Jennifer Koh

Jennifer Koh (born 1976) is an American violinist, born to Korean parents in Glen Ellyn, Illinois.

Life and career
Koh earned a B.A. in English Literature from Oberlin College, as well as a Performance Diploma from the attached Oberlin Conservatory. She is also a graduate of the Curtis Institute and was the top medalist in the 1994 Tchaikovsky Competition. That year she also won a scholarship from the Concert Artists Guild. She received an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 1995.

Koh has performed extensively with such orchestras as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Saint Louis Symphony, and Cleveland Orchestra and is an advocate of music education for children.

She is lauded for her programs of Bach. She performed and recorded a series "Bach and Beyond" which has received high critical praise. She frequently premieres and records contemporary music of composers like Kaija Saariaho, John Zorn, and Esa-Pekka Salonen.

In 2012, Koh was a featured performer in the revival of the Philip Glass/Robert Wilson opera Einstein on the Beach, portraying the role of Einstein. Koh is a faculty member at the Mannes School of Music.

One of Koh's most memorable projects, Alone Together, granted her a new level of visibility during the COVID-19 pandemic. Created in response to the global crisis, this project brought attention to the financial hardship experienced by so many in the arts community. The New York Times described Alone Together as "a marvel for a time of crisis" and "more inclusive than anything in mainstream classical music."

In February 2022, the National Symphony Orchestra commissioned Missy Mazzoli's Violin Concerto (Procession), performed by Koh at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Concert Hall.

In April 2022, Jennifer Koh collaborated with American operatic bass-baritone Davóne Tines to curate Everything Rises, a multimedia production featuring music, projections and actual interview recordings telling the story their individual family histories. Koh and Tines saw in each other an ally struggling with the same issue of being an artist of color in a culture dominated by whiteness. This project was developed over multiple years by an all-BIPOC creative team and received its world premiere at UC Santa Barbara Arts and Lectures. Koh's mother Gertrude Soonja Lee shared stories of the Korean War and immigration to the U.S. while Tines' grandmother Alma Lee Gibbs Tines dove into memories of anti-Black discrimination and violence. Koh and Tines aimed to create a united front through music, heavily inspired by the recent uproar of activism and solidarity across all racial identities in 2022.

On December 8, 2022, Koh was appointed Artistic Director of the Fortas Chamber Music Concerts at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., replacing Joseph Kalichstein who died in March 2022. This appointment extends into spring 2026, and her first season of programming is the 2024-2025 season.

Jennifer Koh continued showcasing highlights from her collaborations with composer Missy Mazzoli on March 13, 2024 during her premiere with NPR Music's Tiny Desk Concerts. Tom Huizenga for NPR commented on the performance stating that, "In all it's rugged delight," it was a "fruitful, collaborative friendship between composer and performer that has yielded amazing music."