About this Event
Concerto in E Major – Johann Sebastian Bach
David Kim, Violin soloist
Adagio for Solo Violin, Strings and Organ – Tomaso Albinoni
David Kim, Violin soloist
James Dietz Memorial Competition Winner Solo
The Pines of Rome – Ottorino Respighi
Main Line Symphony Orchestra
Now in its 81st season, the Main Line Symphony Orchestra (MLSO) is a community ensemble that draws dedicated musicians of all ages who seek the challenge of performing both standard orchestral literature and new compositions. Each year, members have the pleasure of accompanying professional soloists under the guidance of Music Director Don Liuzzi.
See mlso.org for more details.
David Kim, Violin Soloist
David Kim is the Concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra.
David Kim has served as Concertmaster of The Philadelphia Orchestra since 1999, a role that has allowed him to combine his passion for orchestral leadership, solo performance, and mentoring the next generation of musicians. Born in Carbondale, Illinois, in 1963, David began playing the violin at the age of three. By eight, he was studying with the legendary teacher Dorothy DeLay, and he later earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The Juilliard School.
The 2025–26 season reflects David’s love for sharing music around the world. He opens the season with solo and guest concertmaster appearances in Korea and Hong Kong before returning to Philadelphia for several featured performances with The Philadelphia Orchestra. Highlights include leading two conductorless programs featuring Vivaldi’s and Piazzolla’s The Four Seasons in both Philadelphia and at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, as well as performing the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto under the direction of Rafael Payare. Throughout the year, he also enjoys performing concertos, recitals, and chamber music across the United States.
Teaching has always been one of David’s greatest joys. He serves as Distinguished Artist at the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University and returns each summer to the faculties of the Aspen Music Festival and School and the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara. He also spends two weeks every summer as concertmaster of the Mainly Mozart Festival All-Star Orchestra in San Diego, bringing together many of North America’s finest concertmasters and principal players.
Around the world, he regularly gives masterclasses at leading institutions, including the Australian National Academy of Music, Curtis Institute, The Juilliard School, Shanghai Conservatory, and Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. He is also honored to serve as a jury member for prestigious international competitions, including the Menuhin and Sarasate.
Beyond the concert stage, David continues to appear as concertmaster of the nine-time Emmy Award-winning All-Star Orchestra, broadcast on PBS and available through Khan Academy. In 2022, he published his first book, The Audition Method for Violin (GIA Publications), a practical guide that shares his insights on orchestral excerpts, audition preparation, bowings, fingerings, and performance strategy.
One of the most meaningful aspects of David’s career has been collaborating with artists whose music inspires and encourages others. He has frequently performed with modern hymn writers Keith and Kristyn Getty at venues including the Grand Ole Opry House, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and Carnegie Hall. He also enjoys participating in events with organizations such as The Gathering, Illuminations, Missionary Athletes International, and YoungLife.
David has received honorary doctorates from Eastern University, the University of Rhode Island, and Dickinson College. He performs on a c. 1757 J.B. Guadagnini violin, generously on loan from The Philadelphia Orchestra, as well as a c. 1735 Francesco Gofriller violin. He is proud to perform exclusively on and endorse Larsen Strings of Denmark.
When he’s away from the violin, David enjoys spending time outdoors and is an enthusiastic golfer. Whether performing on stage, teaching young musicians, or connecting with audiences around the world, he remains deeply grateful for the opportunity to use music to inspire, encourage, and bring people together.
Don Liuzzi, Music Director
Don Liuzzi, starting his 12th season as MLSO Music Director, was born and raised in Weymouth, Massachusetts, and completed high school in Philadelphia at the Franklin Learning Center. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Michigan and his Master of Music degree from Temple University. His primary teachers were Alan Abel, Charles Owen, and John Soroka.
Before joining The Philadelphia Orchestra in 1989, Mr. Liuzzi was a member of the Pittsburgh Symphony percussion section from 1982 to 1989. While in Pittsburgh he taught percussion and conducted the percussion ensemble at Duquesne University, was assistant conductor of the Three Rivers Young Peoples Orchestra, and appeared on PBS' nationally syndicated Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, performing marimba and percussion solos.
Beyond his over 90 commercial recordings as principal timpani of The Philadelphia Orchestra, Mr. Liuzzi can be heard on several Decca releases with Seiji Ozawa's Saito Kinen Festival Orchestra, with which he has been a guest timpanist for twelve seasons. As a former percussionist with the Network for New Music, and also for area composers, he has recorded contemporary chamber works for the CRI, Crystal, and Albany labels. His percussion solo and chamber CD release from 2012, Movement in Time (Equilibrium), is volume I of the Philadelphia Percussion Project. This first volume features music by Maurice Wright, Maurice Rissman, and William Kraft. Volume II, Zones, was released in May 2015 and is a Philadelphia Orchestra percussion group (POPG) recording featuring Jennifer Higdon's Zones, as well as six other world premiere recordings including his own composition, Seoul Spirit. A participating musician in the documentary film Music from the Inside Out (2005), Mr. Liuzzi also served as the film's coordinating producer and was integral in helping develop the accompanying middle school teaching curriculum published by Alfred Books. The feature length film by Anker Productions, which features The Philadelphia Orchestra, was re-released digitally on iTunes in June 2013 and is also available on Netflix. Mr. Liuzzi's other electronic media activity (under his company name of Beat the Drum Entertainment, Inc.) has included two other CD projects with the DePue Brothers Band: performing drums and singing, and executive producing Weapons of Grass Construction and their latest album, When It's Christmas Time, released in December 2013.
Mr. Liuzzi has given master classes at most major music schools throughout the United States and in Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Spain, Korea, Japan, and China. He has been a percussion and timpani coach at the National Orchestral Institute, the New World Symphony, the Pacific Music Festival, the Canton International Summer Music Academy, the Lindenbaum Music Festival (in Korea), the Youth Orchestra of the Americas, and the National Youth Orchestra USA run by Carnegie Hall. He joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in January 1994. He has also held faculty positions at Rowan University and guest faculty status at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and the Manhattan School of Music. Mr. Liuzzi just completed 10 years as music director of the Philadelphia All City High School Orchestra, and is founding conductor of the Curtis Institute's 20-21 New Music Ensemble.
Mr. Liuzzi's early orchestral experience included the Flint Symphony, the Michigan Opera Theater Orchestra, and the Colorado Philharmonic. He has also played in the Spoleto Festival Orchestra for three seasons and was a Tanglewood Fellow in 1980. In July 1996 he made his solo debut with The Philadelphia Orchestra at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts, and his subscription solo debut in January 1998. Having consulted with Yamaha for over 20 years on the development of professional timpani and percussion, he is a Yamaha performing artist, with a highly-regarded Yahama Global YouTube interview and performance. He is married with two adult daughters.
MLSO Photos by Chris Swisher
Event venue & nearby stays
Wayne Presbyterian Church, 125 East Lancaster Avenue, Wayne, United States
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