Violinist Michael Jinsoo Lim has been praised by Gramophone for playing with “delicious abandon” and described as “bewitching” by the Seattle Times. Since 2009, Lim has been concertmaster and solo violinist of the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra (“surely the best ballet band in America”– New York Times). Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as a “conspicuously accomplished champion of contemporary music” for his work as co-founder of the renowned Corigliano Quartet, Lim is also a member of Open End, a New York City-based ensemble specializing in new works and improvisation.
Recent highlights include the world premiere of Andrew Waggoner’s violin concerto, written for Lim, and live performances on Danish Public Radio. Upcoming performances include the Stravinsky violin concerto at City Center in New York City, as part of Pacific Northwest Ballet’s 2016 NYC tour. Other solo engagements have included concerto performances with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Modern Orchestra, Girona International Chamber Orchestra (Spain), Indiana University Philharmonic, Philharmonia Northwest, Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, University of Washington Symphony and Lafayette Symphony Orchestra, as well as a performance in Weill Recital Hall for a tribute concert for celebrated American composer John Corigliano.
With the Corigliano Quartet, Lim has enjoyed critical acclaim across the U.S. and abroad and has won numerous awards, including the Grand Prize at the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition and the ASCAP/CMA Award for Adventurous Programming. Called “musicians who seem to say, ‘Listen to this!’” by the New York Times, the Corigliano Quartet has performed in the nation’s leading music centers, including Carnegie Hall, Weill Recital Hall, and the Kennedy Center. The quartet’s Naxos label CD, featuring string quartet works by John Corigliano and Jefferson Friedman, was honored as one of The New Yorker’s Top Ten Classical Recordings of the Year.
Lim’s work as a performer has also extended to the theater. He starred in director Nick Schwartz-Hall’s Tempo of Recollection, a show about the life and work of composer Erwin Schulhoff, and served as music consultant for Seattle Repertory Theatre’s production of Opus, directed by Braden Abraham. Lim has appeared onstage with Pacific Northwest Ballet in George Balanchine’s Duo Concertante and Christopher Weeldon’s After the Rain.
Lim was born in Lafayette, Indiana and began playing the violin at the age of four, studying with his mother, Sun Boo Lim. He studied with Vartan Manoogian before attending Indiana University, where he was a pupil of the legendary violinist and teacher Josef Gingold. Lim received Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Indiana University and was appointed to a faculty position at the school as a Visiting Lecturer. He later studied chamber music at the Juilliard School and taught there as an assistant to the Juilliard String Quartet. He currently serves on the faculty of Cornish College of the Arts.
Lim has recorded for Naxos, DreamWorks, Albany, Bridge, CRI, Bayer Records, RIAX and New Focus, and appears on numerous television and film soundtracks, including the Oscar- winning score to Brokeback Mountain. He has performed live on WFMT-Chicago’s Live From Studio Oneand has been heard on NPR programs such as Performance Today and All Things Considered. Lim has made radio and television appearances in the U.S., Denmark, Spain, Costa Rica, and Korea. In addition to his work as a performer, Lim has also served as a recording producer, most notably for three critically acclaimed CDs by violist Melia Watras: Viola Solo, Prestidigitation and Short Stories.