Solomon Kim – Composer

Full Biography | Short Biography

Short Biography

Solomon Young-Joon Kim is a composer, cellist, and conductor, studying Music Composition and Economics as a third-year Robert W. Woodruff Dean’s Achievement Scholar and John H. Gordon Stipe Scholar. Solomon studies composition with Joel Rust. His music explores the fragmentation of truth, musical solidarity, and electronic-acoustic intersections. As an arts leader, Solomon works to bring new music to life and create inclusive musical spaces. Solomon’s work has been showcased at Underground Atlanta and the College Music Society’s Southern Chapter Conference (where he was awarded the Dennis Kam Student Composition Award), with past collaborators including Hypercube, the Emory Wind Ensemble, and other groups across the United States and Japan.

Full Biography

Solomon Young-Joon Kim creates inclusive artistic communities and vibrant musical experiences through his music composition and arts leadership. His work has been awarded with the College Music Society Dennis Kam Student Composition Award, Stipe Society of Creative Scholars Fellowship, and other awards and honors.

Composition

Solomon’s music engages fragmentation of truth, musical community, and electronic-acoustic intersections. Diverse ensembles and groups including Hypercube, Transient Canvas, the Atlantic Music Festival Contemporary Ensemble, Emory Wind Ensemble, Emory University Symphony Orchestra, and American School in Japan Choirs have performed, read, and workshopped his music. Forthcoming projects include Network Theory, a collaborative song cycle engaging three Atlanta and US-based artists to create a sonic representation of his artistic ecosystem. Solomon’s work has been spotlighted in Underground Atlanta, at the College Music Society’s Southern Chapter Conference, and as part of CubeLab4, the Heifetz International Music Institute, the Atlantic Music Festival, and other diverse venues.

Performance & Conducting

Solomon is a passionate cellist, playing in the Emory University Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Paul Bhasin. He is also active as a contemporary performer and conductor, with a particular interest in conducted improvisation. He has performed with improvisers around Emory and Atlanta, including Emory CompFest and Timuçin Sahin’s “Flow State,” the Nakatani Gong Orchestra, and Emory student musicians. He was additionally a finalist in the 2023 Emory Concerto & Aria Competition. Recent and upcoming performances include engagements at the Michael C. Carlos Museum, No Tomorrow Underground, and Dr. Davor Vincze’s “Freedom Collective” portrait concert. He is the founder/director of the Solomon Kim Conducted Improvisation Lab Ensemble.

Arts Leadership

Currently, Solomon is studying at Emory University as a Robert W. Woodruff Dean’s Achievement Scholar. At Emory, he studied with Joel Rust, Adam Mirza, Katherine Young, and Timuçin Sahin. As a 2022-2023 Fellow in the Stipe Society of Creative Scholars, Solomon is a passionate advocate for new music on campus and in Atlanta. He has worked with student musicians, faculty, and principal musicians in ensembles such as the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra to bring new works to life. He founded the Emory Composers’ Society, a group premiering diverse new works and fostering an inclusive musical community at Emory University, and is Director of Practice Spaces for the Emory Musician’s Network, working with university-level offices and music student organizations to create dedicated practice space for music non-majors of all disciplines and traditions.

Photos

Photos courtesy Amelia Andujar (1, 2), Andrew Wang (4), Noelle Watson (3).