DoYeon Kim

Korean Gayageum virtuoso

DoYeon Kim is a traditionally trained Korean artist who plays the Gayageum, a traditional Korean string instrument, and has developed a uniquely broad approach to music which incorporates Korean music, jazz, and improvisation, among other influences. Recently, her collaborative projects have broadened to include dancers, actors and visual artists. And importantly, she is the first to introduce the Gayageum in the improvisational music scene. During her traditional Korean training, she won numerous international competitions for Gayageum performance, including the Dong-A Ilbo Traditional Music Competition (Gold Prize, 2009), and the On-Nala Korean Music Competition (Gold Prize, 2011). DoYeon is also a graduate of the Contemporary Improvisation Department at the New England Conservatory of Music, where, importantly, she was the first student ever admitted to the school playing any kind of Korean traditional instrument. DoYeon has performed throughout the world leading the Kim Do Yeon Band, as well as performing alongside many improvisors, including Tyshawn Sorey, Joe Morris, Agusti Fernandez, Barry Guy and Anthony Coleman. Her first album, GaPi (2017), intimately combined traditional Korean music and jazz, and was nominated for a 2018 Korean Grammy Award in the crossover album category. More recently, DoYeon released the free improvisation album Macrocosm (2018) with Joe Morris, and performed on Jim Snidero’s Korean themed Jazz album Project-K (2020), alongside Dave Douglas, Orrin Evans, Linda Oh and Rudy Royston.