Violinist David Kim holds one of the most coveted jobs in the orchestral world: concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

And getting there was no bed of roses.

As a leader of the string section of one of the best orchestras in the United States, Kim is charged with fostering the esteemed rich, European "Philadelphia sound."

Kim, 48, who has been concertmaster the past 12 years, is the envy of many a violinist. However, he endured some altogether unenviable experiences to lay the foundation for his career.

The measure of Kim's talent will be on display this weekend when he takes to stages in Sacramento and Folsom with the Sacramento Philharmonic. Kim will perform Camille Saint-Saëns' Violin Concerto No. 3 in a program that includes Zoltán Kodály's "Dances of Galanta" and Antonín Dvorák's Symphony No. 8.

Kim's musical journey began long before he even took his first breath.

"My mother had my destiny all set up before I was even born, literally when I was in utero," said Kim, via phone from his home in Bryn Mawr, just outside of Philadelphia.

In his mother's mind, there was never any question what was to become of him, nor whether he had the talent.

"She was a pianist in her native Korea," Kim said, "and she decided when she became pregnant she was going to have a son that was going to develop into a world-class violinist."

At age 3, Kim received a one-eighth-size violin for Christmas. By the time he turned 6, his mother had him practicing five hours a day.

When most other kids were playing in the yard or watching television, Kim was steeped in a round of musical indoctrination that included constant quizzes about key signatures, conducting and the personal history of the composers. The moment he arrived from school his mother had him doing ear training to make sure he kept up his perfect pitch.

"During every meal, I was listening to music – and not just Beethoven or Mozart, I was listening to things like (the Alban Berg opera) 'Wozzeck' and (the composer) Palestrina," he said. "Everything was sacrificed – even eating."

Indeed, Kim said, meals took a back seat to practicing five hours daily. At times, a late-night grape soda and doughnut were all Kim had time for after his work was done.

"I wouldn't say it was abusive – but, in this day and age, I think child services would be banging at the door."

But it was not long before the rigorous schedule started paying off. At 8, while the Kims were living in Pennsylvania, his parents took him to New York City and Juilliard to audition for renowned violin pedagogue Dorothy DeLay. She accepted him.

One Saturday a month, the family would make an 8-hour round trip for a two-hour lesson with DeLay. At age 10 his parents, both academics, accepted teaching positions at the University of South Carolina. Kim now found himself hundreds of miles away from New York City.

Kim's parents were not going to let geography get in the way, though. They took to putting him – alone – on an airplane Saturday mornings for a flight to New York City's LaGuardia Airport. Once there, he would hail a cab for the long drive into Manhattan and Juilliard for a full day of classes. Once done, Kim hailed a cab back to the airport in the New York darkness for a night flight home.

"Looking back at that time and seeing what I have now, I would not have traded it for the world," he said.

Kim is now a father to two preteen girls, one of whom wants to become a violinist. But his approach to parenting is vastly different than his upbringing.

"I don't even let them go down the driveway to the mailbox without me keeping an eye on them," Kim said.

Saturdays in Kim's household are now filled with the challenge of making pancakes and not rushing daughters off to the airport.

Yet Kim's upbringing has left him with an appetite for a lot of hard work. As concertmaster, he performs in 150 concerts yearly. To that, he adds 30 solo appearances and a full teaching schedule.

The job of concertmaster, the leader of an orchestra's string section and the crucial link between conductor and musician, is not one for the faint of heart, said Dan Flanagan, concertmaster with the Sacramento Philharmonic and the Modesto Symphony.

"It takes nerves of steel. There is just so much pressure all the time to be perfect, inspiring and larger than life," Flanagan said. "The people who can play concertmaster for a first-rate orchestra like Philadelphia? They have to have massive amounts of talent."

For years, Kim was expected to take great care of his hands. Nowadays, when he's not rehearsing or performing, Kim's hands can be found wrapped around the cold steel of a rifle or wielding a sharp skinning knife in his latter-day evolution as a deer hunter. He became fascinated with the pursuit six years ago when a musician friend showed him hunting photos. Soon, he was off with him to Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains.

"I absolutely fell in love with hunting," he said. "I'm successful maybe 2 percent of the time."

On the rare occasion when he gets lucky, the hunting knife comes out.

"I've spent a lot of time sitting in chairs or just playing my violin," Kim said. "I led such a horrible sheltered fortress childhood that I think I'm making up for it now."

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