraling horn atop their heads we read about in Bruce Coville and Peter Beagle novels – or the extraordinary people, places, and things […] Read more
Violin, Meet Gayageum & Mozart in Tuscany
October 16, 2022
They ring four and seven minutes late, respectively – almost like clockwork – every hour, on the hour. No one seems to mind. I always wondered if they just got […] Read more
When 7 months feels like 7 weeks…
December 18, 2021
Surrounded once more by boxes and suitcases in glorified dorm room, I’m saying goodbye to my last few days here in Korea. Though I’ve felt a sense of time flying […] Read more
September 26, 2021
It can be nerve-racking, stepping back on stage in front of live audiences again after a hiatus that one hasn’t experienced since age 3. After nearly a year-and-a-half of making […] Read more
“May I ask what you look like?”
July 20, 2021
It was such a simple question. And it opened a whole world of thought and contemplation for me. The woman that I take weekly hikes with is blind, and as […] Read more
June 6, 2021
2.5 months in the ROK has flown by. I wish there was a way to pause time. I met the gayageum last month and I’m entirely smitten. Though the original centerpiece of […] Read more
Korean Quarantine Chronicles + Seoul Life
April 20, 2021
Well, to put it bluntly, it was rough. Apparently I am not built for 14 straight days in a 15×15 room with awful food and zero access to the outdoors. From the cheez-whiz […] Read more
Album #2, Glaude’s “Begin Again” & Moving to the Motherland
February 25, 2021
Album #2 is in the can: an exploration into the world of improvisation through two different lenses – Mozart and Beethoven sonatas (tuned down to 435 on gut strings with […] Read more
A Virtual Premiere, My Fave Kimchee Recipe, & Happy 2021
December 31, 2020
It’s been a minute. I can hardly believe a whole semester has passed since I last posted here – time seems to stand still yet fly by all at once […] Read more
August 8, 2020
Leon Last Sunday the world bid farewell to a musical giant – one who transformed what was possible on the piano and created a legacy as an artist, teacher, and […] Read more
Making Masks + Musical Hugs from MN
April 4, 2020
As this moment in time brings our country and our globe to its knees, all of us are adjusting to a new, hopefully temporary, normal. For so many of us, […] Read more
A Brahms Cycle, Ne(x)tworks Reunion, Canadian Knights, & Bangkok Residency
January 10, 2020
2020’s arrival has come and gone, and it feels like the last couple of months have flown by with such speed that they melted together in some sort of Dali-esque […] Read more
Festival Hopping, Wedding Bells & Bucknell Happiness
October 18, 2019
The soggy leaves and muted raindrops on my backyard deck here in the quiet upstate New York countryside are providing a peaceful, perhaps melancholic backdrop for the writing of this overdue post. It’s […] Read more
Sandpoint Nostalgia, Summer Knights & Adieu, AQ…
July 31, 2019
Amidst this sweltering summer, it is with a heavy heart that I share the bittersweet news that I will be stepping down from the Aizuri Quartet. It has been three […] Read more
Chyunlellabrations, Cornell Commencement, & Tuscan Trails
June 11, 2019
When the warm waves of spring and summer finally rolled in, the whole Kim clan had convened in beautiful Princeton to celebrate our dear Hae-An Chyun and Steve Colella’s nuptials. […] Read more
Songs & Dances, Stunning Students and Farewell, Takuzosan!
May 10, 2019
Taking a moment to breathe out on the gorgeous water at the Deleware Water Gap, I looked back on the last month, realizing how deeply complex life can be – […] Read more
The Knights in Europe, GRAMMY® Time & Hello Spring!
March 31, 2019
Coming to you post-concert at Bucknell University, a short-and-sweet entry here to share some of the beautiful moments I’ve had the chance to be a part of over the last […] Read more
When Truth Prevails, Mountain Music & a Grammy Nom
February 7, 2019
It’s a relatively quiet morning at the Schiphol Airport – an airport that I have a strange fondness for, it having been where I spent an unexpected but wonderfully adventurous […] Read more
September 30, 2018
It has now been many months since I’ve had the wherewithal to make a new post to share with all of you – my apologies. The last 10 months have been […] Read more
Farewell Dear Mr. Mann! Blizzards, Bartok & The Metal Ear
February 1, 2018
There is little I can write here that could possibly do justice to paying tribute to Robert Mann, my teacher, mentor and musical guru during my six years at Juilliard. […] Read more
Farewell, Dear Ed & Happy Thanksgiving from Tokyo
November 23, 2017
The Twin Cities bid farewell to a gentle giant on October 22, 2017. Ed Volker, the owner of our beloved hometown music shop, House of Note, passed peacefully in his […] Read more
August Festivals, Philly Premieres, and Recitals Under the Tuscan Sun
September 28, 2017
On this bizarrely warm day here at Cornell (the temperature on campus hit 90 degrees this afternoon!) I take a moment to reflect back on the last two months of […] Read more
YB Music Haul, CU Tenure, CMC Workshop and Everything In-Between!
July 26, 2017
I must say it was rather anti-climactic: the tenure submission portfolio was completed. After years of mental and professional preparation and months of writing, editing, vetting and re-writing, my 517-page […] Read more
Lavender in Provence, Gold in Osaka, + “Red, White & Biden” Ice Cream
May 31, 2017
On a cool and rainy night here in New York City I write this blog post to share with all the goings-on of my musical world over the last two […] Read more
April 4, 2017
Last Tuesday we bid farewell to a musical giant. Maestro Stanislaw “Bear” Skrowaczewski was a man, whom for me, represented everything that is sacred, dutiful, and thoughtful about the art […] Read more
Love from Scrag Mountain Music
January 30, 2017
What a treat it has been to be in the snow-covered mountains of Vermont performing with the quartet at Scrag Mountain Music. Our hosts and co-artistic directors, Evan Premo and […] Read more
November 20, 2016
It has now been more than a week since our nation awoke to the 2016 presidential election results. As a woman, an artist, an educator, the daughter of an immigrant, […] Read more
September 23, 2016
Although the 87-degree heat yesterday didn’t quite feel like the first day of autumn, I enjoyed a long walk home in the warm sun, taking in the last few moments of summer. […] Read more
Summer 2016 + “Le storie di vita nel legno”
August 22, 2016
(English) As I say goodbye to my final summer festival of 2016, I wanted to write a post to look back upon the last two months and all that I […] Read more
May 18, 2016
(English) As I missed writing a post last month, forgive me for packing two months of “happening now” into one entry! It’s been a beautifully rich, artistically fulfilling, inspiringly humbling, […] Read more
International Women’s Day – La Festa delle Donne
March 12, 2016
As March each year brings Women’s History Month in the United States, I didn’t know how special a day March 8th — International Women’s Day — is here in Italy… […] Read more
March 11, 2016
I spent a good bit of February back in the States for a Knights tour with the fabulous Gil Shaham. From an epic day at La Guardia (a 7-hour wait […] Read more
March 10, 2016
January in Italy brought so many beautiful things: First, a trip to Milan for meetings and rehearsals with colleagues, the premiere of a new multi-media work by Daniele Ghisi, and […] Read more
January 16, 2016
I arrived here just outside of Cremona one week ago today to begin a fabulous new chapter of life in Italy. As I packed things up in Ithaca to prepare […] Read more
December 16, 2015
Earlier this week, I returned, as I have now for several years, to serve as a volunteer in Mr. Scott Krijnen’s extraordinary string orchestra classroom at Castillero Middle School in […] Read more
Flash Mob, Fiddle Camp, Fall Foliage, and the Final Cut
November 17, 2015
Looking back at the last month, although my “plate overfloweth” in so many ways, there were such unforgettable and momentous events that it seemed to fly by, like watching a […] Read more
October 15, 2015
I am just now beginning to come down from the surreality that was this past Sunday — it was, without a doubt, the most meaningful and magical day of my […] Read more
Stravinsky, Stockhausen, State College
October 1, 2015
Just began a 3-part tour of Stravinsky’s “L’histoire du soldat” and a fabulous septet (written for the same instrumentation) by Stockhausen, arranged by Caroline Shaw. After some lecture/demonstrations at several […] Read more
Rite of Spring Dance Party, Glow Sticks and All…
September 28, 2015
I experienced one of the craziest and memorable nights last weekend — a benefit for Musicambia (a non-profit that brings music to U.S. prisons) — that was also a club-style […] Read more
September 14, 2015
As I opened my office door at Cornell for the first time this year to welcome the Class of 2019 (yes, the incoming college freshman class was born in 1998…yowza), […] Read more