Jiji

Applauded by the Calgary Herald as “…talented, sensitive…brilliant,” JIJI is an adventurous artist on both acoustic and electric guitar, playing a wide range of music from traditional and contemporary classical to free improvisation. Her impeccable musicianship combined with compelling stage presence and fascinating repertoire earned the Korean guitarist First Prize at the 2016 Concert Artists Guild International Competition.

A passionate advocate of new music, JIJI has premiered a duo piece Talking Guitars by renowned composer,Paul Lansky, and as a recipient of the 2017 BMI commissioning award resulting from the CAG Competition, JIJI has commissioned Nina C. Young to write a new guitar piece scheduled for premiere during 2018-19. In addition, the American Composers Orchestra is commissioning a new guitar concerto by Hilary Purrington, to be premiered by JIJI in an upcoming season. She has premiered works by numerous emerging composers, including Gabriella Smith, Riho Maimets, Krists Auznieks, Gulli Björnsson, Andrew McIntosh, and Farnood HaghaniPour. 

She also performs her own compositions, incorporating electronic media and acoustic music, and she recently worked as a composer with the Yale Repertory Theater, Yale Cabaret, and Yale school of Art. Her music is influenced by her regular activities as a DJ, where she highlights the electronic dance styles of happy hardcore and Berlin experimental electronica.

Recent highlights include a wide array of venues, including: Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, National Sawdust, Miller Theater, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, Purdue Convocations, Mass MOCA, Le Poisson Rouge, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Princeton Sound Kitchen, Virginia Arts Festival, Festival Napa Valley, 92 nd Street ‘Y’ and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Her recent tour in Hong Kong consisted of performances collaborating with a performance Artist, a traditional Chinese instrument ensemble, and an Erhu player in art galleries, clubs, and even on a moving trolley. As a chamber musician, she performed with members of Eighth Blackbird, members of one beat project, members of Bang on a Can All-Stars, Wild Up, Tanglewood Chamber orchestra, The Industry, cellist Tessa Seymour, and the Aizuri and Argus Quartets.

Born in Seoul, South Korea, JIJI (Jiyeon Kim) began playing classical guitar at the age of nine, and was accepted to the Korea National University of Arts at age fourteen. She attended the Cleveland Institute of Music for two years, studying with Jason Vieaux, and was accepted at the Curtis Institute of Music in 2011 as one of the first two guitarists in Curtis’ distinguished history. She graduated Curtis in 2015, as a student of Mr. Vieaux and David Starobin, and she recently earned her Master of Music degree from the Yale School of Music, studying with Benjamin Verdery. She is excited about her upcoming adventures as a new resident of Arizona, and in her spare time, she enjoys cooking and creating weird sounds on Ableton.