BIOGRAPHY
Agnes Kim is a distinguished cellist known for her dynamic performances and wide-ranging musical engagements. Her work has earned her praise as a “hair-raising performer” in The Boston Musical Intelligencer. Kim is a dedicated chamber musician, serving as the cellist for the highly respected Arneis Quartet. The quartet’s recordings, including Elena Ruehr’s String Quartet No. 8 “Insect Dances” (Avie Records, 2022) and John H. Wallace’s pale reflection… : Arneis Quartet and Friends (Centaur Records, 2016), have been critically acclaimed.
In addition to her quartet work, Kim co-founded Echo Bridge Cello, a collective dedicated to providing cello ensemble concerts and educational resources to support young cellists and local communities. She was also a founding member of the award-winning Trio Eca and performed with Trio Sol, which was nationally broadcasted on MBC in South Korea.
Her soloist experience includes performances with the Hwaum Boston Chamber Orchestra and the Busan Philharmonic Orchestra. Kim has played with a variety of musical organizations, such as the Orchestra of Emmanuel Music, Boston Philharmonic, White Snake Projects, and Coro Allegro. Furthermore, she has held prominent positions as the principal cellist for the Haffner Sinfonietta and Philharmonia Boston.
Kim’s performance highlights span renowned venues and festivals, including the Beijing Modern Music Festival, Music on Main (Vancouver), Stanford University’s Lively Arts series, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Boston Symphony Hall, Teatro Valli (Italy), and academic institutions like MIT, Boston University, Wellesley College, Smith College, Swarthmore College, and Shanghai Conservatory of Music. She has collaborated with esteemed artists including the St. Lawrence String Quartet, composers John Harbison, Elena Ruehr, Aaron Travers, Gabriella Lena Frank, Susie Ibarra, and Anthony Green, as well as violinist Peter Zasofsky, violist Michelle LaCourse, cellists Mark Johnson, Yeesun Kim, and Owen Young, pianist Victor Cayres, bandoneonist Julien Labro, and singer-songwriter Gabriel Kahane.
As an educator, Kim serves on the faculty at Boston University and as a cello instructor and chamber coach for the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra. She has also taught at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute (BUTI), Point Counterpoint, and Lyceum Music Festival, and worked with students from various Boston schools and the Perkins School for the Blind through the Emmanuel Music Educational Outreach Program.
Kim earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Boston University under the guidance of Leslie Parnas and holds degrees from the New England Conservatory (Master of Music) and the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University (Bachelor of Music), studying with Yeesun Kim and Steven Kates. She has participated in esteemed programs such as the Aspen Music Festival, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music, Deer Valley Music Festival, Juilliard String Quartet Seminar, and the St. Lawrence String Quartet Chamber Music Seminar.
Kim has received numerous accolades, including the Artist International Audition winner, John Lad Prize, Aldo Parisot Scholarship, Eric Von Baeyer Scholarship, and prizes from the International Chamber Music Ensemble Competition and Ibla Grand Prize.