BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Yunhee Kim is an accomplished pianist, educator, and collaborative artist whose career seamlessly integrates 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 (UIUC), where she studied with Ian Hobson on a full scholarship. She also earned a Master of Music in Piano Pedagogy from UIUC and a Master of Music in Piano Performance from Western Illinois University, both on full scholarships, as well as a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance with honors and a teaching license in music from Sookmyung Women’s University in Seoul, Korea.

Dr. Kim has taught piano for over 15 years across diverse educational settings. Most recently, she served as Assistant Professor of Music at Oklahoma Panhandle State University, where she taught applied music lessons, class piano, and music appreciation, while also serving as a collaborative pianist for choirs, student recitals, and faculty performances. She previously served as Adjunct Lecturer in Piano and Staff Pianist at Merrimack College, where she taught applied piano and supported students through collaborative performance, 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 piano instruction through UIUC’s Piano Laboratory Program. Since 2008, she has maintained a thriving private studio, teaching students from beginner through conservatory level, including students at UIUC, Harvard University, and the New England Conservatory.

As a performer, Dr. Kim is active as both a soloist and collaborative artist. She has appeared with orchestras including Sinfonia da Camera and the National Tatarstan Orchestra of Russia, performing Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1. She has presented solo, chamber, and faculty recitals at OPSU, Merrimack College, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, UIUC, and other institutions, and remains 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 including Richard Goode, Jonathan Biss, Stanislav Ioudenitch, Min Kwon, Victor Rosenbaum, and Alexander Kobrin. These experiences have contributed to her interpretive development and continue to inform her approach to both performance and teaching.

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, as well as top prizes 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 means of inspiring students to develop their own voices as musicians.

Currently, Dr. Kim serves as a full-time collaborative pianist at Sam Houston State University, where she coaches music students and performs in classes, recitals, and concerts.