BIOgraphy
As a Korean-born composer who was educated in both Korea and the United States, Jeeyoung Kim’s music harmonizes the unique cultural aspects of Eastern and Western traditions. Her work has been critically acclaimed:
“...Heroes for orchestra was an efficient and attractive calling card. The piece moved from gentle wind melodies through flowing string passages to end with rousing brass fanfares and clattering percussion,” – The New York Times
“...Miserere for SATB, [was] a powerful work, from the quiet opening with Tibetan bowls to create what is considered the sound of Heaven in Korea, to the two solos sung in a traditional style called Jeong-Ga, to the bold middle and ending sections,” – New York Classical Review
“Even to the untrained ear, there was no mistaking the elegance and poignancy of this music,” said Joshua Kosman of The San Francisco Chronicle about Tryst, composed for Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble.
Her pieces Tryst and Ancient Bell were both commissioned and toured internationally by The Silk Road Ensemble, led by Yo-Yo Ma. Her chamber opera, From My Mother’s Mother, commissioned by the Houston Grand Opera, premiered in November 2012. Her orchestral work Heroes was performed at the Yeosu Expo in Korea and at Tanglewood in 2012.
Ms. Kim has received numerous awards and fellowships, including the prestigious Bunting Fellowship from Harvard University, and recognition from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), International Alliance for Women in Music (IAWM), National Association of Composers, USA (NACUSA), Meet the Composer, the Dale Warland Singers New Music Competition, Jerome Foundation, Aspen Music Festival, and many others.
Her music has been performed worldwide by orchestras and ensembles including the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) Orchestra, Chanticleer, Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, KBS Korean Traditional Music Orchestra, Contemporary Gugak Orchestra, Suwon Philharmonic, Daejeon Philharmonic, Empire State Youth Orchestra, and De Ereprijs in the Netherlands.
Ms. Kim studied composition at Yonsei University (B.M.) and Indiana University (M.M.), and earned her Doctor of Musical Arts from Yale University. She was awarded the Bunting Fellowship at Harvard University, where she composed and researched Asian music and philosophy.
In addition to her work as a composer, Kim earned a Master’s degree in Music Therapy from New York University (NYU). Prior to her internship at Nordoff-Robbins, she worked as a pre-intern at the International Institute for the Brain (iBrain) and the VA Hospital in New York City, gaining valuable clinical experience with neurologically diverse populations. She completed her clinical internship at the internationally renowned Nordoff-Robbins Center for Music Therapy, working primarily with children on the autism spectrum. She will begin her role as a Level 1 music therapist at the Center in September 2025. Drawing on her background as a composer and performer, she is committed to the transformative power of music as a medium for healing, connection, and creative expression.