Emerging Artist Spotlight | Esme Arias-Kim

As Cedille approaches the semifinal and final rounds of its Emerging Artist Competition on May 17 and 18, 2025, we’re taking this opportunity to introduce you to the very talented artists participating in this year’s event!

Esme Arias-Kim, 19, made her solo orchestral debut at age ten with the Oistrakh Symphony and has continued to solo with orchestras including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, and Civic Orchestra of Chicago. She has performed solo recitals at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall and 92Y in New York, the Peninsula Music Festival in Door County WI, the Chicago Cultural Center, and the Musikferien at Starnberger See in Germany. Her radio performances include recitals on WFMT’s Introductions and NPR’s From the Top, plus a televised appearance on KGW 8, Portland, Oregon.

Esme is the winner of the 2023 Crain-Maling Foundation Chicago Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition. Most recently, she received the Silver Medal at the 2023 Stulberg International String Competition and Gold Medal at the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s 29th Annual Young Artist Competition. Additional first place awards include the Sphinx Competition, Southern California Philharmonic, Walgreens National, and International Young Artist, among many others.

Esme is currently a Kohl Scholar at the Colburn Conservatory. She plays on a Vuillaume violin on loan from the Geeting Family.

Learn more about Esme through the video interview and transcription below.

When did you fall in love with classical music?

I started playing the violin just before I turned three. Music is a huge part of how I grew up. Both my parents are professional violinists, and my older sister also plays the violin. It was in the cards for me that music would play an important role in my life.

What made you want to become a professional musician?

When I listen to a recording that a musician has put out, to me it’s kind of like you’re getting a snapshot into their point of view and their experience. I like to compare it to an author that has just published a memoir.

What is your dream album repertoire?

When I first began thinking about the concept for this album I had to define what a recording would actually mane to me personally. I think a lot of times musicians have this idea that a recording is like a final, end-all presentation of your interpretation of the music or even your identity. And, to me, this feels a little rigid because so much about life is constantly changing. And so, with this album, I really wanted to challenge this idea. And so when I was thinking about what repertoire to include on this album I thought what better way to think about this idea of self-identity and how it’s constantly evolving, than to take works like Bach Chaconne, Faust Fantasy Chausson Poème, these are some of my favorite kind of timeless masterworks for the violin. And it’s been internalized by generations of musicians and people who have listened to it. And just really defining what these pieces mean to me and how they fit in the context of the world that I exist in today.

What would releasing an album on Cedille mean to you?

My hope would just be to inspire somebody else in their own process of forming self-identity. I think if I were to do this I would feel very gratified by that.