Somi plays Taillefere's Piano Concerto No. 1 in THE CLASSICAL STYLE on Saturday 6 July.
Hailed for her “breath-taking range of colour, tone and inflection” (The Times), South Korean born New Zealand pianist Somi Kim is one of Aotearoa’s most sought after pianists.
A winner of the Royal Over-Seas League Accompanist Prize and the Gerald Moore Award for Accompanists, Somi enjoys an impressive career as a chamber musician and soloist. She performs extensively as the official pianist of NZTrio, one of New Zealand’s most indispensable ensembles, and her recent solo appearances include concertos with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra.
Alongside her performing accolades, Somi has been an official pianist and vocal coach for the International Vocal Competition ‘s-Hertogenbosch since 2018 and has performed with the winner of the Gisborne International Music Competition every year since 2017. She is a valued member of the collaborative pianist team at the International Holland Music Sessions, working as a studio pianist for internationally acclaimed violin professors including György Pauk, Pierre Amoyal, Krzysztof Wegrzyn and Takashi Shimizu. Somi’s passion for song and opera is reflected by her work as a vocal coach for the New Zealand Opera School and she gives regular recitals with esteemed singers for the Auckland Opera Studio.
Somi is a graduate of the University of Auckland (NZ) and the Royal Academy of Music (UK) where she obtained a Master of Music in solo piano and an Advanced Diploma in Performance and Master of Arts in collaborative piano with Distinction. She was recently awarded the Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM) to recognise her contribution to music.
