Jonah Kim is an artist of great charisma and originality. Kim’s beauty of tone is immediately distinguishable by its signature sweetness. He invites the listener in with “the cosy warmth of a well-loved cashmere sweater," (Gramophone) then “dives into the music with courage underpinned by formidable technical prowess, with which he achieves a dazzling performance.” (All About the Arts) “One of the very finest American cellists, he brings out things that you possibly never realized were in [the music]. He has that indefinable “it”. (Art Music Lounge)

Kim made his solo debut with Wolfgang Sawallisch and the Philadelphia Orchestra at 12 years of age. He made his Kennedy Center debut with Marvin Hamlisch and the National Symphony within the year and has since performed with many orchestras around the world. Also an exhilarating a recital artist, he has captivated audiences on some of the most prestigious stages around the world. His ensemble Trio Barclay, with pianist Sean Kennard and Pacific Symphony concertmaster Dennis Kim, is in residence at the Barclay Theatre in Orange County, California. They have premiered a new commission for every concert they have played since their inception.

Kim’s passion for chamber music stems from his fellowship at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia where his ensemble with Joel Link (violinist of the award-winning Dover Quartet) and international piano sensation Yuja Wang performed the piano trio repertoire extensively. He now enjoys collaborating with his friends like conductor/violinist Scott Yoo who hosts the hit PBS docu-series Now Hear This. Aside from Kim’s cameos on the show, they perform and record together at Yoo’s Festival Mozaic. Kim has also worked with Van Cliburn Competition winner Jon Nakamatsu, Chee-Yun Kim (you may recognize her from her cameo on the HBO comedy series Curb Your Enthusiasm) and leading members of world-class ensembles such as the Orpheus and New Century chamber orchestras, and the Guarneri and Tokyo Quartets.

One of Kim’s favorite ways to make music is in a recording studio. His debut album on the Delos label features the great romantic sonatas of Rachmaninoff and Barber with pianist Sean Kennard. It released in 2020 to rave reviews. In 2021, Kim released his second album for Delos, Approaching Autumn, titled after the new American work by Mark Abel bridging behemoths, the Kodaly Solo and the Grieg sonatas. It was received with further critical acclaim for “[capturing] the very elusiveness that gives the music its substance” (Gramophone) and “flawless delivery of its Herculean technical demands” (The Strad). Kim is joined by Robert Koenig on the piano who together “partner beyond perfection… [they] prove to be the ideal interpreters of this music” (All About the Arts).

Born in Seoul, South Korea, American cellist Jonah Kim taught himself the cello watching VHS tapes of Pablo Casals. He was awarded full scholarship to The Juilliard School’s Pre-College Division at the age of seven. Growing up in New York City, he played for many of the pedagogues in the area including Aldo Parisot and Harvey Shapiro. Kim then became penpals with Janos Starker who invited him to Bloomington just before his ninth birthday. He continued to study with Starker throughout his career at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia where he enrolled at eleven years of age. Under the supervision of then Dean Robert Fitzpatrick, he was the first fellow ever to train with multiple instructors, receiving lessons from Orlando Cole, Peter Wiley and Lynn Harrell. Kim defines a truly American school of cello by reconciling the Italian, German, Russian, Franco-Spanish and Hungarian lineages.

Kim’s favorite cello is the award winning “Stella” made in San Francisco by Haide Lin in 2022. Stella is paired with a bow made in Paris in 1904 by Jules Fétique. Kim makes his home in San Francisco with his wife, the respected and beloved American ballerina, Julia Rowe.

“A clear, blooming sound graces the opening of the Kodály Solo Sonata, with a defined rhythmic definition charging the invention… Jonah Kim has perfectly understood how to deliver it so eloquently by etching the different dramas encapsulated in each of its three movements… flawless delivery of its Herculean technical demands, Kim particularly triumphs in the Finale. The overall structure of this movement is somewhat tableau-like, but Kim’s intelligent control of rubato blends the contrasting sections, thus generating an impressive cohesion… the sense of exhilaration in this performance has us on the edge of our seats… the simple folk-like charm achieved by Kim and Robert Koenig in the slow second movement is equally winning.”

— Joanne Talbot, THE STRAD

“Kim combines a gorgeous sound and elegance of phrasing… I would rate Kim as one of the very finest American cellists… Kim digs into this score; he brings out things that you possibly never realized were in it… he has that indefinable “it.”

— Lynn René Bayley, ART MUSIC LOUNGE

“A moving and musically satisfying performance... Kim’s full-bodied, rounded cello sound is ideal for the work’s Romantic lyricism and the energy and passion of his playing carry the listener along.”

— Janet Banks, THE STRAD

“Kim and Kennard balance their efforts judiciously ... . With his pulsating vibrato and intense expressivity, Kim asserts the cello’s eloquent personality throughout the varied atmospheres.”

— Donald Rosenberg, GRAMOPHONE

“Kim has a thorough command of his instrument, with a large, accurate technique, a highly tense lyrical style, and a willingness to hammer the cello with forceful bowings if need be. By contrast, he played the long lines of the second movement with restraint and a kind of trembling subterranean emotion that was very effective; in the third-movement cadenza [of the Shostakovich cello concerto], Kim showed he could handle its wide range of drama, from near-static introspection to frenzied mania.”

— Greg Stepanich, PALM BEACH DAILY NEWS

“Artistry aside, Kim's articulate technique elevated the work beyond poignant. Amazing double-stop work, exact octaves, clean, clear notes in high and low registers, articulate arpeggios - the audience was blessed to textbook-perfect technique. Ah, but Kim's phrasing took us beyond the moment; with light fingering that seemed to barely touch the strings, slight hesitations, breathless lifts, he instilled magic. And then he played Paganini. After 45 minutes with a tough concerto, he unassumingly settled into a cello performance of Caprice No. 24, and left the audience in a second spontaneous standing ovation...”

— Sherli Leonard, PRESS ENTERPRISE

“The concert began vividly with cellist Jonah Kim and pianist Christine Payne in Debussy’s Sonata No. 1 in D minor. This was an excellent performance, the best I’ve heard of this piece. It was a hard-edged rendition, communicating with pointed clarity. Kim expressed himself through graded levels of passion and in wide varieties of tone, from hard and metallic to gentle recitative... Ravel’s Trio for piano and strings received altogether a more conventionally Impressionist performance. Kim played in a more even, controlled style with little open display... The Debussy [was] the highlight of the evening.”

— David Bratman, SAN FRANCISCO CLASSICAL VOICE

“Kim dives into this music with courage underpinned by formidable technical prowess, with which he achieves a dazzling performance. Kim and Koenig partner beyond perfection… [they] prove to be the ideal interpreters of this music.”

— Rafael de Acha, ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

“Impactful and dramatic… [Kim’s] tone has the cosy warmth of a well-loved cashmere sweater… Kim and Koenig somehow capture the very elusiveness that gives the music its substance.”

— Andrew Farach-Colton, GRAMOPHONE

“Kim’s performance is outstanding – big, brash and gritty as called for in the outer movements; sensitive and lyrical in the Adagio (con gran espressione) – and his technique in this extremely challenging work is impressive.”

— David Olds, THE WHOLE NOTE

“Think Lang Lang, think Yuja Wang. Jonah Kim, the 22-year-old cellist who gave a recital at the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater on Sunday afternoon, is cut from the same cloth. [He] can do pretty much what he wants on a cello. He flirted with the line, shaped it, wrapped it around his fingers, pulled it out in a new dimension, all with practiced ease... He proceeded to offer an ambitious program across a fair spectrum of styles, played with a lot of finesse and a lot of intensity...

— Anne Midgette, WASHINGTON POST

“Master of nuance and dynamics. Their concert gave every evidence of it. I was reminded of the great violinist Mischa Elman, who was known for his stupendous tone... What is very interesting to me is that Kim did not play on his expensive museum-piece cello. He used a replica made only three years ago by the local prize-winning luthier Haide Lin.”

— Joseph Gold, PIEDMONT POST

“Chee-Yun joined cellist Jonah Kim in the three-movement duo by Zoltan Kodaly from 1914, a work imbued with lively Hungarian rhythms. It was a pleasure to hear such an impeccable match of sound from two players. Every nuance was played the same way, with matching vibrato and precise intonation. For this listener it was a definitive performance. Another standing ovation.”

— Roger Emanuels, MONTEREY PERFORMING ARTS

“Cellist Jonah Kim [gave] the most vivid and memorable performance of the evening. He is a dominant artist in any context, musically and physically... Kim had the deepest grasp on the work, that he had virtually memorized it even though its pages were in front of him on an iPad. At least his authority conveyed that impression. And, in the last movement, he did something I had never seen or heard before, bowing a glassy passage, without purchase on the strings... The standing ovation was punctuated with shouts of bravo.”

— Scott MacClelland, PERFORMING ARTS MONTEREY

“No more perfect piece could be written to feature the all-embracing warm compassionate quality of the cello. As such, [Faure’s Elegy] was a vehicle welcomed by the audience to have an opportunity to revel in the artistry of one of the festival’s favorites, Jonah Kim assisted by Ms. Katrine Gislinge. With his broad sweep of sustained melodic richness possible with such a grand cello piece, [Kim] gave the audience everything they were looking for and more...violinist Martin Beaver and cellist Jonah Kim were there in full form delighting in playing off each other at every opportunity throughout the performance.”

— Michael Tierra, PENINSULA PERFORMING ARTS