Sarah Kim

Education
D.M.A. Performance, UC College-Conservatory of Music
M.M. Performance, Northwestern University
B.M. Performance, Eastman

Sarah Kim, D.M.A. leads a vibrant and diverse career as a cellist, professor, and arts leader.  Named the 2016 Ohio String Teachers Association Studio Teacher of the Year and recipient of a Cincinnati Arts Association Overture Educator Award, she currently serves as the full-time cello professor at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Previous teaching appointments include the string faculty of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where she served as the graduate pedagogy cognate coordinator and instructor of cello.

As a solo artist and chamber musician, Kim has performed throughout North America, Europe, and South America. She has been broadcast on WGN Chicago, Vermont Public Radio, and WGUC Cincinnati.  She has been invited to teach and perform at numerous festivals worldwide including the Festival de Music de Santa Caterina in Brazil, Aronson Cello Festival at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, Aria International Summer Academy,  Brancaleoni International Music Festival in Italy, International Cello Institute, and Interlochen Summer Programs. 

Chamber collaborations have included performances with members of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, and L.A. Philharmonic as well as members of the Juilliard, Catalyst, Dali and Cavani Quartets. Kim is a champion of new music by women composers.  Recent performance highlights include premiering works for solo cello by Victoria Bond in Brazil and Germany. 

A sought-after clinician, Kim has been featured in masterclasses at the American String Teacher’s Association National Conference as well as numerous cello festivals and workshops at universities.  In 2023-24 she was invited to present masterclasses at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, the Instituto Superior de Arte del Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, the Abracello Festival and Universidade Estadual de Campinas in São Paulo, and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She also was invited to give presentations on topics of practice efficiency and mindfulness for organizations including the New World Symphony, Cleveland Institute of Music, Boston Conservatory, and the Mikiel Anton Vassali College in Valletta, Malta. 

Kim has adjudicated national competitions such as the National Schadt String Competition and the Music Teacher’s National Association National Finals. She regularly presents at conferences such as the American String Teachers Association and has directed and developed pre-college programs at the School for Creative and Performing Arts in Cincinnati, the University of Cincinnati, Roosevelt University, and Northern Kentucky University. 

As an instructor, Kim’s students have earned national recognition as prize winners in the YoungArts Foundation, Fischoff, Music Teacher’s National Association, and Sphinx competitions. They have performed as soloists with the Cincinnati Symphony, Louisville Orchestra, Dayton Philharmonic, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and Hilton Head Symphony.

A native of Minneapolis, MN, Kim received her B.M. at the Eastman School of Music, her M.M. at Northwestern University, and her D.M.A. at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Her primary studies have been with Peter Howard, Steven Doane, and Hans Jørgen Jensen.

As the co-founder of Ascent Music, Kim promotes the advancement of music education and community outreach through the direction of internationally attended chamber music and cello festivals in Hudson, OH.