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Eunbi Kim is a musician based in NYC. Upon graduating from the Manhattan School of Music, she began a project of her own entitled “Murakami Music” (inspired by stories by Haruki Murakami). Since then, she’s won the 2023 Astral Artists National Competition, performed in solo programs at the Kennedy Center and Lincoln Center, and even gave a TedX Talk. Now, Kim is working on”it feels like a dream,” a multimedia sonic memoir. When she’s not creating or performing, Kim serves as co-founder of bespoken, “a mentorship program for women and non-binary musicians working in classical, jazz, and contemporary music,” and as a board member of the New York Foundation for the Arts.Her advice for young artists? “Don't listen to anyone who's done nothing and isn't where you want to be.”Read on to learn more aboutEunbi Kim and what makes her an Amazing Asian in the Arts!
Name: Eunbi Kim
Heritage: Korean-American
Hometown: Rockville, MD
Current City: New York City
Current project: “It feels like a dream”
What are some of your favorite credits/projects:
My solo recitals at The Kennedy Center, concert-meditation program at Lincoln Center, and recent album "It Feels Like" which debuted at #2 on Billboard Classical Charts. Using music from "It Feels Like," I developed a sonic memoir called "it feels like a dream," a multimedia performance using immersive projections and audio interludes in collaboration with new media artist Xuan.
Any advice for young people getting into the arts?
Try to unlearn as much as possible what you got from school and stay away from critical/jealous peers who lack the courage to do what you're doing. Don't listen to anyone who's done nothing and isn't where you want to be.
How did you get your start?
When I graduated from Manhattan School of Music in 2012, I started working on a project that was always in the back of my mind called "Murakami Music"– an evening-length music-theater performance inspired by pianist characters and musical references from stories written by Haruki Murakami. Through working on this project, I learned a lot and then wanted to continue the path of creating work that transcends the conventions of the piano recital.
Do you have any favorite moments in your career that you'd like to share?
My latest work "it feels like a dream" is deeply personal and delves into childhood, family, and memory. It was an amazing feeling to have premiered it at Baryshnikov Arts Center to a sold-out house with my entire family and Mikhail Baryshnikov himself in the audience.
What have you found is the biggest challenge in your career?
There are periods of time that feel like nothing is happening and then times when everything is happening. Both scenarios are stressful.
Do you have any organizations or non profits you work with you’d like to highlight?
I'm a co-founder of bespoken, a mentorship program for women and non-binary musicians working in classical, jazz, and contemporary music.
I'm a Board Member of New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA). NYFA is a 501(c)(3) service organization that empowers artists in all disciplines, as well as cultural workers, to achieve success on their own terms by providing critical support, resources, and opportunities.
Who do you admire?
I admire people who take risks for what they want or believe in.
Is where you are now where you thought you’d be?
Yes and no. I always knew that I wanted to be an artist but I never imagined some of the interesting opportunities I would have.
If you come from parents who aren’t in the arts, what parts of them do you see in yourself that have helped you succeed in the business?
Through my parents, I developed a fairly healthy attitude toward risk and failure in that it's better to take the risk to get what you really want and fail rather than living with unrealized potential or worse yet, to fail at something you didn't really want in the first place.
If you could go back in time, what would you tell your younger self?
People rarely ever commit something toxic to you just once. It's almost always a part of a pattern if you don't cut them off at that moment.
What is your greatest accomplishment?
Managing both a happy family life and an artistic career created on my own terms.
What helped you most to rebound from what you considered your biggest failure or mistake in your career?
I've always known that failure is not a permanent state of being, nor is it the worst thing in the world. It actually helped a lot that one of my biggest "failures" happened at a very young age, so it didn't feel like such a big deal moving forward as an adult. If you don't attach any of your self-worth or value as a person to a perceived failure, it's easier to be objective in processing and understanding what happened to create a better experience for next time.
To find out more onEunbi Kim, please visit her at
Website: https://www.eunbikimmusic.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eunbikimpiano.
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Photo credit: Shervin Lainez
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