Texu Kim

composer

Much of Kim’s compositional outlook reflects his personal fascination with everyday experiences, as in his piece Bounce!!, inspired by bouncing basketballs and incorporating different aspects of bouncing through bouncy gestures and alternating chords and instruments.  As a person with a multicultural background, he also composes music about modern Korea and the interaction between its folk culture and external influences, as in Monastic Sceneries, which addresses the integration of American evangelical and indigenous shaman traditions in Korean Christianity.

Kim’s works have been performed by Minnesota Orchestra, National Orchestra of Korea, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, KBS Orchestra, Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Ensemble Modern, Alarm Will Sound, Ensemble Reconsil Vienna, New York Classical Players, Ensemble 212, AsianArt Ensemble Berlin, Ensemble Mise-en, fEARnoMUSIC, Ensemble TIMF, Northwestern University New Music Ensemble, Indiana University New Music Ensemble, C4: Choral Composer/Conductor Collective, NOTUS, Red Clay Saxophone Quartet, Verona Quartet, among others.  He was invited to Yeowoorak Festival, Walla Walla Chamber Music Festival, PyeongChang Music Festival and School, Bruckner Festival, SONiC Festival, Mizzou International Composers Festival, June in Buffalo, Aspen Music Festival, SCI National Conferences, Composers Conference, Oregon Bach Festival, and has earned awards and honors from American Modern Ensemble, Copland House, SCI/ASCAP, Isang Yun International Composition Prize, to name a few.

In addition to his original compositions, Kim’s arrangements have also been performed widely, as in the Opening Ceremony of the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games and in Piece & Piano Festival. He has participated as an arranger in albums of sopranos Sumi Jo, Youngok Shin, violists Richard Yongjae O’neill, Suyoen Kim and Chee-Yun, harpist Jung Kwak, and pianist Yeol-Eum Son.

Kim teaches music theory and composition at Syracuse University’s Setnor School of Music as an assistant teaching professor, after having previously taught at Portland State University and Lewis & Clark College.  He also served as the Composer-in-Residence of the Korean Symphony Orchestra in 2014-18. Having studied with Unsuk Chin, David Dzubay, Sven-David Sandstrom, Claude Baker, and Sangjick Jun, he received his D.M. from Indiana University and other degrees from Seoul National University.