Abraham Kim, cello

Hometown: Phoenix, Arizona

Meet Abraham

Abraham performs on Show 445.

Abraham Kim (cello), 17, is from Phoenix, Arizona. He began his cello studies at SOUNDS Academy when he was 11 years old and became a student of his current teacher, Jamie Kellogg, at the age of 12. His studies continue at SOUNDS Academy today and it is an organization that has provided numerous musical experiences and opportunities for him.

As a soloist, Abraham has earned several awards and recognitions through a number of competitions, including the Arizona International Music Competition, Arizona Cello Society Competition, New York International Young Musician Competition, Prodigy International Music Competition, OPUS National Music Competition, Arizona Musicfest Young Musicians Competition, American Music Talent Competition, ASTA-AZ Solo Competition, and the MTNA Arizona Senior Performance String Competition. He also won The Jean & Robert Frankeberger Grand Prize at the PYSO 63rd Annual Young Musicians Concerto Competition and, as a result, had the opportunity to perform with The Phoenix Symphony at Symphony Hall.

Abraham has attended several music festivals, including the YOLA National Festival, the Red Rocks Music Festival Winter Chamber Music Institute, and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. Additionally, he participated in the 2022 and 2023 AMEA Regional and All-State Festivals.

Abraham has held the role of principal cellist with the Phoenix Youth Symphony Orchestra since 2019. He volunteers and is a Teacher Assistant for the SOUNDS Academy Collective Ensemble Groups. Outside of cello, Abraham loves conducting, and enjoys listening to major orchestral works to examine them from the role of the conductor. He currently plays on a German cello, likely from the Heberlein Workshop c.1930, generously loaned to him by the Carlsen Cello Foundation in Seattle, Washington.

Receiving the Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award will allow Abraham to purchase a cello and bow of his own that will carry him through college and into the professional field.

Listen to Abraham

Show 445
Sonata for Cello and Piano in C minor, Op. 6 - II. Adagio by Samuel Barber (1910-1981)