Children’s Concert - The Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saëns

Eunice Kim is a highly sought-after collaborative pianist, celebrated for her profound artistry and passion for chamber music. She has shared the stage with many of today’s foremost musicians, including Mihaela Martin, Robert McDuffie, former New York Philharmonic concertmaster Glenn Dicterow, Montreal Symphony concertmaster Andrew Wan, Grammy Award-winning violinist Mark O'Connor, and Düsseldorf Symphoniker concertmaster Dragos Manza.

A particularly notable collaboration is her piano and violin duo with Milwaukee Symphony concertmaster Jinwoo Lee. Their extraordinary musical chemistry was recognized with the prestigious Best Duo Prize in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Eunice’s performances have captivated audiences around the world, gracing major venues such as Alice Tully Hall, David Geffen Hall, Carnegie Hall, Frankfurt Alte Oper, Kölner Philharmonie, Essener Philharmonie, and the Dortmund Konzerthaus. Her work has been featured on prominent radio platforms including WETA, WQXR, Aspen Public Radio, and Swiss National Radio.

Equally committed to music education and mentorship, Eunice is a frequent collaborator at leading summer festivals including the Aspen Music Festival, Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, and the Great Mountain International Music Festival in Korea. She currently serves on the faculty of Morningside Music Bridge and has also performed at prestigious programs such as the International Summer Academy at the Mozarteum.

With a career spanning both Europe and North America, Eunice previously served on the faculty of the Robert Schumann Musikhochschule in Düsseldorf, Germany. She now resides in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with her husband and two sons, and recently completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Collaborative Piano at the University of Maryland.

 

Violinist Jinwoo Lee, a native of South Korea, began playing the violin at the age of four. He is an international concert violinist with recitals and concerts with orchestras in USA, Korea, Germany, Switzerland, Slovenia, France, Italy, Netherlands, Austria, to name a few.

He is a frequent prize winner of international competitions, including 1st prize at the Sorantin Competition San Angelo, Texas (2007), 2nd & special prizes at the 20th International Rodolfo Lipizer Violin Competition in Gorizia, Italy(2001), special prize at the International Georg Kulenkampff Violin Competition in Cologne, Germany(1999), 2nd prize(1st prize not awarded), Audience & Bach prizes at the 33rd International Tibor Varga Violin Competition in Sion, Switzerland(1999), 1st & special prizes at the 2nd International Louis Spohr Violin Competition for young violinists in Weimar, Germany(1998), 1st prize at the National German Competition 'Jugend Musiziert' Categories solo violin & chamber music(1998), Special prize at the 7th International Yfrah Neaman Competition in Mainz, Germany(1997). He was the winner of the MSM school concerto competition(2008) and the Waldo Mayo Memorial Violin Competition(2009). Most recently, he and his duo partner Eunice Kim were awarded the prize for Best Duo at the 20th International Violin & Piano Masterclasses of the Music Academy of Lausanne, Switzerland(2010).

Mr. Lee graduated from the Humboldt Grammar School in Cologne, Germany in 2001. He studied with Stephen Clapp and Donald Weilerstein at the Juilliard School where he received his Bachelor’s degree in 2006. Two years later Mr. Lee received his Master’s Degree from the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Robert and Nicholas Mann. He continued his studies with them at the Manhattan School of Music where he received his Artist Diploma in 2009 and Doctorate Degree in 2016. His former teachers include Michael Davis, Maria Giesy, Christiane Hutcap, Hyo Kang, Jongsuk Li, Igor Ozim, Jaekwang Song and Viktor Tretjakov. He has had masterclasses with Pierre Amoyal, Bruno Canino, Pamela Frank, Miriam Fried, Leonidas Kavakos, Masao Kawasaki, Herman Krebbers, Cho-Liang Lin, Martin Lovett, Yfrah Neaman and Sylvia Rosenberg.

He was the first concertmaster of the Neue Philharmonie Westfalen from 2014 to 2024 and a violin faculty at the Robert Schumann Musikhochschule in Düsseldorf from 2018 until 2022. In 2023, he was appointed first concertmaster of the Milwaukee Symphony.

 

Cellist Peter J. Thomas has been a member of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra since 2008 and has performed around the world as a multi-genre soloist, clinician, educator, and chamber musician. Peter also performs with the 414 Quartet, Milwaukee Musaik, Present Music, Carthage Trio, Access Contemporary Music, Lakes Area Music Festival, and in collaboration with multiple bands. He has recently been featured as a solo recitalist and chamber musician in the Winterlude and Milwaukee Chamber Music Festival concert series curated by pianist/conductor, Yaniv Dinur. Peter most frequently performs/sings his own arrangements of classically infused pop and rock songs for electric cello and looping pedal/effects in bars, restaurants, breweries, clubs, churches, retirement homes, and holds monthly residencies in many of these venues. He has appeared in many of Milwaukee’s top at outdoor music festivals as a soloist and music curator.

Peter was the manager and cellist of the award-winning classical crossover indie-rock band, I’m Not A Pilot, that toured extensively across the Midwest at colleges, performing arts centers, music festivals, and in educational collaboration concerts with high school orchestras from 2009-2016. Additionally, he is also the co-founder of MusiConnect, a community-building music series that safely brought people together during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was nominated as one of Milwaukee’s best music festivals in 2021.

Mr. Thomas has presented clinics and workshops across the country through his innovative use of the electric cello and has recorded, arranged, and edited music for numerous artists including 2Cellos and The Piano Guys through Hal Leonard Music. He has composed many original scores for the This Time Tomorrow Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization that provides financial support to individuals and families fighting all forms of cancer. Peter was recognized as the Best Acoustic Musician in the Best of Milwaukee 2021 annual competition by the Shepherd Express and has been nominated as a Finalist for this award in 2023. He was also the winner of the Wisconsin Area Music Industry (WAMI)’s String Player of the Year award in 2012 and 2015 and has been nominated for the award seven times. As a songwriter, Peter’s original song “Only in Dreams” featuring vocalist Amanda Huff took home the 2019 WAMI award for Song of the Year as well as being recognized in the same category by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

As an educator, Mr. Thomas holds the position of Adjunct Cello Professor at Carthage College and also maintains a private cello studio of gifted musicians. Peter has taught on faculty at CLAZZ, a multi-genre music festival in Arcidosso, Italy (2019) and has also served on the faculty of the American Suzuki Institute, Fulton Music Academy, and the National Music Festival. Peter is the recipient of Civic Music Milwaukee’s 2018 Educator Award for Certificate of Excellence in Studio Music. His students have won competitions and full-tuition scholarships in music programs across the country. Since 2012, Mr. Thomas has been the leader of the “CSI Cello Duo,” an educational presentation for second grade classes through the MSO’s “Arts in Community Education” program. Peter has taught master classes at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, UW-Stevens Point, UW- Whitewater, Lawrence University, Gustavus Adolphus College, Eastern Michigan University, Maranatha Baptist University, Washington College, Wisconsin Conservatory of Music and at dozens of high schools across the state of Wisconsin.

Prior to joining the MSO, Mr. Thomas performed with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, Columbus Symphony Orchestra, and the New World Symphony. Peter appeared as a soloist with the New World Symphony on two separate occasions, where he performed Richard Strauss’s ‘Don Quixote’ and Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85, as the 2008 Concerto Competition winner. Originally from Stevens Point, Wisconsin, where he was born into a family of musicians, Peter began playing cello at age five at the American Suzuki Talent Education Center and received degrees at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and the Cleveland Institute of Music. His primary teachers were Lawrence Leviton, Tanya Remenikova, Joseph Johnson, and Stephen Geber.

Peter enjoys the life of being a music ambassador and strives to spread awareness of the arts in the community through his many endeavors. Peter performs on a fine English cello circa 1813 by maker Thomas Kennedy.

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