ViolinAndrew Kwon

Praised for his “…bold, no-compromise style of playing” (Korea Times), Andrew Dae Yun Kwon has captivated audiences worldwide with his virtuosity and charismatic stage presence. He was born into a musical family and first began studying violin in Korea with his father, a choir and orchestra director. At the age of 10, Mr. Kwon made his Carnegie Hall solo debut and has since appeared in concert halls across the United States, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, South Korea and China, all while secretly disappointing his parents’ aspirations for him to become a doctor.

Mr. Kwon’s musical diversity has made him a highly sought-after collaborator, working with artists from a broad range of genres, including Lang Lang, Yo-Yo Ma, Boyz II Men, The Eagles and many more. Furthermore, he has played with the National Symphony Orchestra, San Diego Symphony and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. His violin playing can be heard on productions streaming on Netflix and Disney Plus, as well as in albums released by Sony Classical, Columbia Records, Naxos and Audiomachine.

As a founding member of wholesoul, an R&B/Hip-Hop/Soul string quartet based in Los Angeles, Mr. Kwon is at the forefront of pushing the boundaries of string quartets in the 21st century. Through exploration of new sound textures and extended techniques, wholesoul is preserving the legacy of string playing while solidifying its role in the future of music. Established in 2022, their debut EP, Cosmic Upcycle, has recently been featured in Strings Magazine and WQXR New York. They have also collaborated on albums with notable artists such as Irish singer-songwriter Hozier and with Jennifer Lopez on her documentary, The Greatest Love Story Never Told.

When he’s not busy trying to break the stereotype that musicians don’t make any money, Andrew Kwon enjoys obliterating noobs in online video games, lifting weights heavier than himself, and yelling at the TV while watching the Lakers and the Dodgers. He is a member of the Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra, the Santa Barbara Symphony and, from 2024, Acting Section Violin in the San Diego Symphony.