Mina Kim

Mina Kim is the Director of the Purchase Symphony Orchestra (PSO), and has been hailed as a “spirited conductor” by Brooklyn Discovery. Ms. Kim is also the chair of Classical Instrumental Studies at the Conservatory of Music at SUNY Purchase College where she has been kindling her community’s passion for the arts as a member of the faculty since 2006. Amidst her diverse roles on campus she enjoys lecturing and is a beloved coach and mentor to music students.

Ms. Kim was recently named Music Director of the Woodstock Symphony Orchestra for the 2023-2024 season. As a highly sought after guest conductor, Ms. Kim has accepted invitations from across the state including Westchester Chamber Soloists, Chappaqua Symphony Orchestra and the WSCMA Area All-State Symphony Orchestra.

In the 2023-2024 season Ms. Kim will direct a wide spectrum of symphonic, operatic, and contemporary works. In February the Purchase Soul Voices will join the PSO for its annual Black History Month celebration.  Ms. Kim and the PSO will partner with the School of Film and Media Studies at Purchase College in a cross-genre collaboration to create a new form of exhibition featuring music by Philip Glass.   Other highlights from her conducting career include engaging the unique invitations from Joshua Bell to perfect Thomas de Hartmann’s Violin Concerto, and directing performances of the PSO with Grammy nominated artists Black Violin.   

When she is not wielding the baton Ms. Kim performs as a concert pianist, vocal coach and chamber musician. Her piano highlights include performances with the Savaria Symphony, Shanghai Symphony, Busan Philharmonic, and Purchase Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Kim performed her debut recital at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in New York City as recipient of the Artist International’s ‘Special Presentation Award’. The Vienna Music Seminar in Austria and the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival in Maine are a few of the renowned music festivals for which Ms. Kim has performd. She has also been a vocal coach for the opera programs of Si Parla Si Canta in Italy and Classic Lyric Arts in France.

Ms. Kim earned a B.M. at Busan National University in South Korea, an M.M. and Artist Diploma in Piano Performance at Purchase College, and a Professional Studies Diploma in Vocal Collaborative Piano from Mannes School of Music, where she was awarded the Newton Swift Award. Ms. Kim studied Orchestral Conducting with David Hayes as the recipient of the President’s Scholarship Award at the Mannes School of Music. While there, she served as the Assistant Conductor of the Mannes American Contemporary Ensemble and was the Chorus Master of The Mannes Opera.