Hyun Kim
Vocal Coach - Opera
Teaching Philosophy
As a vocal coach, I guide singers toward an authentic realization of the score—musically, linguistically, and dramatically. I help them develop the skills needed for sustainable, expressive, and compelling performance. With experience coaching artists from undergraduates to professionals, I focus on precise diction, clear intonation, musical detail, stylistic integrity, and character-driven interpretation. Grounded in the opera house tradition, my approach equips singers with specific strategies for rehearsals, auditions, and performances through close textual analysis and disciplined preparation—all in service of authentic, compelling artistry.
Hyun Kim is a multifaceted artist whose career spans the roles of pianist, vocal coach, conductor, and educator. Currently serving as Assistant Professor of Vocal Coaching at the University of Oklahoma, she has held previous academic appointments as Assistant Professor at the University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC) and as Visiting Professor in Collaborative Piano and Music Director/Conductor of the University Opera Theater at the University of Arkansas. Internationally engaged, she has also served as a visiting professor at the Federal University of Santa Catarina and the University of Campinas in Brazil, where she contributed to the global discourse on collaborative piano and vocal coaching.
Kim’s dedication to vocal music and the collaborative arts has brought her to leading festivals and opera companies across North and South America, Europe, and Asia. Her credits include the Festival de Musique de Sully et du Loiret (France), Agassiz Chamber Music Festival (Canada), Aspen Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, Bay View Music Festival, Lucca Opera Festival (Italy), American Institute of Musical Studies Graz (AIMS). She has worked with opera companies such as Cincinnati Opera, Opera Colorado, Central City Opera, Kentucky Opera, Loveland Opera, Emerald City Opera, Opera Steamboat, Boulder Opera, Soo Theatre, and Korea National Opera, among others. She has collaborated with talented emerging professional singers for the Metropolitan Opera Laffont competition at both the district and regional levels, as well as for the Denver Lyric Opera Guild, the Corbett Competition, the International Antonin Dvořák Singing Competition, and the Seoul International Music Competition.
Dr. Kim’s work bridges scholarship, performance, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Her research projects include The Doors of Perception: Song and Proverbs of William Blake by Benjamin Britten and Metrics, Rhythmic, and Poetic Relationships in Schubert’s Ballads. She has shared these explorations through lectures and performances at the College Music Society National Conference and the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Expanding her scholarly work beyond the traditional recital stage, Dr. Kim is currently collaborating with the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art on an innovative installation exhibition sponsored by the Walton Family Foundation. This project reimagines the music of Franz Schubert in a multidimensional artistic context.
In addition to her academic and creative endeavors, Dr. Kim is active in international scholarly communities. She serves on the board of Sintonize Produtora Cultural, International Music Festival in Brazil, supporting global musical exchange and performance. Her artistry has also been featured in media outlets such as Korea Broadcasting System, Colorado Public Radio, PBS Rocky Mountain, KUAF, KNWA, and NGT São Paulo. After her early education in Korea, Dr. Kim pursued advanced studies at the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, the University of Colorado Boulder, and the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris. Her mentors included Kenneth Griffiths, Margo Garrett, Anne Epperson, Rita Sloan, Warren Jones, Jeff Cohen, Anne Le Bozec, and Olivier Godin.
