Helen Kim, Meeka Quan DiLorenzo, and Henry Kramer

Helen Kim, Clowes Family Associate Concertmaster
Seattle Symphony Orchestra

Helen Kim, praised by the San Francisco Chronicle as “astoundingly gifted”, was named Associate Concertmaster of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra in 2022, having previously served as Associate Principal Second Violin of the San Francisco Symphony.

In recent seasons, she has performed concertos under conductors Peter Oundjian, Jun Märkl, and Nicholas McGegan, amongst others, and, of special note for Seattle patrons, Kim performed the Vivaldi Four Seasons concerti with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra on the Benaroya Hall main stage to wide acclaim and three sold-out audiences, May 1-3, 2025, hailed in The Strad, the international periodical of strings: “Abounding with surprises, Kim’s playing showed a gift for making even the most familiar passage feel freshly imagined, avoiding eccentricity while underscoring Vivaldi’s innovation. . . . It was also a deeply collaborative performance, . . . echoing bird calls with fellow strings and engaging in spirited dialogue with cellist Meeka Quan DiLorenzo.”

In addition to orchestral work, Ms. Kim is a dedicated interpreter of contemporary music and has performed such works as Salvatore Sciarrino’s Sei Capricci on San Francisco Symphony’s Soundbox series as well as Pierre Boulez’s Anthèmes II and Morton Feldman’s evening-length For John Cage on the Pulitzer Arts Foundation’s contemporary music series.

Following her concerto debut at the age of 8, Ms. Kim earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California, where she was a Presidential Scholar, a master’s degree from the Yale School of Music, and has given performances at the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, BBC Proms, Suntory Hall, and Disney Hall, among other leading venues.

Ms. Kim resides in Seattle with her husband, composer Samuel Adams, a 2019 Guggenheim Fellow, and their two sons.

Meeka Quan DiLorenzo, Associate Principal Cello
Seattle Symphony Orchestra

Meeka Quan DiLorenzo, a multi-award-winning cellist who thrills audiences with playing described as “incredibly nuanced” and “exquisitely beautiful,” began her professional career as first-prize winner of the Khuner Concerto Competition at age 15 and debuted soon after, performing the Antonín Dvořák Cello Concerto with the Pacific Symphony under the direction of Carl St. Clair.

A graduate of the Young Artist Program of the Cleveland Institute of Music and subsequent recipient of the Bachelor of Music degree in cello performance, Ms. Quan DiLorenzo was awarded the highly competitive position of Associate Principal of the Utah Symphony in her inaugural professional audition and remained with that ensemble for five years before joining the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, where she is the current Associate Principal Cello.

Recent concerto highlights include the duo cello suite When We Were Trees (composer Giovanni Sollima) with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, which was praised in the international periodical of strings, The Strad: “DiLorenzo’s beautifully calibrated vibrato traded off with Abel (Selaocoe’s) relentless intensity and vivid musical gestures in Sollima’s exploration of a kaleidoscopic panoply of styles.”

Ms. Quan DiLorenzo resides in Seattle with her husband, Emmy Award-winning composer, trumpet soloist, and Grammy-nominated recording artist Tony DiLorenzo, their son Luca, and two sweet canine companions.

Ms. Kim and Ms. Quan DiLorenzo’s guest for the evening will be multi-award-winning pianist Henry Kramer, who returns after an outstanding performance with Noah Geller in January of 2023.

Henry Kramer, Piano
Université de Montréal

Praised by The Cleveland Classical Review for his “astonishingly confident technique” and The New York Times for “thrilling [and] triumphant” performances, pianist Henry Kramer is reputed as a musician of rare sensitivity who combines stylish programming with insightful and exuberant interpretations.

Mr. Kramer emerged as a winner in the National Chopin Competition in 2010, the Montréal International Competition in 2011, and the China Shanghai International Piano Competition in 2012. In 2014, he was added to the roster of Astral Artists, an organization that annually selects a handful of rising stars among strings, piano, woodwinds, and voice candidates. The following year, he earned a top prize in the Honens International Piano Competition, and in 2016 garnered international recognition with a Second Prize win in the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. Most recently, he was awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant by Lincoln Center – one of the most coveted honors bestowed on young American soloists.

A versatile performer, Kramer has soloed in concerti with the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, Belgian National Orchestra, Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony, and the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, among many others, collaborating with conductors such as Marin Alsop, Gerard Schwarz, Stéphane Denève, Jan Pascal Tortelier, and Hans Graf.

Kramer’s love for chamber music repertoire began in his early teens. A sought-after collaborator, he has appeared in recitals at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Mainly Mozart Festival, the Mostly Mozart Festival, and La Jolla Music Society’s Summerfest. His recording with violinist Jiyoon Lee on the Champs Hill label received four stars from BBC Music Magazine. Gramophone UK praised Kramer’s performance on a recording collaboration (Cedille Records) with violist Matthew Lipman for “exemplary flexible partnership.” He has also performed alongside Emmanuel Pahud, the Calidore and Pacifica Quartets, and Miriam Fried, as well as members of the Berlin Philharmonic and Orchestra of St. Luke’s.

Teaching ranks among Kramer’s greatest joys. In the fall of 2022, he became a professor at the Faculté de Musique of Université de Montréal. Previously, he served as the L. Rexford Whiddon Distinguished Chair in Piano at the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University in Columbus, Georgia.

Kramer’s teachers trace a pedagogical lineage extending back to Beethoven, Chopin, and Busoni. He is a graduate of the Juilliard School under Julian Martin and Robert McDonald, and received a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the Yale School of Music under the guidance of Boris Berman.