Min Kym began playing the violin at age six. By her teens, she was a full-blown phenomenon, garnering awards and attention, until her career took an unexpected turn.
Why you should listen
At age seven, violinist Min Kym was given a full scholarship at the Purcell School of Music in the UK, becoming the school's youngest-ever pupil. By age 11, she had won first prize at the Premier Mozart International Competition. And by 13, she was playing with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra. At the age of 16, she became the youngest student ever to receive a Foundation Scholarship at the Royal College of Music. Many awards followed.
In 2010, tragedy struck -- Kym's violin, a 1696 Stradivarius, was stolen. Traumatized and unable to play, her career fell apart. In 2013, the violin was recovered, but the story was far from over. Her book, Gone, and her album of the same name tell the story of the intense bond an artist forms with their one "true" instrument.
Kym has just released new music: Minka, a neo-classical project co-written with Dru Masters, an award-winning composer for film and TV.
Min Kym’s TED Talks
More news and ideas from Min Kym
Live from TEDSummit 2019
Business Unusual: Notes from Session 4 of TEDSummit 2019
July 24, 2019
To keep pace with our ever-changing world, we need out-of-the-box ideas that are bigger and more imaginative than ever. The speakers and performers from this session explore these possibilities, challenging us to think harder about the notions we’ve come to accept. The event: TEDSummit 2019, Session 4: Business Unusual, hosted by Whitney Pennington Rodgers and […]
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Weaving Community: Notes from Session 1 of TEDSummit 2019
July 21, 2019
The stage is set for TEDSummit 2019: A Community Beyond Borders! During the opening session, speakers and performers explored themes of competition, political engagement and longing — and celebrated the TED communities (representing 84 countries) gathered in Edinburgh, Scotland to forge TED’s next chapter. The event: TEDSummit 2019, Session 1: Weaving Community, hosted by Bruno […]
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A first glimpse at the TEDSummit 2019 speaker lineup
May 21, 2019
With TEDSummit 2019 just two months away, it’s time to unveil the first group of speakers that will take to the stage in Edinburgh, Scotland, from July 21-25. Three years ago, more than 1,000 members of the TED global community convened in Banff, Canada, for the first-ever TEDSummit. We talked about the fracturing state of […]
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