Biography
Pianist Michael Kim has brought audiences to their feet with his outstanding technique and refined artistry. A gifted performer, he has been praised by The Globe and Mail for his “consistently high level of professionalism and musicality.”
Dr. Kim is the recipient of a multitude of awards, including the grand-prize of the Canadian Music Competition and the CBC National Radio Competition for Young Performers. He was also silver medallist at the Scottish International Competition in Glasgow and a prize winner in the Leeds and Ivo Pogorelich International Piano Competitions. An artistic scholar, Dr. Kim received his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts from The Juilliard School, where he held the Vladimir Horowitz Piano Scholarship. Upon graduation, he quickly took a professorship at Lawrence University’s Conservatory of Music in Appleton, WI.
Dr. Kim has toured extensively in North America, South America, the United Kingdom and Korea. As a concerto soloist, he has performed with the Boston and Cincinnati Pops, the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, the symphonies of Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon, Milwaukee, Green Bay, Oklahoma City, Orchestra London, the Florida Orchestra, and the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, among others . His touring history also includes highlights such as being invited to tour Peru with Orchestra Sinfonica de Trujillo and the UK with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the BBC Scottish Symphony.
As a chamber musician, Dr. Kim has performed at the festivals of Brevard, Aspen, Banff, Huntsville, and Heifetz (Annapolis, MD) to name a few. He also frequently collaborates with his wife, pianist Kyungran Kim, in a special four hand – one piano program and is the pianist for the highly successful production The Schumann Letters which has toured across the country. This season, highlights include a tour of the Atlantic region with his new recital program titled Evolution of the Piano. In addition, he will appear as concerto soloist with the Winnipeg and Vancouver Island Symphonies.
Dr. Kim can be heard on recordings for the Arktos, CRI, and Summit labels. He has recorded three compact discs for Orpheum Masters, featuring the Ballades of Grieg and Chopin, a live recital from Lawrence University, and works of Franz Liszt. His performances are broadcast frequently on the radio networks of CBC, NPR, KBS, Chicago WFMT’s Live From Studio One and both BBC Radio and Television.
In August 2008, Dr. Kim was appointed Dean of Brandon University’s School of Music, in Brandon Manitoba.