Heejae (Kayla) Kim is a 9th grader who lives in Irvine, CA, and attends the Orange County School of the Arts. She studies viola under the tutelage of Mrs. Gina Coletti at the Colburn School.

She first began playing violin at the age of six. Since then, she has actively participated in various solo and chamber competitions. These include winning first prizes at SYMF, Satori Summer Music Festival, MTAC scholarship competition, American Protege and winning at VOCE regionals and states. In the Satori grand prize round, she won the Judges Distinction award. Upon winning first place in the American Protege competition at the age of 10, she received the opportunity to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York.

Kayla started participating in orchestras at age 8 and was the youngest first violinist in Prelude Strings and Prelude Chamber orchestras. She was in the All State Orchestra in the first violin section for 2 years in a row. Last summer, she went on a JCM Honors Tour to Germany as an Honors group member. This summer, she attended the Montecito Summer Camp on a scholarship. She was the concertmistress for

PSSS and OCSA, and is currently in OCSA’s Symphony orchestra and PSYO.

Minjae (Jaden) Kim, age 17, is an eleventh grader at the Orange County School of the Arts. He currently studies with Yuki Mori and Min Jung Park.

Jaden performed at Carnegie Hall at age 10 and has received numerous prizes since then at international competitions such as First Prize at the Cecilia International Music Competition and the Espoir Prize at the Osaka International Music Competition in Japan. Jaden has also participated in prestigious music programs, including NYO2 where he was selected as a principal violinist, and NYO-USA as an assistant principal violinist, where he toured cities across North America with guest soloists Gil Shaham and Hilary Hahn. This is his third consecutive year as a part of the NYO program. He was also the only violinist from California to be selected for the All Nationals Symphony Orchestra in 2022.

Jaden was also selected as a finalist for NPR’s From the Top radio show and is a JCM Debut Artist. Jaden has performed in masterclasses with renowned artists, including Shlomo Mintz, Juliana Athayde, Amy Oshiro Morales, David Chan, and Ying Fu. In his free time, Jaden enjoys reading and ice skating.