CHEK Upside: Victoria violinist kick starts online classical music concert series

File Photo
Chloe Kim is channelling her creative juices into an 11-week concert series called "Music for the Pause," amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

A talented young baroque violinist is helping local classical musicians affected by the pandemic. Chloe Kim is channelling her creative juices into an 11-week concert series called “Music for the Pause.”

Kim graduated from New York’s prestigious Juilliard School in April, right as COVID-19 gripped the state. The UVic alum was left scrambling to figure out a post-secondary plan and ventured back to Vancouver Island to stay with family.

She adds that it has been an adjustment from life in the Big Apple.

“I’m not someone who likes being anything other than incredibly busy…I didn’t think in all honesty that I was going to make it through the summer if we weren’t involved in some way playing music together again,” says Kim.

So she’s assembling an eclectic mix of performers from across Vancouver Island and the Pacific Northwest for her online classical music extravaganza.

“I think with the series and all the work that’s going on behind the scenes it’s made me feel like I have a very good purpose again!”

With her European tour cancelled, Music for the Pause will provide an outlet for her talent and bring all the musicians involved back to their respective routes

“It’s become really about what attracted us to it in the first place, which was really the pleasure and the joy that we get out of it from just playing together in a room,” says the violinist.

The striped down sets all filmed in high definition will provide an atmosphere unseen in most online musical performances. It also reaffirms the connection between the performer and their audience.

“Knowing that the other person on the other side is experiencing the exact same thing, that’s a really special thing and something that I think will help us feel connected in this very difficult time,” says Chloe.

To watch or donate, head over to the Music at the Christ Church Cathedral Facebook page. The first concert is tonight at 7:30.

Cole SorensonCole Sorenson

Recent Stories

Send us your news tips and videos!