Abby Kim – FIRST PRIZE with Special Mention, CELLO
I have always loved music. My first instrument was the piano at the age of 6. I began playing the cello when my brother started playing in his school orchestra. As soon as I heard my teacher play with a beautiful, sultry, and rich sound, I knew that I would savor the journey with the cello. I have since also learned the guitar and taken vocal lessons as I play and sing for my church. It has been a wonderful journey since that first introduction, as those same beautiful sounds and notes from the cello that I heard from my first teacher have been woven into the fabric of all of my life experiences.
Since the age of 7, I have participated in various orchestras and ensembles and had the opportunity to receive master classes from world-renowned musicians, including Zuill Bailey and Sara Sant’Ambrogio. Music has impacted my life by growing my love for music such that I can express my emotions. Not just through cello, but as a worship leader at my church, I have the privilege of being able to bring others to an emotional connection with music. I used to struggle with communication even with my loved ones, but I found that music was my outlet. It gives me space to gather my thoughts and emotions, as well as comfort in those same notes I first heard from my teacher.
I have participated in international music competitions and have received several accolades, including First Place in the 2020 Great Composers Competition: Art of Strings, First Place in the 2020 King’s Peak International Music Competition (Age Group B), First Place in the 2023 Charleston International Baroque Music Competition, Second Place in the 2021 Grand Metropolitan International Music Competition, and First Place in the Georgia Music Teachers Association Competition in 2021 and 2023, First Place in the American Protégé International Concerto Competition in 2021 and had the honor of performing at Carnegie Hall in 2022. This past summer, I attended the Tanglewood String Quartet Program and had the honor of receiving coachings from the Attacca Quartet and Sergey Antonov.
My teachers have included Hyun Jin Kim from Portland, Oregon, Dr. Martin Gueorguiev from Johns Creek, Georgia, Elaine Shin from Johns Creek, Georgia, and currently, I am studying with Sylvia Seunghee Kang from Alpharetta, Georgia, a pupil of David Soyer, Eleonore Schoenfeld, and Peter Stumpf.