Yoonah Kim

Rapidly earning recognition as a young artist of uncommon musical depth and versatility, clarinetist Yoonah Kim is a winner of the 2016 Concert Artists Guild International Competition.  The first solo clarinetist to win CAG in nearly thirty years, this Korean-Canadian artist joins the ranks of prominent solo clarinetists discovered by CAG, including David Shifrin, Michael Collins, and David Krakauer. 

Kim’s 2017-18 solo performances include her New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall on the CAG New York Series, as well as debut recitals for Chicago’s Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts series, Washington Performing Arts’s Music in the Country series, Chamber Music Society of Little Rock, and Union County Performing Arts Center (NJ).  She also appears as concerto soloist with the Arkansas Symphony Youth Orchestra and the DuPage Symphony Orchestra near Chicago.

In 2016, Kim became the first woman to win first prize at the Vandoren Emerging Artist Competition, leading to her world premiere performance of Pocket Concerto by American composer Dag Gabrielsen at The Music for All National Festival in Indianapolis, presented by Yamaha. Earlier that year, she was a featured soloist at Juilliard’s Focus Festival, performing Donald Martino’s A Set for Clarinet at Peter Jay Sharp Theater in New York City.

Beginning in fall 2016, Kim became a member of Ensemble Connect (formerly Ensemble ACJW), a highly selective two-year fellowship program under the joint auspices of Carnegie Hall, the Weill Institute, and the Juilliard School. With Ensemble Connect, she performs regularly at Carnegie Hall, often in collaboration with renowned conductors and guest artists. One recent Zankel Hall performance was conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, and in December 2016, she performed in France at the Philharmonie de Paris, featuring soprano Natalie Dessay

As principal clarinetist of the Juilliard Orchestra and the Mannes Orchestra, Kim performed at prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall, David Geffen Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and Symphony Space. Kim also served as principal clarinetist of the New York Youth Symphony and the Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra, with whom she appeared in the closing ceremony of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, televised across the world. Also an active chamber musician, Kim tours regularly with the ensembles FOUNDERS and Frisson and has appeared at chamber music festivals, including the Chautauqua Music Festival, Sarasota Music Festival, The Banff Centre Music Festival, and Caroga Lake Music Festival.

In addition to her appearances on stage, Kim is also committed to teaching. Through her extensive educational outreach working with Ensemble Connect, she serves as an education ambassador for Carnegie Hall at New York City schools. She is also currently on the faculty of New York School of Music and Art and maintains a small private studio in New York City. 

Born in Seoul and raised in British Columbia, Kim holds a Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Mannes College of Music at The New School, where she studied clarinet under Charles Neidich.