About Kim:
There is more than one way to build a meaningful life in music —
Kim Foster has spent two decades proving it.
As a performer
Kim Foster is a New York-based violist whose performing life spans the concert stage, the opera pit, and the chamber music hall. She has performed with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, the Palm Beach Opera, and the New York City Ballet, and previously served as Principal Violist of the Allentown Symphony and Acting Assistant Principal of the Albany Symphony. A dedicated chamber musician, she has appeared frequently at Weill Recital Hall with the Alaria Chamber Ensemble and has performed alongside artists including violinist Shlomo Mintz.
She is currently in active development on her debut solo recording — a collection of works for viola by women composers exploring themes of identity, the environment, and what it means to be human. The project is self-produced and independently funded, and represents the next chapter in a performing life built entirely on artistic conviction.
As an educator and administrator
Kim has been teaching viola for over two decades, working with students at every level from dedicated adult amateurs to pre-professional performers. She runs a private online studio via Forte, bringing her teaching to students wherever they are. Her approach is rooted in the belief that technical development and musical expression are inseparable — that the most important thing a teacher can do is help a student find their own voice on the instrument.
Alongside her studio work, Kim serves as an administrator and program manager in the Alan D. Marks Center for Entrepreneurship and Community Engagement at the Juilliard School, where she works at the intersection of music education and professional development for the next generation of artists.
For violists who want more than a weekly lesson, Kim founded the Viola Power Collective — a membership community offering resources, video content, and live monthly sessions designed to support serious students between lessons and beyond.
As a coach
In 2017 Kim became a certified positive psychology-based coach, drawn by a desire to offer musicians and high-achieving individuals something more structured than encouragement — a real framework for navigating the complexity of a creative and professional life.
Her coaching work has evolved into something specific: helping capable, driven people move through significant transitions with clarity and purpose. She has developed the Compass Method — a framework designed to help clients orient to their values, their strengths, and the version of flourishing that is genuinely theirs — and works with a focused number of clients at a time to keep the work personal and high-impact.
I built my career by refusing to choose. Between performing and teaching. Between artistry and administration. Between music and the wider world. What I've learned is that the tension between those things isn't a problem to solve — it's the source of everything interesting. That conviction is at the heart of everything I do, whether I'm on stage, in the studio, or working with a coaching client.
Credentials:
Master of Music in Performance — Yale University
BA, Summa Cum Laude — SUNY Empire State College
Certified Positive Psychology Coach
Administrator, The Juilliard School - Alan D. Marks Center for Entrepreneurship and Community Engagement