About Helena Hyesoo Kim

Dr. Helena Hyesoo Kim, a Korean-Canadian pianist known for her sensitive and passionate playing. She has performed at prominent venues across the Netherlands, France, Russia, Spain, Korea, Canada, and the United States, including Carnegie Hall (Stern Auditorium) in New York. Kim has appeared as a soloist with the Chopin Poland Orchestra and has earned numerous accolades in national and international competitions, including first prize at the Han Kuk Ilbo and the Russian Music Festival. 

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Kim has collaborated with a variety of musicians, including soprano Su-Mi Cho, trumpet player Jens Lindemann, pianist Curtis Pavey (in piano duo), clarinetist Christopher Pell, tuba player Chris Blaha, and saxophonist Todd Gaffke, with whom she released the CD Locally Sourced under the Nuema Recording label.

 

Kim received her early musical training at Yewon Art School and the Saint-Petersburg Pre-Conservatory. She continued her studies at the University of British Columbia and McGill University. She earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Cincinnati.

 

An advocate for the works of underrepresented composers, Kim has a particular focus on female composers, including Caroline KyungA Ahn, Alexina Louie, Sofia Gubaidulina, and Galina Ustvolskaya. Her doctoral research explored unifying elements in the piano sonatas of Galina Ustvolskaya, works that were marginalized due to repression by the Soviet government.

 

Kim currently teaches at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, serves as a Vice President of Board at Odyssey Chamber Music Series, and a Coordinator of International Engagement of Korea at the Frances Clark Center.