FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana University Jacobs School of Music graduate student Heejin Kim was recently named winner of the Yuko Hayashi Memorial First Prize at the Boston Bach International Organ Competition.
Held every four years, the event garnered competitors from numerous countries around the globe, including China, Russia and South Africa.
Kim completed her master’s studies in harpsichord at the Jacobs School last year and is currently pursuing a Performer Diploma in harpsichord with Jonathan Oddie, visiting assistant professor of music in historical performance: historical keyboards, with secondary lessons in the Organ Department.
“Since the first time I heard Heejin’s playing, I have been impressed by her combination of sensitive musicianship and meticulous attention to detail,” said Oddie. “Heejin is a thoughtful musician who consistently seeks out the most serious challenges in the repertoire and applies herself to them with dedication. I am very happy that these qualities have been recognized with this well-deserved honor, and I hope that more audiences will have a chance to hear her perform on both organ and harpsichord in the future.”
“Winning first place in this competition represents an epic accomplishment for Heejin, who is studying organ with me as a secondary instrument,” said Janette Fishell, chair of the Organ Department. “Her natural musicianship and deep experience with music of the Baroque made this a natural competition for her to enter, but she also had to play music of the Romantic and Contemporary periods, all on three completely different organs with very little time to adjust to the idiosyncrasies of each. To say I am proud of her is an understatement. She embodies the attributes we value in our students: talent, determination, hard work, a willingness to explore areas beyond specific degree tracks and tireless dedication to mining the gold in each composition.”
From South Korea, Kim earned a Bachelor of Music in Organ Performance degree from Ewha Womans University in Seoul as well as a Master of Music degree from the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg and a doctorate from the University of Notre Dame.
She won first prize in the Arp Schnitger-Orgelwettbewerb in Bremen/Hamburg in 2014 and second prize in the Concorso Organistico Internazionale “Organi Storici del Basso Friuli” in Italy in 2018. She serves as an associate instructor in harpsichord performance at the Jacobs School and as organist at the Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Indianapolis.
Also at this year’s Boston Bach International Organ Competition, Jacobs School of Music doctoral candidate in organ Jinhee Kim shared the prize for best performance of the commissioned work, by Bálint Karosi.
From South Korea, she earned a master’s degree from Jacobs, where she studied organ with Christopher Young and served as an associate instructor in 2016-17. Kim earned an Artist Diploma from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.
The Jacobs School of Music Organ Department also had prizewinners at the recent American Guild of Organists’ biennial convention and the Arthur Poister National Organ Playing Competition.