The New York Times calls the Parker Quartet "something extraordinary," the Boston Globe hails its "fiercely committed performances," and The Washington Post declares it "a quartet that deserves close attention." Three months after winning the 2005 Concert Artists Guild Competition, the Quartet captured First Prize and the Mozart Prize at the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition, enhancing its international reputation ... read full bio

Daniel Chong , violin,
Karen Kim, violin
Jessica Bodner, viola
Kee-Hyun Kim, cello 

The New York Times calls the Parker Quartet "something extraordinary."  The Boston Globe hails their "fiercely committed performances."  The Washington Post declares them "a quartet that deserves close attention."  Just three months after winning the 2005 Concert Artists Guild Competition, the Quartet captured First Prize and the Mozart Prize at the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition, sparking international acclaim.

The Parker Quartet's 2007-2008 season included debut performances at the Mostly Mozart and Caramoor Festivals and at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC (on a program with the Borromeo String Quartet).  Other highlights included engagements with the Chamber Music Society of Little Rock, the Rockport Chamber Music Society, the Philharmonic Society of Orange County, Music in the Park in St. Paul, and Shriver Hall in Baltimore.  The group also toured Europe in connection with their victory at the Bordeaux Competition, with concerts in South Korea at the Tongyeong Festival in spring 2008.

Equally at home in a celebrated concert hall or a downtown club, the Parker Quartet embraces opportunities to bring their performances to new audiences in non-traditional venues.  The ensemble challenge artificial boundaries by performing in bars and clubs nationwide, garnering media attention with features in Time Out NY, The Boston Globe, Chamber Music Magazine and Musical America.com.  In the Fall of 2007, the group became the first ever String Quartet in Residence at Barbes Bar and Performance Space in Brooklyn.  As part of this residency, the Parker Quartet perform a series of collaborative concerts with artists of various genres including Jazz, Folk and World Music.

The Parker Quartet's 2007 debut CD (Zig Zag), featuring Bartok's String Quartets Nos. 2 and 5, received high praise:  "The Parkers' Bartok spins the illusion of spontaneous improvisation...they have absorbed the language; they have the confidence to play freely with the music and the instinct to bring it off" (Gramophone).  The ensemble's upcoming release, on the Naxos label, is the complete string quartets of the late György Ligeti, due out in 2008-2009; followed by an album of Haydn quartets for Zig Zag.

Recent highlights include concerts at Lincoln Center's Great Performers Series, the Wolf Trap Discovery Series, Ravinia's Rising Stars Series, Jordan Hall and Gardner Museum in Boston, the Cerritos Center, Clark Memorial Library at UCLA, the Phillips Collection, Merkin Concert Hall, and Schneider Concerts.  The Quartet has also performed at Symphony Space as part of Concert Artists Guild's New Works Series and at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall on Concert Artists Guild's Winners Series.

Dedicated to passing on the great chamber music tradition, the Parker Quartet spends a great deal of time each year working with young musicians through educational residency activities.  The group served as the Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence of the Caramoor Center, which featured a three-week long educational residency, culminating in performances at the Caramoor. They were also the ensemble-in-residence at the Yellow Barn Music School and Festival.  Beginning in September 2008, the group will become one of the first Quartets-in-Residence with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. 

The Parker Quartet's members hold graduate degrees in performance and chamber music from the New England Conservatory of Music and were part of the NEC's prestigious Professional String Quartet Training Program.  The Quartet was founded there and in 2002 and 2003 held the post of NEC's Honors Ensemble.

When asked the origin of the ensemble name, Kee-Hyun Kim  explains:

"We are named after the Omni Parker House, in Boston. We all came from different places (Dan from L.A., Karen from Wisconsin, Jess from Houston and myself from Seoul, Korea) [and] when we first met it seemed fitting to choose a name that was such a landmark of Boston.  The Parker House is not only the oldest Hotel in Boston, it is the longest-running hotel in the U.S., and was made a landmark in 1855.  It's also the home to the creation of the Boston cream pie and Parker house rolls.  Literary greats used to assemble here, including Hawthorne, Longfellow and Emerson."

Bela Bartok String Quartet in A minor sound clip courtesy of