Giving “performances from the heart” with “matchless precision” (Daniel Buckwalter, Eugene Scene), violist Kimberlee Uwate creates musical experiences rooted in connection, reflection, and growth. As the violist of Delgani String Quartet, she has been building community in Oregon since 2015 through projects like “How We Remember.” This trifold experience in early 2020 included traditional Japanese origami paper-crane-folding community events among Delgani listeners; a new commissioned work by American composer Elena Ruehr; and an immersive concert honoring the children of World War II. Each season, Delgani programs concerts with its audience in mind, continually pushing the edge while deepening connections to music that is both familiar and new. In recent seasons, Kim has performed with Delgani at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, and Charles University in Prague. She works with students through Delgani's summer String Quartet Academy, Adult Amateur Workshops, and Classical Spark program in third-grade classrooms around the state of Oregon. As a lecturer, Kim leads Delgani deep-dive seminars on the music, life, and influences of various composers; and as faculty at the collegiate level, she has over 10 years experience teaching viola, violin, and chamber music. She trained at the Manhattan School of Music, University of California at Davis, and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Uwate received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree with the completion of her dissertation, Toward a Business History of the String Quartet: How the String Quartet Became a Career Path in the United States, about American string quartet ensembles and the economic systems that have supported them. She plays a late eighteenth-century viola named Abby.
Listen:
To a solo viola recital from September 2021 from Willamette University.
To a clip of Delgani from February 2022.