Jacobs School of Music

Biography

A native of Korea, Sung-Mi Im is lecturer in music (chamber music) at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

She began her piano studies with her mother at age three. After making a successful debut with the Daegu Symphony Orchestra at age eight, she pursued undergraduate studies at Seoul National University and her master’s degree in performance under the Dean’s Scholarship at Boston University. She has won numerous competitions, including the Dong-A Newspaper Competition, Ye-Um Chamber Music Competition in Korea, and the Kahn Award in Boston.

Im has appeared in many international festivals, including the Kusatsu Music Festival, Moon Beach Festival in Japan, Seattle Chamber Music Festival, Sitka Music Festival in Alaska, Bargemusic in New York, Chamber Music International in Dallas, Tucson Chamber Music Festival and Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival in Finland, and the Great Mountains Music Festival in Korea, among others, earning praise from audiences and critics alike. “Her touch, phrasing and sense of balance were magic.” (Tucson Citizen), and the Anchorage Daily News called her performance “stunning.”

Im has given solo and chamber music recitals in London, Montreal, Dallas, Seoul, and New York. Those performances, along with appearances with orchestras in Korea, the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra in Bloomington, Indiana, and the Jupiter Symphony in New York City, were met with much acclaim.

She has been an active member of the Bloomington music community since 1999. In addition to her wide range of solo and chamber performances, she premiered P. Q. Phan’s Duo Concertante for Violin and Piano with Chamber Orchestra with her late husband, violinist Ik-Hwan Bae, joined by the New Music Ensemble of the IU Jacobs School of Music. She has also collaborated with the IU Ballet Department, including the Stravinsky Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra.

She previously taught piano at Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea.