Violinist Jennifer Koh to Speak at CIM Commencement, Receive Honorary Doctorate

The Cleveland Institute of Music announced today that the acclaimed violinist and new music champion Jennifer Koh will receive an honorary doctorate at the school’s 97th Commencement Ceremony, to be held on Saturday, May 14 at 11am in Kulas Hall.  

She will also deliver the commencement address on that occasion and perform a world premiere as a featured guest on CIM’s Luminaries Benefit Concert the previous evening.  

Honored as “A Force of Nature” by the American Composers Orchestra, Koh easily ranks as one of the most compelling, committed and prolific artists of her generation. In demand around the globe for live and recorded performances of music spanning centuries, she routinely sheds new light on canonic works in performances with major orchestras and collaborates closely with composers on performances and recordings of new works.  

All told, Koh has expanded the contemporary violin repertoire by more than 100 scores commissioned especially for her. A graduate of Oberlin College and the Curtis Institute of Music, Koh also is the founder and artistic director of ARCO Collaborative, an artist-driven nonprofit that advocates for women and artists of color in classical music.  

“It would be hard to imagine a more worthy candidate for our honorary doctorate than Jennifer Koh,” said CIM President & CEO Paul W. Hogle. “Between her fierce advocacy for new music and probing performances of Bach and Beethoven, Koh exemplifies the exceptional passion, insight and open-mindedness every working musician today needs to succeed.  

“At the same time, Koh also looks out for others, fighting to guarantee prominent places in classical music for artists of color and using her platform to elevate musicians and stories that have been previously overlooked. These are priorities shared by the CIM community, and so it is fitting to bestow our highest honor on her. We eagerly look forward to welcoming Koh to CIM and hearing her advice for our 2022 graduates.”  

Graduates will walk in the live, in-person commencement celebration in Kulas Hall, and the event will be available on live stream. More information will be available online later this spring.

CIM’s Honorary Doctorate 

CIM has awarded more than 90 honorary doctorates since 1965 when the practice began. Recipients are recommended by the faculty and the honor is granted by CIM’s Board of Trustees. Among the musical luminaries to receive this distinction are conductors Christoph von Dohnányi, Michael Tilson Thomas, Kurt Masur and Franz Welser-Möst; composers Donald Erb, Pierre Boulez, and Malcolm Arnold; violinists Jaime Laredo, Josef Gingold, Itzhak Perlman and Robert Mann; harpist Ann Hobson Pilot; vocalists Frederica von Stade and Tony Bennett; and pianists Van Cliburn and Leon Fleisher.