Biography
Soomin Kim is a composer and singer who is curious about herself and the world around her. She likes to draw inspiration from Korean and Asian American literature, personal and ancestral stories, and ancient music traditions, reimagining them in a contemporary context. Soomin’s work has garnered recognition, including three Morton Gould Young Composer Awards from the ASCAP Foundation (2019, 2020, and 2022).
In 2025, Soomin was selected to attend the inaugural Memphis Composer Institute, where her work was performed by the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. In 2024, her orchestral piece star / ghost / mouth / sea was chosen for the University of Florida Call for Scores by Women Composers. During the 2023-24 concert season, she served as composer-in-residence with Zeitgeist, a Minnesota-based new music ensemble, and was the guest artist at the annual Art Festival at the North London Collegiate School Jeju.
Her music has been presented internationally, with performances in South Korea, Japan, Australia, Italy, and across the United States. Soomin's compositions have been featured at prestigious festivals including the Ravinia Festival, Sydney Festival, Liquid Music, Aspen Music Festival, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Norfolk New Music Workshop, and soundSCAPE Festival.
Soomin holds a Bachelor of Music in composition from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and both a Master of Music and Master of Musical Arts in composition from the Yale School of Music, where she was honored with the Frances E. Osborne Kellogg Memorial Prize.
