Violinist Grace Kang Wollett is now engaged in an active teaching and performing career in the Dallas area. Trio Venia, which made its debut at the Banff Music Festival in 2010. The group has made its home in New York City, performing in halls, cultural centers, and medical facilities throughout New York City. She is also a member of the first violin section of the Dallas Opera Orchestra.
Born in South Korea of missionary parents, Mrs. Wollett began her violin studies at the age of 8 in Nottingham, England. She later came to the United States to further pursue her violin studies, attending the Manhattan School of Music Pre-College under the tutelage of Byung-Kook Kwak. She was then accepted to The Juilliard School, where she received her Bachelors and Masters of Music degrees, under the teaching of Dr. Stephen Clapp. She was his teaching assistant during the last two years of her studies, heading a scale/technique class in his studio.
During her years at Juilliard, she received the 2010 and 2011 Goldman Fellowship, which gave her the opportunity to teach viola and violin to students at the Harlem Children Zone- Promise Academy II. She was also a part of the Gluck Community Service Fellowship, playing in diverse medical facilities and homes. She was awarded the Samuel Gardner Prize in 2006 and held a recital in honor of the award, performing some of Gardner’s works. In 2009 and 2010, Mrs. Wollett was accepted into the Early Music Workshop at The Juilliard School, directed by William Christie and members of the Les Arts Florissants, and studied baroque violin with Cynthia Robert.
Mrs. Wollett spends her summers traveling and teaching. She is faculty of the Fine Arts Summer Academy in Nashville and has given masterclasses in Seoul and Incheon, South Korea. Her latest performance series was a tour in Turkey sponsored by the Korea Culture Society, performing in four different cities.
Her deepest joy is knowing and experiencing music, which not only presents beauty and emotions to the audience, but has the ability to draw out the simplicity of the human heart so silently hidden. Grace currently resides with her husband, oboist Scott Wollett, in Richardson, Texas.