Nancy Park began her music studies at the age of five in her native Seoul, South Korea. Two years later, after moving with her family to Los Angeles, she continued studying the violin with Joachim Chassman, Claire Hodgkins and Alice Schoenfeld. At the age of twelve, she won the Los Angeles Philharmonic Stars of Tomorrow competition and subsequently soloed with the orchestra. Park also won the Young Musicians’ Foundation competition and was featured in a recital with Isaac Stern. She also appeared as soloist with the San Francisco Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Los Angeles Debut Orchestra and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
After graduating from the Westlake School for Girls, Park attended Harvard University, combining European history studies with music under the tutelage of Leon Kirchner and Luise Vosgherchian at Harvard and Emanuel Borok of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. She also was concertmaster of both the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra and the Bach Society Orchestra, taking a year off from school to attend master classes with Jascha Heifetz in Los Angeles.
Upon finishing her schooling — graduating from Harvard with the David McCord Prize for the Arts — Park briefly performed with the Opera Company of Boston and the New York Philharmonic before joining the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, at the invitation of Sir Georg Solti, in 1984. An avid chamber musician, she often performed with the Chicago Pro Musica, Cecilia String Quartet and the Procyon Trio.
After 40 years with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Nancy Park retired in April 2024.
