Conversations with Yeon-kyung Kim

Today we’d like to introduce you to Yeon-kyung Kim

Hi Yeon-Kyung, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
At the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, there are a lot of students who dedicate numerous hours honing their crafts. These are high-caliber musicians of international level. They usually stay inside the conservatory building or fly out to compete at an international competition or to their next international conservatory. On the other hand, the people of Cincinnati are proud of CCM but they rarely go to the concerts at CCM because of parking(!) or because classical music is not accessible. I tried to break the barrier. In 2019, the second year of my doctorate at CCM, I collected several friends of mine to play at a neighborhood church. I also invited my friends to come and listen to these short pieces. That was Concert Number One.

After COVID-19, I put on the next concert, Concert Number Two, in 2022. Concert Number Two invited Korean composers who studied at schools in the Midwest. It included established composers in Korea, a doctorate student at CCM, and composers who picked up their careers through the Concert No. 2 project. While organizing the concert, I established the non-profit, Glow Music, with the encouragement of now our board member, Bill Lindsay. Since then, Glow Music has been hosting free concerts that connect performers, composers, and audiences at venues that are easily accessible. I believe our efforts bring together the student artists and the people over the conservatory wall.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
There have been times when I feel like I am doing 5 people’s jobs. Like any other small business, especially a non-profit, I am the artistic director, grant writer, web designer, event planner, and publicity coordinator. Of course, most of them are out of my comfort zone. I join free webinars for folks like me and feel relieved that I am not alone! I think I am getting better at juggling.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
The biggest part of my portfolio career is playing the piano! I did my doctorate in piano performance at CCM and lived in Cincinnati from 2017 to 2022. Now I travel to Cincinnati a few times a year for the concert. During my doctorate, I had a lot of opportunities to perform and teach. Recently, I have worked at Western Illinois University as a staff collaborative pianist for more than 2 years, and played with students and faculty members of the School of Music. Now I live in Champaign, Illinois, and play with other musicians in Illinois and Indiana.
I love playing in a small group, which is called chamber music in classical music. I enjoy interacting through music with the members of the group and creating synergy when performing. I also thrive performing lesser-known compositions to introduce them to audiences and other performers. As much as my soul responds to the 19th-century repertoire that is pianists’ staple, as a professional performer I feel obliged to research and present pieces by underrepresented groups of composers or living composers. This is also related to the projects I pursue at Glow Music. I look forward to performing more in Cincinnati and Ohio!

What makes you happy?
Many things make me happy; a warm plate of food that I share with my husband, a good audiobook, the video call with my parents, the way back home after a good rehearsal, and the relief after Glow Music’s annual concert. I believe that finding small joys in your family, work, and surroundings builds happiness.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://glowmusic.live
• Instagram: concerts.glowmusic
• Facebook: concerts.glowmusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@concerts.glowmusic

Image Credits
Gregory Wang, Bill Lindsay