Born in South Korea, Claire Kim made her first solo debut as a soloist with the Austin Symphony Orchestra at the age of seventeen, conducted by Maestro Peter Bay. She is also a prizewinner of the David O. Nilsson Piano Competition at the UT Austin and in numbers of competitions affiliated with the ADMTA, TMTA, and MTNA.

In addition to piano, Claire has received training in harpsichord and organ under Donald Livingston and Gregory Eaton. Her recent harpsichord and organ performances include collaborations with UT faculties James Morrow and Roger Myers, as well as with the UT Choirs, UT Symphony Orchestra, UT Wind Ensemble, and more.

Claire Kim is a passionate pedagogue with a rich background teaching hundreds of students at different ages and levels. She has developed her teaching philosophy through different pedagogical methods including the Kodaly and Russian methods through training at the UT Austin and SMU. Claire is currently working on creating her own method book and plans to give lectures internationally to share her insights on piano pedagogy.

After completing her Master of Music in Piano Performance and Pedagogy at SMU, Claire is now pursuing her Performance Diploma, where she has received three consecutive years of full scholarship and assistantship as both a pedagogue and collaborative pianist. Prior to her studies at SMU, Claire studied with Dr. Andrew Brownell at UT Austin.

Students’ Achievments:

TMTA Theory Exam 2025

• Ty Nguyen (97)
• ⁠⁠Ethan Ho (100)
• ⁠⁠Clark Hodges (92)
• ⁠⁠Lydia Dao (97)
• ⁠⁠Cyrus Wang (94)

DMTA Achievement Audition 2025

• ⁠Cyrus Wang (I)
• Lydia Dao (I+)
• ⁠⁠Ethan Ho (I+)

PPD Piano Proficiency Exam 2024-2025 at SMU

• ⁠Ty Nguyen (First Class Honors with Distinction)
• ⁠⁠Ethan Ho (First Class Honors with Distinction)
• ⁠⁠Clark Hodges (First Class Honors with Distinction)
• ⁠⁠Lydia Dao (First Class Honors with Distinction)
• ⁠⁠Cyrus Wang (First Class Honors with Distinction)

Outh Piano Duo Competition 2023

• Abby Chong, Timmy Chong (1st place, Div. II)

Dallas Piano Solo Competition 2023

• ⁠Elizabeth Dao (Honorable Mention, Div. VIB)
• ⁠⁠Abby Chong (Honorable Mention, Div. IIIA)

DMTA Jazz-Pop Festival

2025

• ⁠Lydia Dao (I+, Judge’s Choice, Div. 5/6)
• ⁠Ty Nguyen (I+, Judge’s Choice, Div. 7/8)

2024

• ⁠Elizabeth Dao (I+, Judge’s Choice, Div. 7/8)
• ⁠⁠Cyrus Wang (I+, Jduge’s Choice, Div. 1/2 Section B)

2023

• ⁠⁠Abby Chong (I+, Judge’s Choice, Div. 3/4)