Dr. Keum Hwa Cha is a versatile musician and dedicated educator whose performances and teaching have reached audiences and students across the United States and South Korea. Known for her expressive artistry and collaborative leadership, she has appeared as concertmaster with Chee-Yun, the Marcus Roberts Trio, Béla Fleck, and Time for Three, and has performed under distinguished conductors including David Effron, Robert Shaw, and Stanislaw Skrowaczewski. She has also performed with the Cornell Contemporary Chamber Players, the Binghamton Philharmonic, the Cayuga
Chamber Orchestra, the Han-Eum Chamber Ensemble, and the Seoul Tutti Ensemble. Her festival appearances include Kneisel Hall, the Castleman Quartet Program, the Philadelphia International Music Festival, the Ima Leete Hutchison Concert Series, and the Lydian String Quartet Festival.

Born into a musical family, Dr. Cha was inspired by her mother, Professor Hai Eun Hyun, one of South Korea’s most respected violin pedagogues. After moving to the United States, she pursued her passion for music at the New England Conservatory, where she earned her Bachelor of Music degree, followed by Master’s and Doctoral degrees in violin performance from the Eastman School of Music. She later received an Artist Certificate from the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University, where she was a full merit scholarship recipient.

Her principal teachers include Hyo Kang, Masuko Ushioda, Charles Castleman, and Chee-Yun. While at Eastman, she served as a teaching assistant to Professor Castleman. Her chamber music mentors include Lucy Stoltzman, Katherine Murdock, Eric Shumsky, James Dunham, Norman Fisher, Alan Harris, Andres Diaz, Stephen Drury, and the Ying Quartet; she also studied historical performance practice with Paul O’Dette and Malcolm Bilson.

Equally passionate about teaching, Dr. Cha has held faculty positions at the University of Rochester, Dankook University, Chung-Ang University, Pepperdine University, California Lutheran University, and Idaho State University, where she served as Assistant Professor of Music. Her students have earned numerous accolades and concerto competition awards, including the ISCS Young Artist Competition, the CHICO Young Artists Series, and the Henry Schwab Violin and Viola Competition. Numerous students have continued their studies at leading conservatories, including the Indiana University Jacobs
School of Music and SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts, and have pursued professional careers in performance and teaching.

She currently teaches violin, viola, and chamber music at the Colburn School’s Community School of Performing Arts, where she is dedicated to nurturing the next generation of performers and global citizens.