Characterized by her penchant for authentic and scholarly interpretation of musical arts, Choah Kim has been a lifelong pianist of versatile qualities. Born in Seoul, South Korea, Dr. Kim has been performing at numerous distinguished venues throughout the United States, Europe, Asia as a solo pianist and chamber musician, including but not limited to, Carnegie Hall – Weill Recital Hall, Lincoln Center Bruno Walters Auditorium, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Musikverein Gläswener Saal, Mozarthaus, Tsai Performance Center, the Miriam A. Friedberg Concert Hall, Maxwell Auditorium – Scottish Rite Masonic Museum, Hilda and Douglas Goodwin Recital Hall, Druker Auditorium, Cohen-Davidson Theater, Leith Symington Griswold Hall, Youngsan Art Hall, Youngsan Grace Hall, Ewon Cultural Center, Yongji Hall, Suseong Artpia, the Chopin Festival ‘Chopin Cometh’, the Schumann Festival, among other prestigious platforms.
Dr. Kim began her music education with Sunhwa Arts (Middle) School—an exclusive performing arts institution established for young musicians—and Sunhwa Arts High School in South Korea. She obtained her Bachelor of Music from Seoul National University, graduating Summa Cum Laude under the tutelage of Hyungbae Kim and Kwihyun Kim. Subsequently, Dr. Kim received her Master of Music in Piano Performance from the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University under Alexander Shtarkman and obtained her Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) degree at Boston University, publishing the dissertation “The Choreographic Character Piece for Piano Solo, Cinderella by Prokofiev.”
Her scholastic accolades include the following: Merit scholarships from Sunhwa Arts High School, Seoul National University, and the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University, as well as the Graduate Association Scholarship award from Seoul National University, the Peggy and Yale Gordon Accompanist Recognition Prize from the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University, and the Aaron Richmond Scholarship from Boston University. Dr. Kim was also inducted into the music honor society Pi Kappa Lambda when she obtained her D.M.A. degree.
Dr. Kim has received a number of notable awards and prizes: The Music Education Newspaper Competition, the Haneum Music Competition, the Ari Music Competition, the Shinye Music Competition, the Universal Music Competition, the Bradshaw & Buono International Piano Competition, the CAI Virtuoso International Competition, the Aaron Richmond Competition, Esther B. and Albert S. Kahn Grant Award, among others.
For more than a decade, Dr. Kim has had numerous opportunities to work and collaborate with all types of musical professionals, including singers, instrumentalists. Over the course of her graduate-level study at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, she served as a pianist/accompanist at the Conservatory, Opera Department, and Preparatory. In particular, she served as a pianist for the Peabody Institute’s opera productions, including the Peabody Opera Potpurri of “Lollapalooza.” In addition, Dr. Kim accompanied numerous recitals and projects for various choirs and churches since she was ten years of age. She currently serves as the pianist for Flano Duo and has recently released their second album titled “L’Aprés Midi Romantique,” which features prominent romantic sonatas.
As an educator, Dr. Kim appeared as a judge panelist of multiple youth piano competitions throughout Boston, and she has received Certificate of Recognitions for Excellence in Pedagogy from National
Young Maestro Competition, Golden Key International Music Festival, International Music and Arts Society. Dr. Kim’s students are winners at regional and international competitions and have continued to achieve notable success across grade examinations and perform at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kaufman Music Center, Baruch Performing Arts Center, among others. Also, she taught various Group Piano Lessons and applied lessons for both music and non-music major college-level students at Boston University over the course of her doctoral study, and she is currently a piano faculty of Westminster Conservatory of Rider University.