James Chanha Kang
James maintains an active chamber music career, performing with several ensembles as both a full-time member and guest artist. Alongside his work with Abeo Quartet, he will join the KAIA String Quartet as violist for the 2026-27 season and has performed with ensembles including Green Room Ensemble, Juliani Ensemble, and Fulcrum Point New Music Project. Recent highlights for Abeo Quartet include a 2026 spring residency at Marlboro Music, returning to perform at the Kennedy Center, performing on the Shriver Hall concert series, and being the 2023-24 Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence at Caramoor which entailed a yearlong residency that included outreach to young listeners. Abeo Quartet also served as the Graduate String Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Delaware, where James completed his Master of Music degree under the tutelage of the Calidore String Quartet. The quartet has competed at the Banff International String Quartet Competition and Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition, won first prize at the Yellow Springs Chamber Music Competition, and received silver medals at both the Chesapeake Chamber Music Competition and the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. James has collaborated with musicians such as Itzhak Perlman, Joseph Kalichstein, Donald Weilerstein, and Dover Quartet.
James is devoted to teaching and is currently on the Violin/Viola and Chamber Music Faculty of Music Institute of Chicago. In 2019, he taught young violists in Brazil as a guest faculty artist in partnership with Guri Santa Marcelina. Dedicated to cultivating joy in his audiences, James is also active in community outreach and has participated in engagement concerts with Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Meet the Music!, “If Music Be the Food…,” and United Nations Chamber Music Society. His festival appearances include Music@Menlo, Perlman Music Program, North Shore Chamber Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, NYO-USA, Yellow Barn YAP, and La Jolla SummerFest.
Violist James Kang is a versatile performer and educator who is deeply committed to collaboration, community, and music as a shared experience. James is the founding violist of the Abeo Quartet which was formed at Juilliard in 2018 and has been featured at Alice Tully Hall, The Kennedy Center, and Marlboro. James is currently pursuing his DMA studies at Northwestern University as the Teaching Assistant of Prof. Helen Callus, and received his bachelor’s degree at the Juilliard School as a proud recipient of a Kovner Fellowship.
As a soloist, James has received the American Opera Society of Chicago Centennial Award and has also received top prizes at both the American Viola Society Solo Competition as well as the ASTA National Solo Competition. In 2025, he competed in the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition and was selected to perform on the Competition Highlights Recital for his interpretation of the commissioned work, The Bridges of Newcastle by Garth Knox. Recent recital appearances include the Plymouth Place Concert Series, the Wilmette Public Library Concert Series, and the Driehaus Museum. In 2023, he performed Hindemith's Der Schwanendreher with the University of Delaware Symphony Orchestra. James has also appeared with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Lyric Opera Orchestra, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, and Chicago Philharmonic, and has served as principal violist of the Juilliard Orchestra, Symphony in C, and NYOUSA All Stars.