Charlie Kim
Artistic Director
Artistic director, Charlie Kim, has diverse training as a pianist, vocalist, actor, dancer, conductor, and teacher. He began with piano study at age 8 in Barstow, California with Sally Lee, and continued with former head of music of La Sierra University, Anita Norskøv Olsen, until the end of high school.
After ten years of private study, Charlie was certified by the Music Teachers' Association of California and was rewarded with performances of piano concertos with orchestras such as the La Sierra Sinfonia and Redlands Symphony Orchestra. He claimed the top prize year after year in prestigious Southern California piano competitions such as: Inland Empire Piano Festival, Southern California Junior Bach Festival Complete Works Audition, Riverside Young Musicians' Competition, and MTAC branch and regional competitions.
After being accepted into university for vocal study, Charlie attended La Sierra University, California State University Northridge (Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance) and University of North Texas College of Music (Master of Music in vocal performance and collaborative keyboard).
During and after training, Charlie has served as a singer, pianist, assistant conductor, and vocal coach for several opera companies and artist summer programs: Fort Worth Opera, Pacific Opera Project, Opera Santa Barbara, Atlantic Music Festival, Lingua e canto Italian summer immersion, and the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria.
In academia, Charlie has served as rehearsal/audition pianist for Pasadena City College, California State University, Northridge, Moorpark College, Ventura College, University of Southern California, and University of California, Los Angeles. He has also served as adjunct professor at Southeastern Oklahoma State University.
Currently, Charlie is the Director of Music at Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Ventura, CA. He is also a teaching artist (piano/vocal coach) and soloist (vocal) for Los Angeles Opera's Education and Community department, programming and serving as emcee and pianist with LAO EduCom in venues such as Huntington Library, Santa Monica Public Library, City of Hope Hospital, and all throughout LA Unified School District. His work with LAO EduCom is documented by prestigious organizations and people, such as NPR (KPCC), and academy award-winning cinematographer Haskell Wexler. He is also a member of the world-renowned chorus, Los Angeles Master Chorale, which performs regularly at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and Hollywood Bowl.
Charlie seeks to unify the performing forces of the San Fernando Valley and build the foundation for a lasting legacy of locally-produced high quality classical music.
For more about Charlie, please visit www.charliekimmusician.com