Young Sook Kim

Young Sook Kim (voice, piano) is a vocalist and educator with more than two decades of experience. She studied at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, earning a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Music. Early in her career, she performed the role of Cio-Cio San in Madame Butterfly at the American Institute of Musical Studies (Graz, Austria). After an illness interrupted plans for an operatic career, she focused her work on education and community programs.

In 1992, she founded the Northern California Music & Art Culture Center (NCMACC), a nonprofit that engages children from diverse backgrounds in classical music and the arts. Her conducting and directing work has included the San Francisco Mission Choir, the East Bay Charity Choir, and the San Francisco Youth Chorus. She has also served on the board of the International Singing Association and on the advisory committee of the Korean American Artists Society.

To support cultural awareness among first-generation and multicultural youth, Ms. Kim founded the Korean-American Youth Musical Group (KAYMG), which presented annual productions based on Korean folk tales from 2001 to 2003. In addition, she established the WREACHOUT program (Western Addition and Richmond Education, Arts, and Culture—Helping to support Open minds, Understanding, and Togetherness), funded by the San Francisco Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families. Over 15 years, the program offered music, art, and martial arts programming with a focus on inclusion.

Ms. Kim’s community work has been recognized with Bank of America’s “Local Hero” Award for neighborhood service. She continues to teach and mentor young musicians.