David Kang

David Kang is a Korean-American violist and conductor whose career has developed between the classical music traditions of Los Angeles and Vienna. Beginning in fall 2026, Kang will join Biola University as its Orchestra Director.

At the University of Southern California, Kang studied conducting principally with Larry Livingston, chair of the conducting department, and worked in masterclasses with Carl St. Clair, music director laureate of the Pacific Symphony. As a master’s student, he completed the highest level of conducting study available to doctoral candidates and conducted internationally recognized soloists, including Taeguk Mun, a laureate of the Queen Elisabeth and Tchaikovsky competitions.

Alongside conducting, Kang has built a career as a violist. As a soloist, he has won first prize in the USC Solo Bach Competition and the Los Angeles Korean-American Musicians’ Association Competition, and studied with Diemut Poppen at the Stauffer Academy.

Chamber music has formed the heart of Kang’s performing career and shaped many of his deepest musical convictions. His chamber music work began with first prize at the USC Ofeish Chamber Music Competition as a member of the Gateway Quartet. He has since participated in the Danish String Quartet Academy as a Soloist Fellow, the Geneva String Academy, Valley of the Moon Music Festival, FairPlay Chamber Music Festival, Festival de Caylus, Thy Chamber Music Festival, and Rencontres Franco-Américaines de Musique de Chambre.

Through these experiences, he has worked alongside distinguished artists including Atar Arad, Jennifer Frautschi, Liza Ferschtman, Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu, Andrew Wan, Yura Lee, Fedor Rudin, Annette von Hehn, Peter Bruns, François Salque, Reinhard Latzko, Tony Nys, Michelle La Course, and members of the Biola Piano Trio. His commitment to chamber music also extends to teaching; Kang has served on the faculty of the Kenya International Chamber Music Festival in Nairobi, working with musicians ranging from middle-school students to adult professionals.

Kang’s chamber music work has been complemented by extensive orchestral experience. He has served as principal violist of the USC Thornton Symphony, Colburn Recovered Voices Orchestra, and American Contemporary Ballet, and has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and Morphing Chamber Orchestra. 

He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in viola performance from USC, where he studied with Yura Lee and Che-Yen Chen, and currently pursues a master’s degree in viola with Jennifer Stumm at the Musik und Kunst Privatuniversität der Stadt Wien.