Described as “likable and warmhearted” by the Philadelphia Inquirer, and “expert to the point of perfection” by the Chestnut Hill Local, the Fairmount String Quartet (Rachel Segal and Leah Kim, violins; Beth Dzwil viola; Mimi Morris Kim, cello) has been active in the Philadelphia chamber music scene since 1984. They are dedicated to bringing the intimacy and vitality of chamber music to diverse audiences and are committed to performing classical works of historically under-performed composers in addition to those in the standard classical repertoire, works by women composers, and works in diverse genres including pop, jazz, folk, and Latin music. Their albums “Spoken with Strings” of pop music, and "Unleashed" of classical music by women composers, are available on all major streaming platforms. The Fairmount String Quartet records on the Spring Garden Records label and is in residence at the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields.
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Rachel Segal, violinist, received her Bachelor of Music degree from The University of Michigan and her Master of Music degree from the Yale School of Music. She is the Founder and President of The Primavera Fund, a program that mentors and supports young musicians in Philadelphia. She began her career as Concertmaster of the South Bend Symphony in Indiana, and has served as Concertmaster of the Central City Opera orchestra and with the Colorado Symphony for twelve seasons. She has had posts as Concertmaster of the Orquestra Sinfonia Portugesa in Lisbon, Portugal, and in the Tampere Filharmonia (Finland). She currently performs in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and the Washington D.C. area with various orchestras. As an educator, she has held positions at Regis University and the Community College of Aurora in Colorado, Luzerne Music Center in New York. She is the Director of Chamber Music at the Music and Mindfulness camp in Virginia, and has been Associate Director of the Young Musicians Debut Orchestra since its inception.
Leah Kyoungwoon Kim-Tomilson, violinist, was born in Busan, South Korea where she served as the Associate Concertmaster for the Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra. In Philadelphia, she has performed with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Ballet Orchestra, the Opera Company of Philadelphia Orchestra, the Harrisburg Symphony, Lancaster Symphony, Delaware Symphony, Elysian Camerata and Trio Excelsior. She is a founding member of the La Croix Quartet, Tononi Quartet, Sori Duo and Caritas Trio. She has served on the faculty at Temple University, West Chester University, Eastern University, Valley Forge University, Lehigh Performing Arts High School, West Catholic High School, Settlement Music School and Peabody Conservatory Prep and as the Director of Music for the Rebecca Davis Dance Company. Currently, Leah is the Director of Music at Villa Maria Academy High School and Director/Conductor of the Pennsylvania Youth Orchestra, Pennsylvania Petit Ensemble and Vivace Competition and Chamberstrings Music Camp. Leah studied Performance and Pedagogy at Juilliard, Peabody Conservatory and the National Conservatory in France.
Beth Dzwil, violist, founder, and director of the Fairmount String Quartet, is a seasoned chamber musician, performing for over thirty years with the Fairmount String Quartet and for fifteen years with the Elysian Camerata. She has been featured as a soloist with the Pottstown Symphony, where she served as principal violist for over twenty years, and with the Buxmont Chamber Players, the St. John’s Festival Orchestra, and the Fairmount Chamber Ensemble. In addition to her classical work, she has performed internationally and recorded six critically acclaimed jazz albums with the Tyrone Brown String Sextet. She teaches at the Community College of Philadelphia and the Haverford School, conducts the Philadelphia Sinfonia Strings youth orchestra, and coordinates the Adult Chamber Music Program at Settlement Music School.
Mimi Morris-Kim, cellist, earned her doctorate in cello performance from the University of Michigan where she collaborated with Fairmount String Quartet violinist Rachel Segal as a member of the University of Michigan Graduate String Quartet. She has been a member of the Ann Arbor Symphony, the NYC based new music ensemble Collide-o-Scope and the Sebastian String Trio. She has performed with the Riverside Symphonia, the Pennsylvania Ballet Orchestra, the Philly Pops and the Delaware Symphony. A dedicated teacher, she has taught at the Suzuki Royal Oak Institute and the Princeton String Academy and currently maintains a large private studio in the Princeton area.