ANTHONY DO-HOON KIM

Originally from Seoul, South Korea, Anthony Do-Hoon Kim is a versatile conductor and music educator with a vast experience of performing throughout North America. In 2013, he became a conductor of the San Diego Youth Symphony, one of the largest youth orchestra organizations in the United States with a rich 77-year history. Over his decade of service with SDYS, he has been the director of Sinfonia, Philharmonia, Chamber Orchestra, Concert Orchestra, Overture Strings, and Debut Strings. In addition to his conducting duties at SDYS, he taught chamber music at the Balboa Park Conservatory Program as a strings specialist and taught orchestras at the Community Opus Project (El Sistema).

Off the podium, Mr. Kim is a sought-after piano pedagogue, teaching alongside his partner and concert pianist, Jeeyoon Kim, as a member of the Kim & Kim Piano Academy in San Diego. He specializes in teaching young beginners and preparing them for a lifelong love of music. His advanced piano students have gone on to receive scholarships from the most prestigious piano programs in the nation, including Indiana University, Oberlin Conservatory, University of Southern California, Boston University, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Maryland, and Interlochen Center for the Arts.

Before his time at SDYS, Mr. Kim served as Music Director of the Michigan Pops Orchestra and was the Founding Artistic Director of the Dead Composers Society at UC Santa Barbara. As a guest conductor, Mr. Kim performed with the University of Michigan Symphony and Philharmonia Orchestras, San Diego All-City Honor Orchestras, and Grossmont Union District Honor Orchestra. He has additionally served on the conducting staff of the Thousand Oaks Philharmonic, UCSB Symphony Orchestra, Santa Barbara Youth Symphony, South Coast Reading Orchestra, and the San Diego Summer Music Institute.

As a featured artist, Mr. Kim appeared both as a pianist and conductor on Southern California’s Classical KDB 93.7 FM, as well as the Maine Public Broadcasting Network (PBS). As a passionate advocate of new music, he has led numerous world premieres of works by living composers, including music by Hans Zimmer from the motion picture, Inception. He is a devoted champion of music education, frequently serving as an adjudicator for arts organizations throughout the state of California.

As a visiting clinician, Mr. Kim has conducted and worked with orchestral programs at the San Diego State University, The Colburn School, Idyllwild Arts Academy, Kadima Conservatory of Music, David's Harp Foundation, Casa de Amistad of Solana Beach, Fortissimo Orchestra of San Marcos, and VAPA programs at the San Diego Unified School District.

Mr. Kim studied as a Conducting Fellow at the Pierre Monteux School and the Conductors Institute at Bard College Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Michael Jinbo and Harold Farberman, respectively. He has also performed in masterclasses and received training from artists including Leon Fleisher, Gustav Meier, Yuval Yaron, and the Juilliard String Quartet. He is a recipient of multiple career grants from the Léni Fé Bland Foundation and has won first prize awards in piano from the Music Teachers National Association and Saddleback Symphony Young Artist competitions.

Anthony Do-Hoon Kim received his Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Michigan, where he studied under Kenneth Kiesler. He also holds both a Bachelor and Master of Music in Piano Performance from University of California, Santa Barbara, where he was a student of Charles Asche. As a graduate instructor at UCSB, he taught undergraduate instrumental conducting courses under the guidance of Richard Rintoul. Equally prolific as a pianist, he received the Ernö Daniel Memorial Award for Distinguished Performance and was recognized as the UCSB Department of Music Outstanding Graduate of the Year in 2010.

Growing up in Southern California, Mr. Kim studied piano with Kay Etheridge, Nakyong Chai, Jungeun Kim, and performed as a violinist with the Irvine and San Diego Youth Symphonies.

*Full-page featured article on Anthony Do-Hoon Kim, San Diego Union-Tribune 2019 Spring Arts Preview: PDF | LINK