Yubeen Kim becomes principal flute of the San Francisco Symphony
The 26-year-old South Korean Eisler alumnus Yubeen Kim will become principal flute of the San Francisco Symphony, one of the most important American symphony orchestras. Yubeen Kim studied at the Eisler with Prof. Benoît Fromanger and passed his Konzertexamen in 2022. He will begin his engagement in California in January 2024. In 2016, at the age of just 19, Yubeen Kim became principal flute of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin after completing his flute studies in Lyon and Paris. Parallel to his orchestral activities in Berlin, he completed his Konzertexamen studies at the Eisler.
He has already won several awards at international competitions, winning 2nd prize at the Concours de Genève in 2014 and 1st prize at the Prague Spring in 2015. In 2022 he won 1st prize for flute at the renowned ARD competition.
He has performed internationally as a soloist and orchestral musician as well as in various chamber music formations, including with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bochum Symphony Orchestra, the CNSMD Orchestra in Lyon and the Ensemble of Tokyo, and at renowned festivals such as the Nimus Festival, the Festival du Jura, the Tongyeong International Music Festival.
As a principal flutist, he was also a regular guest with the Berliner Philharmoniker, with whom he recorded, among other things, the album "The Berlin Concert" for Deutsche Grammophon in 2022 with music by the legendary American film music composer John Williams under his direction.