Violinist Kayleigh Kim is pursuing her Bachelor of Music degree at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University and will join the first violin section of the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra in 2026. Originally from the DC-area, she is a graduate of the National Symphony Orchestra Youth Fellowship. She is also a graduate of the Juilliard Pre-College program. Kayleigh has appeared as a soloist with the Richmond, Montgomery, and Shepherd School Symphonies as the winner of their respective concerto competitions. She is a substitute for the Houston and New World Symphonies and served principal positions in the Juilliard Pre-College and Shepherd School Orchestras. She was a fellow at Madeline Island Chamber Music and the Tanglewood Music Center and joined the Festival Orchestra of the Shostakovich Festival Leipzig in May of 2025. Principal teachers include Paul Kantor, Catherine Cho, Francesca dePasquale, and KCOHO assistant concertmaster Ko Sugiyama.