Biography
A native of Seoul, Korea, cellist Hee-Young Lim joined the Astral Artists roster as a winner of its 2009 National Auditions. Praised by The Washington Post for her “exceptional sense of lyricism,” Ms. Lim made her Kennedy Center recital debut at the Terrace Theater in 2007, at age 19. As the First Prize winner of the 2009 Washington International Competition for Strings, she gives a recital at Washington, D.C.’s Phillips Collection and will appear as soloist with the Friday Morning Music Club Orchestra. Also the recent winner of Chicago’s Barnett Competition, where she also received the Gene Borowitz Bach Award, she captured the Grand Prize at Italy’s XVII IBLA World Competition, where she was also given a Special Mention Award and recognized as a Most Distinguished Musician. She was also the winner of the 2008 Sorantin International String Competition, and received Second Prize at the 2008 Kingsville International String Competition.
An avid chamber musician and recitalist, Ms. Lim has appeared in renowned concert venues in Korea, the U.S., and Europe. She was a featured performer at a special concert marking the anniversary of Korea-China diplomatic relations, and has given solo recitals on Canada’s Jeunesse Musicales’ Debut Series, the Kumho Prodigy recital series, and for the Korean National University of Arts (KNUA). The Adam International Cello Festival in Christchurch, New Zealand featured her in the world-première performance of a work for cello solo by Robin Toan. She also performed a piano trio program in Boston’s Jordan Hall, and recently gave a recital in Seoul’s Kumho Art Hall, as a Kumho Artist.
Upcoming engagements for Ms. Lim include the Elgar Cello Concerto with the Houston Symphony, the Dvorák Cello Concerto at the Endless Mountain Festival, and Brahms Double Concerto with the Lancaster Symphony. She also gives recitals in Milan as well as a recital tour under IBLA’s auspices, is presented in recital on Chicago’s Dame Myra Hess series, and makes her recital debut in Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall.
Ms. Lim has participated in festivals at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, Switzerland’s Verbier Festival Academy, the Casals Festival in France, Canada’s Orford Arts Centre, the Apeldoorn Festival in Holland, Encore School for Strings, and the Kronberg Academy. She has worked with such distinguished artists as Julian Rachlin, Gabor Takacs-Nagy, Pascal Devoyon, Frans Helmerson, Steven Isserlis, David Garingas, Lluis Claret, Miklos Perenyi, Phillippe Muller, Aldo Parisot, Richard Aaron, and Laurence Lesser.
Hee-Young Lim earned a Bachelor’s degree in 2007 from the Korean National University of Arts, where she was the youngest student ever to be accepted. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree at the New England Conservatory, where she studies with Laurence Lesser.
