Photo by Bob Curtis
(PRINCETON, NJ) -- Canadian-born violinist and worldwide phenom Judy Kang will be playing with ‘The Judy Kang Experience’ at festivals and shows across New York and New Jersey this summer, including a performance in Princeton on Saturday, August 19, 2023. Kang will be accompanied by Dan Kassel on cello and Jake Valois on drums and guitar. The performances will include music from Lady Gaga to Metallica and feature Kang’s innovative cutting-edge style redefining expectations of a violin in concert.
In a music review in a 2010 article in The New York Times, author Sam Smith hailed, “Judy Kang, a Canadian violinist and most likely the only musician to have worked with both Pierre Boulez and Lady Gaga, was featured in Brahms’ Violin Concerto. Ms. Kang, who drew whoops from the audience before playing a single note, offered a lean, focused sound, pinpoint intonation and expressively molded phrasing. Every line seemed to mean something personal in what amounted to an amorous serenade."
Judy Kang has established herself internationally as a solo violinist and chamber musician in the classical world as well as a featured guest artist and prominent collaborator in the world of pop, indie, jazz, and hip hop. As a multi-faceted artist, Kang has set herself apart from others through her work as a singer/songwriter, producer, composer, and arranger. A rebel when it came to classical training and tradition, she continues to break constraints of boundaries by improvising, jamming, co-writing, producing, and performing with bands and artists from Alaskan prog rock band “Portugal. The Man” to such powerhouses as Lady Gaga.
Born and raised in Canada, her career in violin began at the age of four, winning competitions and performing publicly in recitals. Kang’s extraordinary gift was recognized immediately when she learned and memorized a piece at her first lesson. By age six, she made her solo orchestral debut, and at age ten, she burst onto the classical music scene in eight nationally acclaimed televised performances as a soloist with the National Arts Center Orchestra. The Ottawa Citizen proclaimed, "If there was a star tonight, it was Judy Kang. Blessed with a gift for the violin that is exceptional, she moves about the instrument at her disposal with an ease that is awe-inspiring."
A year later and with a fractured wrist, Kang auditioned and subsequently accepted a full scholarship to attend the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music. At 17, she graduated with a bachelor’s in music as the youngest graduate in Curtisʼ history. She went on to capture the grand prize as well as the "Best Interpretation” Award at the CBC Competition for Young Performers, Canada’s most esteemed competition. At age 19, she was granted the Lily Foldes Scholarship from the Juilliard School where she earned her Master’s degree with high honors and she later was the first recipient of the Artist Diploma from the Manhattan School of Music on a full scholarship.
“Kang is blessed with a gift for the violin that is exceptional. She moves about the instrument at her disposal with an ease that is awe-inspiring, -Jacob Siskind, Ottawa Citizen.
Don’t miss an opportunity to see Judy Kang live in concert while she is in the New York area.
Upcoming Tour Dates:
June 15 – NYC Concert - Open to the Public
July 14 - Solo and Feature at Summer Music Festival, Woodstock, NY
July 20 - NYC Concert - Open to the Public
August 19 - Music Festival, Princeton NJ, 5:00pm, Nassau Park Pavilion, Open to the Public
September 6 - Times Square Summer Concert Series, 43rd and Broadway, 5:00pm, Open to the Public
October – NYC
Updated concert dates and additional details regarding venues and tickets can be found at www.judykang.com. In addition to the public performances, Kang has several private performances scheduled in the region.
