Grace Shim

Grace Shim’s musical career has included teaching both violin and viola as well as performing. She has appeared in the principal music capitals of the Americas, Asia, and Eastern Europe. Invited by the University of the Philippines to perform at Abelardo Hall, Ms. Shim was praised for her “impressive interpretation of Beethoven’s Sonata ‘Kreutzer’” in which she “sparkled, glowed, shone, and impressed the audience while also winning their hearts” (Manila Bulletin). At the Inaugural Concert of the Garam Arts Hall in Busan, Korea, her performance with the Busan Sinfonietta was critically acclaimed as “immaculate and splendid” (International Times), a “fantastic performance” (MBC Television) in which “The artist vividly brought out the musical colors and images that the composer embedded into the notes such as cheerfulness, purity, beauty, freshness and brightness, romantic duet, melancholy, sorrow, and grief” (Busan Daily News). She has also appeared as the featured soloist for the season opening Gala Concert of the Seoul Royal Symphony Orchestra. Other notable venues in which she has appeared include the Rachmaninoff Hall in Moscow, Russia; the Instituto de Providencia and Centro Cultural Montecarmelo in Santiago, Chile; the Seoul Fine Arts Center in Seoul, Suwon Citizen’s Hall, Gyungju, and Ulsan in Korea; and the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall; as well as at the Killington Music Festival (Vermont) and the Aspen Music Festival (Colorado), amongst many others. For many years, she also performed annually on tour in South America in various venues in cities including Santiago, Valparaiso, Antofagasta, Osorno, and Temuko, where her concerts were broadcasted live via radio.

Ms. Shim has also distinguished herself as an educator. A member of the Manhattan School of Music Precollege faculty since 2000, she also serves as a professor at Centenary University. She was formerly a professor at Suwon University as well as faculty at the Yewon School, one of the most prestigious music schools in South Korea. Ms. Shim’s students have gathered prizes and accolades in numerous competitions, including first prize at the Kingsville International Competition, first prize at the Aspen Music Festival Competition, the Corpus Christi International Competition, first prize at the William Paterson University Competition, and the Sphinx Music Competition. They have appeared as soloists with the Aspen Festival Orchestra, William Paterson University Orchestra, and New Jersey Philharmonic Orchestra, amongst others.

Her students have gone on to compete at renowned international competitions around the world such as the Queen Elizabeth International Competition (Belgium); Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition (Hannover); Michael Hill International Violin Competition (New Zealand); the Andrea Postacchini International Violin Competition (Italy) winning the second prize; Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition (U.K.) winning the Yuri Bashmet President of Jury Prize​; ​Schoenfeld International String Competition (China); Tibor Varga International Violin Competition (Switzerland); and the Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition (China). They also matriculated at top music schools in the U.S. and abroad, including Manhattan School of Music and the Juilliard School, where one received a full merit scholarship recently.

She received her Master of Music degree from Manhattan School of Music, where she was awarded a full merit scholarship, having earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the Mannes College of Music. She has also studied at the Moscow Conservatory with Gregory Feigin, who taught in the tradition of his teacher, legendary violinist David Oistrakh. Her teachers also included Daniel Avshalomov, Margaret Pardee, Almita Vamos, and Roland Vamos.

Manhattan School of Music Precollege faculty since 2000.