Sunday, March 24, 2013
Acclaimed as an artist of unique sensibility and an inspirational interpreter of the classical canon, pianist Jin Uk Kim leads an active international solo career. His playing has been described by critics as a “victory in itself” (The Washington Post), a “combination of muscle and poetry” with “admirably nuanced” phrasing (The Baltimore Sun), and “the kind of formidable force that inspires a rousing ovation” (The Santa Barbara News-Press). A multiple award winner, Mr. Kim most recently received first prize honors at the Hilton Head International Piano Competition, and second prize at the William Kapell International Piano Competition. He also earned top prizes at the Corpus Christi International Competition for Piano & Strings, as well as at major Korean competitions. He has been a featured performer on NPR’s Performance Today and WQXR’s McGraw-Hill Companies Young Artists Showcase (New York).
Mr. Kim has performed widely as an orchestral soloist both in the United States and South Korea, with appearances with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under conductor David Lockington, the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra under conductor John Morris Russell, and the Music Academy of the West’s Festival Orchestra in Santa Barbara under conductor Daniel Hege. In Korea, Mr. Kim has appeared at the nation’s major concert halls since his public debut with the New Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra at age ten. In 2013, he will appear in return engagements with the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, and the Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra in Korea.
As a solo pianist, Mr. Kim made his New York debut at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in November 2012. Previously, he has given solo and chamber performances at such venues as Boston’s Jordan Hall, the John F. Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater in Washington D.C., the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center in Maryland, the Newport Music Festival, and the Music Academy of the West, as well as in his native Korea.
Mr. Kim began his training in Korea at the age of four, and completed his undergraduate studies with Mee Kyung Yoon at Hanyang University. Since 2006, he has been studying under the tutelage of Wha Kyung Byun at New England Conservatory in Boston, where he holds his master’s and graduate diploma, and is currently pursuing his doctorate. He has been awarded the Joseph C. Beaudoin Piano scholarship and the Josephine L. Murray Scholarship.
