Grammy winning artist Jonah Kim made his solo debut with Wolfgang Sawallisch and the Philadelphia Orchestra in 2003. The same year, he also appeared with the National Symphony Orchestra where the Washington Post music critic Joseph McLellan called him simply, “the next Yo-Yo Ma.” Mr. Kim has soloed with the Atlantic Classical Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, New Philharmonia, Orquestra Sinfônica Nacional, Orchestra Filarmonica, the Philadelphia Orchestra, Symphony of the Americas and many others. He has played in prestigious venues such as New York City’s Carnegie Hall and Merkin Hall, Wigmore Hall in London, California’s Montalvo Arts Center, the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, the Kravis Center in Palm Beach, the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami, the Phillips Collection and the John F. Kennedy Center in DC where Anne Midgette of the Washington Post praised, “Kim flirted with the line, shaped it, wrapped it around his fingers, pulled it out in a new dimension, all with practiced ease.”
Highly sought after internationally as a chamber musician, Mr. Kim is a founding member of the “hip, unstuffy, and malleable group” Ensemble San Francisco. He frequents festivals like the Atlantic Music Festival, Bari International Music Festival, Cactus Pear Music Festival, Chamber Music Silicon Valley, Hong Kong Arts Festival, Music in May Santa Cruz, and San Luis Obispo’s Festival Mozaic. As a fellow at the Curtis Institute, he studied the piano trio literature extensively with his trio with prize winning violinist Chen Xi and piano sensation Yuja Wang. Since then, he has collaborated with world class artists on four continents, sharing the stage with Elmar Oliveira, Jon Nakamatsu, Martin Beaver, Ian Swensen, Scott Yoo, Chee-Yun Kim and Romie de Guise-Langlois in recent seasons. In a review of his Debussy cello sonata with Ensemble San Francisco at Alliance Français’ French Festival 2015, San Francisco Classical Voice critic David Bratman exclaimed “this was an excellent performance, the best I’ve heard of this piece.”
Born in Seoul, Korea, Mr. Kim immigrated to the United States in 1995. His father, a Protestant pastor, possessed a keen ear for music despite no formal musical training and introduced him to the cello through VHS tapes of Pablo Casals playing the Bach’s Solo Cello Suites. Learning strictly by imitation, the seven-year old was invited to train at the Juilliard School within the year. So began his professional training at Juilliard, but it was not until he met world renowned soloist and pedagogue Janos Starker the following summer that he became certain music was his calling. Attending a New York City public school, learning to speak English, and adjusting to life in the United States was not always easy. Starker’s invitation to come study with him was pivotal, inspiring the young cellist to continue with renewed motivation. Starker later remarked, “Jonah is an exceptional talent. He is at the top of his generation.”
Mr. Kim graduated with top marks at only seventeen years of age from two of the most prestigious conservatories in the world on full scholarships, The Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute of Music, regarded as the most exclusive educational institution in the world at a five percent acceptance rate. His biggest musical influences include Janos Starker, Mstislav Rostropovich, Lynn Harrell and Yo-Yo Ma. He has also studied with cellists Peter Wiley, Orlando Cole, David Soyer, Joel Krosnick, Aldo Parisot, violinists Jaime Laredo, Aaron Rosand, Joseph Silverstein, Arnold Steinhardt, and pianists Leon Fleisher, Gary Graffman, Seymour Lipkin, Claude Frank and Edward Aldwell.
A fixture at top studios such as Skywalker Sound and the Hit Factory, Mr. Kim has won two Grammy Awards. He records across a spectrum of genres and collaborates live in concert with artists like Andrea Bocelli, Mariah Carey, Cristian Castro, Vic Damone, Kenny Rogers and Kip Winger to name a few. Dedicated to sharing music in ways that positively impact and heal people in need, Mr. Kim is very active in community outreach. He volunteers at schools, hospitals, assisted living facilities, religious institutions, and even juvenile detention centers, connecting not only through performance but also in a more personable capacity in musical therapy sessions and spiritual gatherings. His teaching in master class settings has been described as “captivating and hilarious… relevant to not only musicians, resonating with all walks of life.” Mr. Kim is the youngest instructor at CelloSpeak, a cello retreat at Bryn Mawr College, where he has lectured and experimented with teaching methods for the greater part of the past decade. Last season, he was invited to join the illustrious faculty at Interlochen Center for the Arts. He plays a Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume cello made in 1845 generously on loan, as well as a 2016 Haide Lin, a gold medal winning instrument at the Indianapolis Violin Society of America Competition. His bow was made in 1904 by Jules Fetique à Paris.
Highly sought after internationally as a chamber musician, Mr. Kim is a founding member of the “hip, unstuffy, and malleable group” Ensemble San Francisco. He frequents festivals like the Atlantic Music Festival, Bari International Music Festival, Cactus Pear Music Festival, Chamber Music Silicon Valley, Hong Kong Arts Festival, Music in May Santa Cruz, and San Luis Obispo’s Festival Mozaic. As a fellow at the Curtis Institute, he studied the piano trio literature extensively with his trio with prize winning violinist Chen Xi and piano sensation Yuja Wang. Since then, he has collaborated with world class artists on four continents, sharing the stage with Elmar Oliveira, Jon Nakamatsu, Martin Beaver, Ian Swensen, Scott Yoo, Chee-Yun Kim and Romie de Guise-Langlois in recent seasons. In a review of his Debussy cello sonata with Ensemble San Francisco at Alliance Français’ French Festival 2015, San Francisco Classical Voice critic David Bratman exclaimed “this was an excellent performance, the best I’ve heard of this piece.”
Born in Seoul, Korea, Mr. Kim immigrated to the United States in 1995. His father, a Protestant pastor, possessed a keen ear for music despite no formal musical training and introduced him to the cello through VHS tapes of Pablo Casals playing the Bach’s Solo Cello Suites. Learning strictly by imitation, the seven-year old was invited to train at the Juilliard School within the year. So began his professional training at Juilliard, but it was not until he met world renowned soloist and pedagogue Janos Starker the following summer that he became certain music was his calling. Attending a New York City public school, learning to speak English, and adjusting to life in the United States was not always easy. Starker’s invitation to come study with him was pivotal, inspiring the young cellist to continue with renewed motivation. Starker later remarked, “Jonah is an exceptional talent. He is at the top of his generation.”
Mr. Kim graduated with top marks at only seventeen years of age from two of the most prestigious conservatories in the world on full scholarships, The Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute of Music, regarded as the most exclusive educational institution in the world at a five percent acceptance rate. His biggest musical influences include Janos Starker, Mstislav Rostropovich, Lynn Harrell and Yo-Yo Ma. He has also studied with cellists Peter Wiley, Orlando Cole, David Soyer, Joel Krosnick, Aldo Parisot, violinists Jaime Laredo, Aaron Rosand, Joseph Silverstein, Arnold Steinhardt, and pianists Leon Fleisher, Gary Graffman, Seymour Lipkin, Claude Frank and Edward Aldwell.
A fixture at top studios such as Skywalker Sound and the Hit Factory, Mr. Kim has won two Grammy Awards. He records across a spectrum of genres and collaborates live in concert with artists like Andrea Bocelli, Mariah Carey, Cristian Castro, Vic Damone, Kenny Rogers and Kip Winger to name a few. Dedicated to sharing music in ways that positively impact and heal people in need, Mr. Kim is very active in community outreach. He volunteers at schools, hospitals, assisted living facilities, religious institutions, and even juvenile detention centers, connecting not only through performance but also in a more personable capacity in musical therapy sessions and spiritual gatherings. His teaching in master class settings has been described as “captivating and hilarious… relevant to not only musicians, resonating with all walks of life.” Mr. Kim is the youngest instructor at CelloSpeak, a cello retreat at Bryn Mawr College, where he has lectured and experimented with teaching methods for the greater part of the past decade. Last season, he was invited to join the illustrious faculty at Interlochen Center for the Arts. He plays a Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume cello made in 1845 generously on loan, as well as a 2016 Haide Lin, a gold medal winning instrument at the Indianapolis Violin Society of America Competition. His bow was made in 1904 by Jules Fetique à Paris.