Youngmi Kim

The Korean flutist Youngmi Kim, born in Seoul, Korea, is not only one of today’s notable orchestral musicians, but also an established flute icon remembered for her performances with Korea Broadcasting System (KBS) Symphony Orchestra.

Being the Principal Flute Chair of the KBS Symphony Orchestra since 1991, Youngmi Kim has won many accolades for her elegant tone with wooden touch, and outstanding breath control that enables dynamic soaring phrases and lyrical yet articulate virtuosity, presenting the whole spectra of colors and emotions. She is therefore referred to as the real artist who delivers agony, delight, passion and fantasy while she plays the real flute by musicians and the critics. Currently, Youngmi KIM is Professor of Flute and Adjunct Professor of the Poland Chopin Academy at College of Music and Performing Arts of Keimyung University, and serves as Vice-president of the Korea Flute Society.

During her career as the Principal Flute of the KBS Symphony Orchestra, Youngmi KIM has collaborated with such conductors as Vakhtang Jordania, Moshe Atzmon, Myunghoon Chung, Othmar Maga, Dmitry Kitaenko, and others. Parallel with this, as a soloist, she has performed the Concerti of Bach, Cimarosa, Mozart, Saint-Saens, Vivaldi, and other composers with the KBS Symphony Orchestra. She also enjoys dialoguing pleasantly and eagerly with the KBS Traditional Music Orchestra. During her undergraduate studies at Seoul National University, she performed contemporary music that was dedicated to her by Unsuk Chin, a notable contemporary composer.  In addition to her solo and orchestral endeavors, she also pursues a career as an ensemble musician with many distinguished groups and artists.

She left the KBS Symphony Orchestra in 2001 after having worked there for 15 years, and actively stepped towards her international career serving as a successful soloist and music director. During the 2007-2016 seasons, in particular, Youngmi KIM performed the Concerti for Two Flutes of Vivaldi and Mozart with the Plovdiv State Philharmonic Orchestra and Devienne’s Flute Concerto at the Army Hall (Dom Armije) with the Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra in 2007, François Borne’s Carmen Fantasy with the Transylvania State Philharmonic Orchestra at Cluj-Napoca in 2008, and the Concerto for  Flute and Harp of Mozart  with the Omsk Philharmonic Orchestra at Omsk and Doppler’s Flute Duo Concert with the Moscow State Philharmonic Orchestra in 2016.

A graduate of Seoul National University and the École Normale de Musique de Paris where she studied with Christian Lardé and Vicents Prats (the Principal Flute of the Orchestra de Paris) and graduated with two brilliant first prizes in playing the flute and chamber music, Youngmi KIM, subsequently won first prize at the 1987 UFAM International Flute Competition in France and achieved third prize with best performance award at the 3^rd Japan Flute Convention at Kobe in 1987. From her musical biography, it becomes obvious that she is making a great step forward with her continuing music projects and activities throughout the world. She has recently given master classes, concerti and recitals in Europe (Courchevel, Evian, Fontenay-le-Compte, Plovdiv, Sofia, and Omsk) and Asia. She is also proud of the successful accomplishment of the Euro-Asian Flute Festival in which she plays the role of co-director and her unforgettable debut recital at Bulgaria Hall (Zala Bulgaria) in Sofia, Bulgaria and the EMI label CD released in 2008, the touchstone of her much-anticipated debut album that reveals that Youngmi KIM has developed into a true individual flutist with her own sound and color.