Department of Music

Angela Kim

Angela Kim, hailed by international press as "a pianist of the highest technical standard," is an artist who shows her versatility through vivid imagination and profound musical expression. Ms. Kim is a passionate advocate of the transformative power of music and education. As a highly sought-after pedagogue, Ms. Kim was honored with induction into the Steinway & Sons Teacher Hall of Fame in October 2023.

Ms. Kim is driven by a continuous pursuit of musical excellence and the quest to develop original expressions. Her ongoing performance initiatives encompass commissioning solo works by BIPOC composers, exploring electronic music, multimedia collaborations integrating dance and video art, and her ensemble group 48 St. Stephen with violinist Clara Kim.

Embracing her role as a classical pianist in the 21st century, she is committed to programming traditional masterpieces alongside new compositions by sought-after living composers. Throughout her career, Ms. Kim has premiered compositions by influential figures such as Steve Reich, Gunther Schuller, Frederic Rzewski, Richard Carrick, and Yoon-Ji Lee. Recent premieres highlight her collaboration with Christopher Stark (2022 Rome Prize Fellow), Leilehua Lanzilotti (2022 Pulitzer Prize Finalist), and Molly Herron (Vanderbilt University). Looking ahead to 2024-2025 season, Ms. Kim anticipates premiering new pieces by Dan VanHassel, Xavier Beteta, and Juantio Becenti.

In 2022, Ms. Kim was honored with the Classical Commissioning Grants from the Mellon Foundation’s Chamber Music America, one of the largest grants for chamber music in the United States. Her accolades also include the prestigious Henry Cobos Endowed Piano Prize from the Eastman School of Music, and an Emerging Artist Award from the St. Botolph Club, a venerable institution supporting arts, science, and literature in Boston, MA.

Ms. Kim has performed extensively throughout the United States, South America, Italy, Germany, Austria, and Korea. She earned academic honors, completing her Bachelor's, Master's, and Graduate Diploma at the New England Conservatory of Music. She went on to achieve her Doctorate of Piano Performance and Literature at the Eastman School of Music. Following graduation, she immediately held a teaching position at the New England Conservatory of Music as a Professor of Theory.

Currently, Ms. Kim serves as an Associate Professor of Piano and Director of the Keyboard Area at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. In the academic year 2022-2023, she held the position of Visiting Professor of Piano at the Eastman School of Music.