Clarinetist | Composer

Janghyun Thomas Kim is a Texas/Louisiana-based clarinetist and composer.

Originally from South Korea, Kim made his solo debut at the Sejong Center for The Performing Arts sponsored by The Chosun Ilbo (The Chosun Newspaper) in South Korea, and he made his American solo debut at Carnegie Hall after winning second place at the American Protégé International Music Competition in 2018. As a committed solo and chamber performer, he has won the Grand Prix at the IV International Music Competition-Caspi Art Competition (Turkey-Russia) and first prize at the Music International Grand Prix. He has also received top prizes at the NOLA Chamber Music Competition and the Universal Chamber Music Competition in South Korea. Kim has been featured as a soloist with numerous orchestras and institutes, including MIOS Philharmonic Orchestra in South Korea, the Gyeyang-Gu Symphony Orchestra, Sung-Sim Catholic University Orchestra, the SELU Chamber Orchestra, and the LSU Clarinet Choir. Most recently, he performed Oscar Navarro’s Clarinet Concerto No. 2 with the Louisiana State University Symphony Orchestra as a second prize winner of the Concerto Competition.

Kim is the co-founder of the Vermillion Duet, a flute and clarinet duo that commissions and performs contemporary works by underrepresented composers, especially women and ALAANA (Africa/Black, Latin, Asian/South Asian, Arab, and Native American) composers, spreading diversity and inclusion in today’s musical landscape. With the duo, Kim has received grants from Chamber Music America to be a Digital Artist in Residence and the Louisiana Division of Arts to conduct Vermillion Duet’s “Call for Scores Project.” He has presented Vermillion Duet’s recitals at the VII Festival Internacional de Música de Cámará in Ecuador, Louisiana’s Old State Capitol, the Seattle Flute Society Festival, and the San Diego Flute Guild Spring Festival. New works by underrepresented composers that have been commissioned and premiered by the Vermillion Duet include Mara Gibson’s Pranayama, Aarón González’s The Mexican Imaginary, Yu-Chen Hsu’s Root, Seo Rin’s Fascinating Rhythm, Jeremi Edwards’ Essence of Water, and Thomas Wilson’s Monmouth.

As a composer, Kim frequently collaborates internationally with performers. His composition works have been performed across Europe, Asia, North America, and South America. These performances include flutist Léa Villeneuve’s solo recital in Germany, Sung-Sik Kim’s flute solo recital in South Korea, the Duo Sphere’s chamber recital at ClarinetFest® (International Clarinet Association), Agorart Ensemble’s chamber recital in Italy, and Vll International Chamber Music Festival of Ecuador. His first composition, Destin, was performed by clarinetist Javier Elizondo at Carnegie Hall in May 2021. Kim studied composition as his doctoral minor with Dr. Mara Gibson at LSU.

Kim earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Louisiana State University, Master of Music degree from Southeastern Louisiana University, and Bachelor of Music degree from the Catholic University of Korea. He held Graduate Assistant positions at both LSU and SELU. His primary instructors have included Deborah Chodacki, Victor Drescher, Sejong Yoo, and Hyungak Shin.