Dr. Christine Hye-Su Kim is a concert pianist and an educator. She has given thousands of successful performances, both solo and with orchestras in North America and Europe, at venues such as the Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, the George Weston Recital Hall, Toronto Centre for the Arts, the Benedict Music Tent and Harris Hall, Aspen Music Festival.
Her natural gift for the instrument was apparent from the beginning, giving her first concerto performance with an orchestra after just a year of learning. In no time, Christine became a veteran performer, earning top prizes from competitions including the Los Angeles Liszt Competition, and the Joanna Hodges International Piano Competition, now known as the Virginia Waring International Piano Competition.
While pursuing her many music degrees, she was the recipient of numerous scholarships and awards given exclusively to the top student, and was a repeat guest performer at concert series, ready for multiple back to back performances with hours worth of music. During one busy week, Christine gave three concerts with three different programs. She performed the Rachmaninoff Concerto No. 2 with The Royal Conservatory Orchestra, the Mozart Concerto No. 23, K.488 with the Mimico Chamber Orchestra, and then a solo program consisting of Brahms Ballades, Mozart Sonata K. 333, and Prokofiev Sonata No. 8, three days in a row.
Her music brings together audiences from all walks of life. She has performed for the Prime Minister of Canada, foreign diplomats, people listed in the Forbes World’s Richest, Hollywood movie stars, NASA scientists, and of course the finest musicians. She was interviewed on National Public Radio and MUSO magazine. Her opening concert for the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, Four Seasons Centre, was aired in “Person to Person” on Canadian national TV (TVO). She also recorded Chopin Prelude Op. 28 No. 15 “Raindrops" for George Romero's film "Diary of the Dead” in Technicolor Toronto, and performed as an Artist of the La Gesse Foundation.
Christine was a faculty member at the USC Thornton School of Music for a number of years. She taught at all levels, helping beginning students as well as internationally known top musicians. In addition to teaching, she also held an administrative position in the Keyboard Department overseeing undergraduate and graduate non-majors, minors, music majors enrolled in piano studies, and twelve Graduate Teaching Assistants but was never too busy for her students’ new music, which she premiered in the Composition Department Showcases.
She has her Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance from the USC Thornton School of Music, and her Artist Diploma from The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. As an heiress to the tradition of the great pianists, she was trained by the world-renowned pianists Dr. Stewart Gordon, Leon Fleisher, Ann Schein, Marc Durand, Joseph Kalichstein, Dr. Ick-Choo and Hae-Young Moon, John Perry, Antoinette Perry, Sergei Silvansky, and Vitaly Margulis.
Piano Faculty - Taught for 6 years at the USC Thornton School of Music, Los Angeles, CA
Administrator - 3 years at the USC Thornton School of Music, Los Angeles, CA
Doctor of Musical Arts - USC Thornton School of Music, Los Angeles, CA
Piano Performance with Dr. Stewart Gordon, Theory and Analysis Minor with Dr. Robert Moore, Pedagogy Minor with Prof. Dennis Thurmond
Piano Performance with Dr. Stewart Gordon, Theory and Analysis Minor with Dr. Robert Moore, Pedagogy Minor with Prof. Dennis Thurmond
Master of Music - USC Thornton School of Music, Los Angeles, CA
Piano Performance with Dr. Stewart Gordon
Piano Performance with Dr. Stewart Gordon
Artist Diploma - The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto, Canada
Piano Performance with John Perry, Studies with Leon Fleisher, Marc Durand
Piano Performance with John Perry, Studies with Leon Fleisher, Marc Durand
Bachelor of Music - USC Thornton School of Music, Los Angeles, CA
Piano Performance with John Perry, Antoinette Perry
Piano Performance with John Perry, Antoinette Perry
Pre-college, Conservatory - The Colburn School, Los Angeles, CA
Piano Performance with John Perry
Piano Performance with John Perry
Aspen Music Festival and School, Aspen, CO
Piano Performance with John Perry, Antoinette Perry, Ann Schein, Joseph Kalichstein
Piano Performance with John Perry, Antoinette Perry, Ann Schein, Joseph Kalichstein
Masterclasses, Private Studies, and Courses with Vitaly Margulis, Sergei Silvansky, Dr. Ick-Choo and Hae-Young Moon, Eduardus Halim, David Arnay, Leslie Kinton, Michael “Smidi” Smith, Dr. Madeleine Hallé, John Barnett