Ep. 25: Interview with Jeeyoung Kim

Welcome to Clexical, the podcast dedicated to contemporary classical music! I’m your host, [Kweku Adusei-Poku]. Here you will listen to conversations with living contemporary composers about their work, their journey as musicians and their thoughts on the current new music scene. Join us as we explore and influence the vibrant world of contemporary classical music. To learn more about our work, please visit www.clexical.org. You can find videos of all the interviews we’ve done so far, the outreach programs we’ve done with schools and libraries, and our weekly blog posts discussing the current new music scene. Today’s interview will be conducted by Edward Lee.

 

Jeeyoung Kim is an acclaimed Korean-born composer. She defines her work as a harmonization of the unique cultural aspects of Eastern and Western traditions; Deconstructing and rebuilding cultural heritage through music. She is committed to the power music has to heal, connect, and be a medium for creative expression.

 

With an extensive educational background, Kim studied music composition at Yonsei University in Seoul South Korea for her bachelor’s, Indiana University for her Masters in music, and she earned her Doctorate of Musical Arts from Yale University. Kim received the Bunting Fellowship at Harvard University where she composed and researched Asian music and philosophy.

 

In addition to her astounding level of education, Kim has received a multitude of awards and fellowships including recognition from the National Endowment for the Arts, International Alliance for Women in Music, National Association of Composers, Meet the Composer, the Dale Warland Singers New Music Competition, Jerome Foundation, Aspen Music Festival, and many others.

 

Her compositions have been performed by renowned orchestras and ensembles such as the Korean Broadcasting System Orchestra, Chanticleer, Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, KBS Korean Traditional Music Orchestra, Contemporary Gugak Orchestra, Suwon Philharmonic, Daejeon Philharmonic, and Empire State Youth Orchestra.