Schubert Grand Duo for Violin and Piano
Dvorak Piano Trio “Dumky”

With a deep-rooted passion for collaboration and musical leadership, violinist/violist James Thompson has carved out a vibrant career as a chamber musician, concertmaster, and music educator. He appears regularly as a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and is concertmaster of the Erie Philharmonic.
A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Thompson was shaped by the city’s rich musical community from a young age. After progressing through the Suzuki program at the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM), he discovered a love for chamber music that would inspire him to pursue a career performing with others. Having continued his studies with Paul Kantor in CIM’s preparatory program, Thompson went on to earn his Bachelor of Music, Masters, and Artist Diploma degrees from CIM under the guidance of Jaime Laredo and William Preucil.
Thompson’s artistry has brought him to chamber music stages across the country, including Alice Tully Hall, Weill Recital Hall, Music@Menlo, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, ChamberFest Cleveland, Linton Chamber Music, La Musica, Friends of Chamber Music Kansas City, Harris Theater Presents, the Four Arts Society, and Parlance Chamber Concerts, among others. Solo engagements include appearances with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Asheville Symphony, the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra, the Cleveland Pops Orchestra, and the Blue Water Chamber Orchestra. He was invited to perform in Budapest as part of the First Bartok World Competition and in Sendai for the Seventh Sendai International Violin Competition.
In May 2025, Thompson was appointed concertmaster of the Erie Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition, he serves as concertmaster of Cleveland’s BlueWater Chamber Orchestra and Caroga Lake Music Festival’s chamber orchestra. His artistic leadership extends beyond the concert hall; as director of Music@Menlo’s Winter Residency, Thompson curates artist residencies that blend dynamic performances with education and community engagement, building bridges between musicians, students, and local audiences.
Committed to fostering the next generation of musicians, Thompson enjoys working with students as both a private instructor and a chamber music coach. In addition to leading recent masterclasses in New York, Chicago, and Cleveland, he served as guest professor for Juliana Athayde at the Eastman School of Music. As a coach for Music@Menlo’s Young Performers Program from 2019 to 2023, Thompson introduced talented young artists from across the globe to the world of chamber music. He views his work with students as a meaningful extension of his artistic mission, and he feels grateful to have the opportunity to share with others the joy he has found making music.
James Thompson currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. Outside of his musical career, he enjoys wildlife photography, speed chess, and adding to his ever-growing tea collection.
Cellist Jia Kim, recipient of the prestigious 2017 careergrant from the Leonore Annenberg Foundation for Performing and Visual Arts,leads a dynamic musical life as a performer, educator, and a passionateadvocate for the Arts. Ms. Kim has appeared on stages across the United States,South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East with performances broadcasted on WQXR, PBS, KMZT Classical, and acclaimed by The New York Times.
As an active performer, Ms. Kim has worked with renowned artists such as Itzhak Perlman, Robert Mann, Kim Kashkashian, Frans Helmerson, Robert Spano, Emmanuel Villaume, John Williams, members of the Juilliard StringQuartet, Cleveland Quartet, Takacs Quartet, Orion String Quartet, and Brentano String Quartet. She has taken the stage at venues including Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall, Alice TullyHall, Chicago Symphony Center's Orchestra Hall, Miami's Arsht Center, Valle DeBravo in Mexico, Toronto's Royal Conservatory, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Al-Hussein Cultural Center at the National Music Conservatory of Jordan, and many more.
A devoted educator, Ms. Kim has worked with students from the Cleveland Institute of Music, American Academy of Jordan, Tel Aviv Conservatory of Music, Grand Valley State University, University of Hawaii, and in 2016, served as Tone Judge for the Violin Society of America Competition.
Currently Ms. Kim serves on the Faculty of The Juilliard School pre college division, The Mannes School of Music, The Perlman Music Program, and New York Youth Symphony’s Chamber Music program.
Ms. Kim is the cellist of the award-winning Aeolus Quartet and a core member of East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO).
As Artistic Director of Chamber Music Stowe in Vermont and Central Chamber Series in NYC, Ms. Kim is committed to connecting with a wider audience through the powerful language of chamber music.
She is forever grateful to her mentors and teachers Ronald Leonard, Toby and Itzhak Perlman, and Joel Krosnick, with whom she studied at The Juilliard School for a Bachelor and Master Degree in Music. Ms.Kim performs on a Testore cello made in 1748 and a cello by Samuel Zygmuntowicz.
Eliot Goldmund (born Euntaek Kim) is a New-York based American pianist, conductor, and composer, whose musical prowess has been lauded as “nimble” and “colorful” (Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times) and a“real pianistic talent.” (Roy Westbrook, MusicWeb International)
Native of Incheon, South Korea, Eliot moved to the U.S. at the age of 13, after sweeping all of the major piano competitions in his native country. Eliot went on to become prizewinner and participant in numerous competitions, including The 2007 Queen Elisabeth Competition, The 4th International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians, The 2001 Oberlin International Piano Competition, and The Center for Musical Excellence Grant. Eliot was also the main feature of the 2005 PBS documentary, titled “Euntaek Kim and Performance of Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy.”
Eliot received his undergraduate and graduate degrees fromThe Juilliard School where he studied under Jerome Lowenthal. When Eliot was admitted to The Juilliard School at the age of 16, he was awarded the“Presidential Distinction,” which denoted the highest score awarded among the applicants auditioned in the year. He went on to complete his Artist Diploma on a full scholarship at Yale University under the tutelage of Boris Berman. Before college, Eliot was enrolled at the Pre-College Division of The Korean National University of Arts, where he studied under Bokhee Chang and Jongpil Lim; and The Juilliard School Pre-College. Eliot also studied privately underthe legendary Chinese pianist Yin Chengzong and was coached by Samuel Adler, Audrey Axinn, Ronald Copes, John Corigliano, Mario Davidovsky, Ilya Itin, Joseph Kalichstein, Joel Krosnick, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Seymour Lipkin, RobertMcDonald, Charles Neidich, Matti Raekallio, and Mark Steinberg.
As a concert pianist, Eliot has made solo appearances in venues across the globe, including Belgium, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, and the United States. As a chamber musician, Eliot has collaborated with members of Aeolus, Calidore, Enso, Escher, Parker, and Ying quartets. Eliot’s collaborations with Heartbeat Opera and Cantata Profana, based in New YorkCity, in their modernized rendition of Beethoven’s Fidelio in May 2018 was praised by The New Yorker, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Eliot’s tantalizing appearances in June 2018 at the catacomb of Green-WoodCemetery in Brooklyn, NY, as a part of the world premiere of David Hertzberg’s new chamber opera The Rose Elf, were lauded by WQXR as “the best opera event of 2018.” Eliot’s exquisite performances can be heard in his debut solo album,“Debut - CME Presents Vol. 3: Russian Piano” under the MSR Classics label, as well as in “Hertzberg: The Rose Elf” (under Meyer Media LLC) and “The WakeWorld” (under Tzadik label).
Eliot’s 2024-2025 season will include all piano sonatas and sonatinas by Sergei Prokofiev, as part of his ongoing project to record all piano works by the composer. He is proud to continue the legacy of his mentor Boris Berman, who first recorded all of Prokofiev’s piano music.
