Violist James Kang is a graduate of The Juilliard School as a proud recipient of a Kovner Fellowship, and is currently pursuing his DMA studies at Northwestern University as the Teaching Assistant of Prof. Helen Callus. He has served as Principal Violist for the Juilliard and Symphony in C orchestras, Assistant Principal for the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra and has performed with the Chicago Philharmonic, Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, Princeton Symphony, and Fulcrum Point New Music Project. In March 2024, he will be performing as a member of the NYO-USA All Stars concert at Carnegie Hall. As a soloist, James won top prizes at the American Viola Society Solo Competition, Atlanta Federation of Musicians Scholarship, and the ASTA National Solo Competition. In the Spring of 2023, he performed Hindemith’s Der Schwanendreher Viola Concerto with the University of Delaware Symphony Orchestra. He has collaborated with musicians such as Itzhak Perlman, Shai Wosner, Joseph Kalichstein, and Donald Weilerstein. James is a founding member of the Abeo Quartet, which was formed while he was at Juilliard and has performed at Alice Tully Hall, The Kennedy Center, Norway’s Vertavo Festival, on WQXR’s Midday Masterpieces, and CMS of Lincoln Center’s masterclass series. Abeo was the first Graduate String Quartet Fellows at the University of Delaware under the tutelage of the Calidore String Quartet, and is currently the Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence at Caramoor for the 2023-24 season. Abeo won 1st prize in the Yellow Springs