On Thursday, Oct. 29, String Theory will welcome violinist Soovin Kim, cellist Paul Watkins, and pianist Gloria Chien as the first performers of the 2015-16 season. The performance will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the Hunter Museum of American Art in Chattanooga.

String Theory, founded in 2009 by pianist and Artistic Director Chien, brings acclaimed chamber musicians from around the world to perform in the intimate setting of the Hunter Museum in Chattanooga.

The evening’s program will include Beethoven’s “Piano Trio in E-flat, Op. 70, No.2” and “Cello Sonata in C Major.”

Prior to the concert, “Musical Dialogues” will take place at 6 p.m. from the concert stage and will feature an in-depth conversation, led by Chien, with the evening’s performers on their lives, inspirations, and the masterpieces being performed at the concert.

Kim, the founder and artistic director of the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival, regularly performs as a concert soloist, recitalist, and with the Johannes String Quartet. He joined the Vermont Youth Orchestra as its then-youngest member at age 10. He received first prize at the Paganini International Competition at the age of 20, going on to win other distinguished awards such as the Henryk Szeryng Career Award, the Avery Fisher Career Grant, and the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award.

He has released nine commercial recordings including Niccolò Paganini’s 24 Caprices and a French album of Fauré and Chausson with pianist Jeremy Denk and the Jupiter Quartet. A passionate advocate for music education, Kim joined the faculty of the New England Conservatory in fall 2014.

Watkins, acclaimed for his “inspirational performances and eloquent musicianship,” was appointed principal cellist of the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the age of 20. During his solo career he has collaborated with world renowned conductors including Paavo Berglund, Leonard Slatkin, David Robertson, Sakari Oramo, Andrew Litton, Gianandrea Noseda, Sir Mark Elder, Sir Andrew Davis and Sir Charles Mackerras, among others.

Watkins performs regularly with all the major British orchestras, has made six concerto appearances at the BBC Proms, and recently appeared at Carnegie Hall. He has toured to Italy and Prague with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, and to China and the Far East with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Watkins has also performed with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony, Queensland Orchestra, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, and the RAI National Symphony Orchestra of Turin.

Chien, who began playing piano at the age of five in her native Taiwan, has been called “a coat-of-many-colors pianist.” She holds a doctor of musical arts, a master’s, and a bachelor’s degree from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. She is a Steinway Artist and currently serves as an artist-in-residence at Lee.

A prize winner of the World Piano Competition, Harvard Musical Association Award, and the San Antonio International Piano Competition, Chien has presented solo recitals at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Harvard Musical Association, Sanibel Musical Festival, Caramoor Musical Festival, and the National Concert Hall in Taiwan. She has been praised by “The Strad” for “super performances…accompanied with great character.”

Chien has been the Director of the Chamber Music Institute at Music@Menlo, a chamber music festival and institute in the San Francisco Bay Area, since 2010. She has been a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center since 2012, and frequently plays at Alice Tully Hall in New York as well as other venues around the country with CMS on Tour.

Individual concert tickets are $30 for Hunter members, $40 for non-members, $10 for students with a valid student ID and $25 for groups of 20 or more people. Season subscriptions are available for $160 for Hunter members and $210 for non-members.

For more information on String Theory at the Hunter or to purchase tickets, call 423-267-0968 or visit String Theory.