Hyelim Kim
Composer, daegeum (Korean flute) soloist, vocalist, and ethnomusicologist, Dr Hyelim Kim creates work that positions Korean traditional music as a living, evolving force within contemporary global culture.
A daegeum virtuoso, Kim was selected as an 'emerging artist' by the Korean Arts Council and as the Kumho Young Artist. She has performed a live session with Nils Frahm on BBC Radio 3's Late Junction, premiered a daegeum concertino as soloist with the Orchestre de chambre de Paris, and is a regular member of the Third Orchestra (Barbican Centre). Her competition accolades include the Gold Medal at the Korean National Taegŭm Competition and 1st Prize at the Korean National Chongro Music Competition. Kim has appeared at festivals worldwide, including the London Jazz Festival, Holland Festival, Helsinki Festival, Wiener Festwochen, AKBANK Jazz Festival (Istanbul), and the Oranjewoud Festival (Netherlands).
In 2023, Kim received the prestigious Paul Hamlyn Foundation Award for Composers, recognising her distinctive contribution to new music in the UK. Her monograph Tradition and Creativity in Korean Taegŭm Flute Performance was published by Routledge in 2021.
Kim leads two ensembles: the Shilla Ensemble, dedicated to Korean traditional music and dance, and the Celadon Club, a cross-Asian ensemble bringing together musicians from Korean, Chinese, Japanese, and Thai traditions. She is a Lecturer in Music at Bath Spa University, where her teaching and research explore intercultural and decolonial approaches to creative practice.
Recent commissions include a sound work for the Sydney Opera House and a British Council-funded soundscape project exploring shared water heritage between the UK and Malaysia, culminating in Echoes of Water — a collaboration with Malaysian composer Yii Kah Hoe.
In 2025, Kim completed a Korea Arts Council overseas residency at Studio 88 in Chiang Mai, Thailand, recording a three-track album with Thai musicians.
Kim's interdisciplinary practice extends to film: her PRS Foundation-funded Dansang short films won the Best Music Award at the Experimental, Dance & Music Film Festival (Los Angeles, 2021), and her Korean Music with Nature video series was supported by the Korean Ministry of Culture.
Based in London, Kim continues to bridge traditional Korean artistry with contemporary and cross-cultural expression — through performance, composition, research, and education.
Daegeum
The daegeum (or tageum) is a large bamboo transverse flute used in traditional Korean music. It has a buzzing membrane that gives it a special timbre, It is mainly used in court, aristocratic, and folk music, as well as in contemporary classical music, popular music, and film scores.