Helena Hyesoo Kim

Helena Hyesoo Kim is a Korean-Canadian pianist and PartTime Lecturer at the University of Missouri in Columbia, where she teaches Aural Skills, Career Development, Principles of Arts Entrepreneurship, and Applied Piano. She concurrently serves as Vice President of the Board at Odyssey Chamber Music Series and Coordinator of International Engagement of Korea at the Frances Clark Center, highlighting her multifaceted contributions to music education and cultural advocacy.

Her research focuses on amplifying underrepresented voices in classical music, with specialized expertise in works by female composers such as Caroline KyungA Ahn, Alexina Louie, Sofia Gubaidulina, and Galina Ustvolskaya. Her doctoral work analyzed unifying elements in Ustvolskaya's piano sonatas—a repertoire historically suppressed by Soviet authorities. This intersects with broader interests in:

• Decolonizing musical canons through performance and pedagogy
• Arts entrepreneurship as a framework for artist sustainability
• Cross-cultural musical exchange, particularly between Korean and Western traditions

Performance accolades include:

• First Prize at the Han Kuk Ilbo national competition
• First Prize at the Russian Music Festival

She has performed at Carnegie Hall and with the Chopin Poland Orchestra, alongside collaborations leading to commercial recordings like the CD Locally Sourced.