Dr. Yunhee Kim is an active piano performer and a dedicated educator and has steadily appeared on stage giving solo and chamber recitals. Recently she premiered a composition, “Chaconne, Variations, and Finale for Piano Solo (2023)”, dedicated to her by a composer, Dr. Christos Tsitsaros. Dr. Kim has been featured as a soloist performing with National Tatarstan Orchestra from Russia and Sinfonia da Camera Orchestra and concertized at major halls such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, etc. Her sensitive and colorful playing has captured audiences’ attention and led to her winning first prizes in the East Coast International Competition, the Illinois State Music Teachers Association Collegiate Piano Competition, the Summer Piano Institute Concerto Competition, etc. As a versatile pianist, she has collaborated with instrumentalists, singers, various ensembles, musical theater, and choirs.
Dr. Kim earned a doctorate in piano performance and literature, and a master’s degree in piano pedagogy at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) on a full scholarship, under the tutelage of a world-renowned pianist, Ian Hobson. She first came to the United States to study at Western Illinois University for a master’s degree in piano performance on an accompanying assistantship. Before that, she earned a bachelor’s degree in piano performance and a teacher‘s license in music at Sookmyung Women’s University in South Korea, where she received an academic excellence award, a distinguished graduate award, and the Myung-In alumni scholarship. Her previous employments as a piano educator include Merrimack College, Magdalen College, Piano Laboratory Program at UIUC, and Illinois Summer Youth Camp. She joined Oklahoma Panhandle State University as an assistant professor of music and a collaborative pianist in the spring of 2025.