Kyma Quartet: Joshua Kim, violin; Joel Kim, violin; Jayden Kim, viola; Edelweiss Pak, cello

Kyma Quartet

Joshua Kim (16) began playing the violin at the age of six. He will be a junior at Diamond Bar High School during the 2023-2024 school year. Joshua has received awards for his playing, including recognition from CalASTA, MTAC VOCE, the Satori Music Festival, and the SoCalPhil Concerto Competition. He has also received awards for chamber music, from the Amici and JCM competitions.

Joshua is also an active participant in several orchestras, including the CASMEC All State, SCSBOA All Southern, as well as the Claremont Young Musicians Orchestra. He is also a frequent performer in Diamond Bar High School's Performing Arts Academy chamber music program, as well as the concertmaster for its Symphony and Chamber Orchestras. He is currently studying with acclaimed violin teacher Linda Rose.

In addition to his musical pursuits, Joshua is an enthusiastic volunteer who particularly enjoys befriending and spending time with youths with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), and performing for senior citizens.

Joel Kim is a 15 years old violinist and is attending Diamond Bar High School as a freshman. He received 1st place for VOCE Southern Region in 2022, and was a finalist for the Los Angeles area of the 2023 CalASTA competition. Joel also takes part in chamber music, receiving 2nd place in the JCM competition for the 2023 year, and was 3rd place in the state finals for ensemble playing in the VOCE competition, and was given the Richard Anshutz scholarship from the Chamber Music Institute Southern California in 2022. He has also performed with the Claremont Young Musicians Orchestra, the Summer Chamber Music Institute, the SCSBOA, and All State CODA honor orchestras. He also recently performed with the Pasadena Summer Chamber orchestra and participated in the Amici International Music Festival for 2023.

Joel likes to read and watch movies during his free time. He also enjoys running in cross country and exercising. He is currently studying the violin under Linda Rose.

Jayden Kim is currently a freshman at the Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) and studies viola at the Colburn School under Gina Coletti. He has participated in various orchestras, including the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra (PSYO), the California All-State Orchestra (principal violist in 2023; assistant-principal in 2022), and the IUSD Middle School Honor Orchestra. Additionally, Jayden won first prize at the ASTA Los Angeles Division, the Charleston International Music Competition, and the Southwestern Youth Music Festival (SYMF) Competition.

Edelweiss Pak is a senior at Foothill High School. She is a five-year dedicated member and the principal celliest of the Orange County Youth Symphony (OCYS) and has been selected as their principal cellist for the last three consecutive years. She currently studies with Ms. Coco Yanan Hu, and had masterclasses with Professor Amit Peled and Hans Jørgen Jensen. She received awards in multiple solo competetions throughout the years. Most recently, she won the 1st prize and the Noumi Fischer Grand Prize for the 2023 Cal ASTA Bowed String LA Regional final competetion. As a winner, she has been invited to perform with the Olympia Philharmonic in June 2024 at the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse. She also won the OCYS concerto competetion in 2021 and performed as a soloist at the Rene and Henry Segerstrom Hall. She also won the OCYS concerto competetion this year (2023) and has been invited as a winner to perform at their Finale Concert at the Henry and Rene Segerstrom hall in May 2024. Furthermore, she also received awards in multiple international solo competetions and recently won the 1st prize from Golden Music Award International competetion in NY division. She has actively participated this summer in multiple chamber groups and their ensemble received award for the Amici international ensemble competetion and also her cello ensemble from Coco Hu cello studio received award for Great Composer International ensemble competetion. She also continues to volunteer as a member of her privately formed String Quartet ensrmble in multiple benefit and charity concerts. Lastly, other than music, she is enthusiastic about learning Statistics and Painting.