Orion Kim is a fourteen-year old pianist from Saint Paul, MN.  He studies with nationally distinguished artist/teacher, Dr. Joseph Zins, of Crocus Hills Studios.  Enrolled in the Studio’s high intensity Performance Studies for the Gifted and Talented Pre-College Student, he is a member of the Premier Class.  He comes from a very musical family; both of his parents are professional performing musicians with whom he regularly plays piano trios, and his sister is also a member of the Premier Class as a student of Dr. JoAnne Link.  

 

Orion has performed with numerous orchestras in the Twin Cities area including the Kenwood Symphony Orchestra, the Dakota Valley Symphony Orchestra, the Golden Valley Orchestra, and the University of Minnesota Chamber Orchestra.  Most recently, Orion took first place in the 2019 Saint Paul Piano Teachers Concerto Competition, and will perform Saint-Saens’ Concerto No. 2 in G minor with the Mississippi Valley Orchestra in February 2020.  Orion has also taken top honors in the 2019 Dakota Valley Concerto Competition, the 2018 Golden Valley Young Artists Competition, and the 2018 Minneapolis Music Teachers Forum Mozart Concerto Competition.  At the 2018 University of Minnesota International Piano Camp, Orion was chosen to rehearse and perform the first movement of Mozart’s Concerto in d minor, K. 466, with chamber orchestra under the direction of Maestro Mark Russell Smith, and performed Haydn’s Gypsy Trio with college age string players.   

 

Orion’s other great passion besides the piano is soccer, and he plays competitively for the Saint Paul Blackhawks Club, whose team won the 2019 Minnesota State Championship and the 2018 USA Schwann Cup.