BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Yunhee Kim is an accomplished pianist, educator, and collaborative artist whose career combines performance, pedagogy, and scholarship. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance and Literature with a cognate in Piano Pedagogy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she studied under Ian Hobson. She also earned a Master of Music in Piano Pedagogy from UIUC, a Master of Music in Piano Performance from Western Illinois University, and a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Sookmyung Women’s University in Seoul, Korea.

Dr. Kim has taught piano for over 15 years across diverse settings. Most recently, she served as Assistant Professor of Music at Oklahoma Panhandle State University, teaching applied music lessons, class piano, and online music appreciation while also serving as a collaborative pianist for choirs, student recitals, and faculty performances. She previously taught as Adjunct Lecturer in Piano and Staff Pianist at Merrimack College, where she guided students in applied piano and collaborative work, and as Adjunct Piano Instructor at Magdalen College. Her teaching experience also includes group keyboard instruction for high school students at the Illinois Summer Youth Music Camp and applied lessons for UIUC’s Piano Laboratory Program. She has maintained a thriving private studio since 2008, teaching students from beginner to conservatory level, including students at UIUC, Harvard, and the New England Conservatory.

As a performer, Dr. Kim is active as both a soloist and collaborator. She has appeared with orchestras including the Sinfonia da Camera and the National Tatarstan Orchestra of Russia, performing Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1. She has given solo, chamber, and faculty recitals at OPSU, Merrimack College, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, UIUC, and other institutions, and is deeply engaged in chamber music collaborations with vocalists, instrumentalists, and ensembles. Her career highlights include performances at Lincoln Center’s Bruno Walter Auditorium, Carnegie Hall, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, Youngsan Grace Hall in Seoul, and the San Juan International Piano Festival in Puerto Rico.

Dr. Kim has further refined her artistry through masterclasses with internationally renowned pianists such as Richard Goode, Jonathan Biss, Stanislav Ioudenitch, Min Kwon, Victor Rosenbaum, and Alexander Kobrin among others. These experiences have shaped her interpretive depth and continue to inform her teaching and performance.

Dr. Kim has been recognized in numerous competitions, earning first prizes at the East Coast International Competition and the Illinois State Music Teachers Association Collegiate Piano Competition, and placing in national and international competitions in the United States, Korea, and China. Her passion for expanding the piano repertoire is reflected in her advocacy for underrepresented works, including performances of Florence Price’s Clouds. In 2024, she premiered Chaconne, Variations, and Finale, a solo piano work dedicated to her by composer Christos Tsitsaros.

Alongside her performance career, Dr. Kim has contributed to research in piano pedagogy and literature, publishing a stylistic and pedagogical study of Glière’s mazurkas and preludes. Dedicated to fostering both technical mastery and expressive artistry, she approaches teaching as a way to inspire students to develop their own voices as musicians.

Dr. Kim continues to engage audiences and students alike with her artistry, scholarship, and commitment to music education, embodying her passion for sharing the transformative power of music across cultures and generations.