MUSE • Musicians United for Social Equity

Biography

Sarah Kim (she/her) is a Korean-American music collaborator based in New York City. She works primarily as a violinist, violist, music director, conductor, contractor, and music educator, specializing in musical theater (as a pit musician and on-stage musician) and MT-adjacent genres, studio session work, film, and live performance. Formerly based solely in Chicago, Sarah has worked with Cedille Records, Delmark Records, Metropolitan Jazz Octet, Dee Alexander, Fred Breitberg, Paramount Theatre, Florentine Opera Company, Merit School of Music, Oistrakh Symphony, Porchlight Theatre, Bohemian Theatre Company, among others. She can be heard on Cedille Records’ Album “Leo Sowerby: The Paul Whiteman Commissions & Other Early Works” as concertmaster of the jazz orchestra, Bryan Eng’s “20” (jazz/pop album) as music director and producer, and Delmark Records’ “It’s Too Hot for Words” (Metropolitan Jazz Octet ft. Dee Alexander) as violinist. Off the public radar, Sarah enjoys recording demos for new musical theater works and tracking string parts for her friends’ original music.

Sarah holds a Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting (‘20) and a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance and Music Education (‘18), both from Northwestern University–where she studied violin with Victor Yampolsky and Gerardo Ribeiro, viola with Helen Callus, and conducting with Victor Yampolsky and Dr. Robert Hasty. In addition to her private studies, Sarah also had opportunities to work with and be mentored by: Dr. Stephen Alltop, Dr. Mallory Thompson, Dr. Shawn Vondran, Daniel Farris, Dr. Donald Nally, Dr. Ryan Nelson, Danielle Ray, Mathias Tacke, Desirée Ruhstrat, Blair Milton, Dover Quartet, Alan Pierson, Ben Bolter, Dr. Maud Hickey, Dr. Steve Demorest, Dr. Sarah Bartolome, Stevi Marks, Dr. Steven Morrison, and Charles Emmons, in their respective fields.

A native of Tacoma, WA, Sarah enjoys spending time outdoors and exploring the depths of the Pacific Northwest. She is a proud alum of the Tacoma Youth Symphony Association, a retired fastpitch softball player, competitive amateur kayaker, loyal fan of the Seattle Mariners, and aspiring National Park Service ranger. When she’s not on the move, you can find her in the kitchen cooking for more mouths than she can feed, or binging her favorite TV shows on repeat.

Sarah is an active member of the American Federation of Musicians, Local 802 (New York) and Theatre Musicians Association. (Formerly AFM Local 10-208, and TMA-Chicago)