The laureate of gold medal in Shell/LSO Competition

Born in Seoul in 1982, So-Ock Kim moved to London at the age of three. At 15, she won the gold medal in the prestigious Shell/LSO Competition which led to a concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican.

So-Ock studied at the Purcell School and in 2000 entered the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. Her teachers have included Itzhak Rashkovsky, Felix Andrievsky and since 1994, David Takeno. She was selected for representation by Young Concert Artists Trust in 2002.

Since then So-Ock has given critically acclaimed recitals at Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room and Royal Festival Hall as part of the Kirckman Concert Society, Park Lane Group and Philharmonia Orchestra’s Martin Musical Scholarship scheme respectively. Abroad she has toured throughout Korea, appeared as soloist with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and given recitals at Sydney City Recital Hall in Australia and at the Mecklenburg Festival in Germany. Passionate about chamber music, So-Ock has frequently taken part in the IMS Prussia Cove series and is a member of the Emperor Piano Trio.

During the 2003/04 season So-Ock returned to Wigmore Hall, both as soloist and with the Emperor Piano Trio, gave debut concerts at the Aldeburgh Festival and with the Philharmonia Orchestra at the King’s Lynn Festival and appeared as concerto soloist at Bridgewater Hall and Birmingham Symphony Hall.

Future plans include appearances as soloist with the BBC Concert Orchestra in Gibralter and with ViVA, the Orchestra of the East Midlands and recitals at Wigmore Hall with Chiao-Ying Chang and the Emperor Piano Trio. Further afield So-Ock returns to Korea to give recital and concerto performances.

So-Ock plays a 1666 Antonius Stradivarius kindly loaned to her by an anonymous donor