Introduction
Dear friends and colleagues:
As the 2008/2009 academic year draws to a close, I would like to welcome you to this online edition of Ecclectica, and its tribute to the arts at Brandon University.
This musical edition of ecclectica.brandonu.can only represent a summative fraction of the activities and accomplishments of the School of Music faculty and students in the past academic year - no compilation could ever do justice to the wide variety and quality of activities that take place within the Queen Elizabeth II building.
Brandon University’s School of Music has long enjoyed a well-deserved reputation as one of Canada’s finest music schools - a reputation confirmed by the continued and well-documented successes and quality of its student graduates, and its highly dedicated, world-class faculty.
And yet, there is little question that the next decade will produce many challenges for our School of Music in the context of what former New York Times critic Joseph Horowitz has aptly termed the "post-classical music era." The classical music industry is facing historically unprecedented challenges – orchestras and recital series are struggling to redefine themselves, the recording industry is contracting, and traditionally trained Conservatory musicians are unsure of how to position themselves professionally. Even the most traditional "powerhouse" music schools – Juilliard, Eastman, Oberlin, and others, are recognizing that their graduates will also need a wider palette of skills and tools to meet the professional challenges they will face, and be more effective ambassadors, entrepreneurs, and advocates for post-classical music in the twenty-first century.
With these new challenges come new opportunities. I believe that Brandon University’s School of Music, with its intimate size and location, is particularly well positioned to take a leadership role amongst music schools in balancing the traditional and innovative within its curriculum. A personalized institution such as Brandon University has the flexibility, mobility, and responsiveness to more effectively prepare its students for the rapid changes that typify the twenty-first century musical environment.
The future belongs to those who proactively prepare for it – though we are perceived to enjoy a privileged position in the university community and with the external constituencies that we serve, it is essential that we not be complacent as we confront the new opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for the School of Music.
On behalf of the School of Music, I would like to thank you for taking the time to visit and experience this musical on-line edition of Ecclectica, and mini-portrait of the School of Music. We are enormously grateful to President Visentin for his vision and support of the arts at Brandon University.
Most cordially,
Dr. Michael Kim
Dean of Music
Brandon University School of Music
Download Michael Kim Performance Excerpt - Richard Strauss: Burleske, in d minor, AV85
Biography of..
Dr. Michael Kim, Dean and Professor of Music
Dean of Music and Professor of Piano at Brandon University, pianist Dr. Michael Kim maintains an active and highly respected career as an administrator, performer, and teacher.
Dr. Kim has formerly served on the music faculty at Lawrence University (Appleton, WI) where he was Professor of Piano, Chair of the Keyboard Department, and Faculty Associate to the President. He has also been guest artist—faculty at the Banff Centre, the International School of Musical Arts, and the Heifetz Institute (Annapolis, MD).
Dr. Kim continues to perform as soloist with many orchestras, highlighted by appearances with the Boston and Cincinnati Pops, the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, the CBC Vancouver Orchestra, and with the symphonies of Toronto, Vancouver, London, Calgary, Edmonton, Victoria, Nanamio, Regina, Saskatoon, Florence, Fox Valley, Oklahoma City, Waukesha, Green Bay, and Milwaukee, and many others. He has toured Peru with Orchestra Sinfonica de Trujillo, and has toured the U.K. with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the BBC Scottish Symphony, performances that were broadcast on BBC radio and television. Dr. Kim has also been a featured soloist with the summer festival orchestras of Brevard, Banff, and Huntsville. As a recitalist and chamber musician, Dr. Kim has appeared in every major Canadian city, and throughout the U.S., U.K., South America, and Asia, frequently collaborating with wife pianist Kyung Kim, and sister violinist Helen Kim, with many of these performances being frequently broadcast on the radio networks of CBC, BBC, NPR, KBS, and Chicago WFMT's Live From Studio One. He has also been a featured artist at the summer festivals of Brevard, Aspen, Banff, Huntsville, Heifetz (Annapolis, MD), and Niagara, collaborating with such artists as Edgar Meyer, Shauna Rolston, Jens Lindemann, the Aeolian Winds, and the New Zealand String Quartet. Dr. Kim has toured three times for the Canadian based Piano Six, most notably as a last minute replacement for Marc Andre Hamelin, and is a popular adjudicator and master class clinician.
Born in Quebec City, Dr. Kim began piano studies at age 11, and by 15, had made his debut with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. A graduate of the Academy of Music at Mount Royal College (Calgary, AB) where he studied with Peter Turner and Arpad Joo, he completed undergraduate studies at the University of Calgary under Marilyn Engle. Other studies have been with Robin Wood at the University of Victoria, Jerome Lowenthal at the Music Academy of the West, and summer sessions at the Banff School of Fine Arts. Dr. Kim received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Juilliard School, where he held the Vladimir Horowitz scholarship studying with Herbert Stessin, and was teaching assistant to David Dubal.
A recipient of countless awards, he was silver medallist in the 1992 Scottish International Competition in Glasgow, and a prize winner in the Leeds and Ivo Pogorelich International Piano Competitions. Grand prizewinner of the Canadian Music and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation National Radio Competitions, Dr. Kim was awarded many Arts Study, Project, and Touring Office grants from the Canada Council and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts. In 1994, he was recipient of Canada Council's prestigious Career Development award.
Dr. Kim can be heard on critically acclaimed recordings for the Arktos, CRI, and Summit labels. He has recorded three CD’s for Orpheum Masters, featuring the Ballades of Grieg and Chopin, a live recital from Lawrence University, and works of Franz Liszt. OPUS magazine praised his "Live in Recital" CD for its "tour de force performances, full of virtuosity and musicality."