Hyejin Kim

The training of pianist Hyejin Kim has encompassed Korean, European, and American elements; her career has also matched that pattern. She has also begun a career as an educator in the U.S. Kim was born in the late '80s in Seoul; an interview with her in June of 2018 gave her age as 30. Her name sometimes appears as HyeJim Kim. She should not be confused with the similarly named violinist, harpist, actress, or vocalist in the K-pop group Free in Sass. Kim took up the piano at age six. At 11, her mother offered her the chance to enroll in a special arts high school, and she answered that although she hated practicing, she couldn't imagine doing anything other than playing the piano for the rest of her life. Kim attended the top-level Yewon Arts School in Seoul and then moved to Germany for a master's degree, studying with Fabio Bidini at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler. When Bidini moved to the Conservatory of Music at the Colburn School in Los Angeles, Kim, along with other students from Berlin, followed him there, and she earned an artist's diploma, also studying chamber music at the school. Kim amassed a strong record at competitions, taking prizes at the 2008 Hong Kong International Piano Competition, the Steinway and Sons Advancement Award Competition, and the Toronto International Piano Competition, among others. Kim released her first album, a recording of Rachmaninov's Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 with the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra, on the Sony Classical label. She has appeared with orchestras in Korea, Europe, and the U.S., including the Seoul Philharmonic, the Nürnberger Philharmoniker in Germany, and the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, among many others. Kim is a frequent guest at festivals, having appeared at such events as the Napa Valley Festival, Klavier Festival Ruhr, and the Korea Symphony Festival. She has returned to the recording studio several times, issuing the recital Miroirs on the Navona Records label in 2021 and an album of Muzio Clementi keyboard sonatas on Naxos in 2022. In 2024, she joined cellist Yoshika Masuda on the album Hidden Flame on the Avie label. Kim is on the faculty at her alma mater, the Colburn School.
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