Yumi Hwang Williams

Concertmaster

Yumi Hwang-Williams made her debut at the age of fifteen as a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, six years after having emigrated from South Korea. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, her exceptional musicianship has earned her a reputation as an artist who, in addition to her thoughtful and stylish interpretations of the classics, is known for her commitment to exploring and performing the works of contemporary composers. Featured in a Strings magazine cover article in 2008, she was described as a ‘Modern Prometheus’ who has ‘emerged as a fiery champion of contemporary classical music’. Her interpretations of works by Aaron Jay Kernis, Michael Daugherty and Christopher Rouse have earned unreserved approval from the composers as well as critical acclaim. She has performed Korean composer Isang Yun’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with the Basel Symphony Orchestra, Switzerland under the baton of Dennis Russell Davies who immediately invited her to play the concerto again with the Bruckner Orchester, in Linz, Austria in October 2009. She has also been the soloist in Thomas Adès’ violin concerto, Concentric Paths, at the Cabrillo Festival in Santa Cruz with Marin Alsop on the podium.

Ms. Hwang-Williams has performed with the symphony orchestras of Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Santa Rosa  with conductors Paavo Jarvi, Lawrence Leighton Smith and Jeffrey Kahane, and has made numerous solo appearances with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra (CSO) under the batons of Marin Alsop, Peter Oundjian, Douglas Boyd, Hans Graf and Christian Arming to name a few. In recent seasons she was soloist in Vivaldi’s Four Seasons with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, in the Sibelius violin concerto with the Fort Collins Symphony Orchestra and in the Bernstein Serenade with the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra.

Yumi is an avid chamber musician and recitalist, having collaborated with such artists such as Gary Graffman, Ida Kavafian, Christopher O'Riley, John Kimura Parker, Robert Koenig, Dror Biran, and with Dennis Russell Davies, performing Lou Harrison’s Grand Duo for violin and piano. She was a founding member of the piano trio Tre Voce which made its Weil Hall debut in 2006.

Yumi Hwang-Williams has served as Concertmaster of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra since 2000. She is also Concertmaster of the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, has performed as Guest Concertmaster for the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Ottawa, at the invitation of Music Director Pinchas Zukerman, and has been Guest First Violinist with the Philadelphia Orchestra. She is a faculty member of the Lamont School of Music, University of Denver.