piano
Pianist Kimi Kawashima enjoys a committed career as a teacher, performer, and arts administrator in Salt Lake City. She was born and raised in Bowling Green, Ohio and made her concerto debut with the Toledo Symphony at the age of 14. Ms. Kawashima has performed in such notable chamber music series such as Music in Context, Musiqa, Aperio, Intermezzo and NOVA, and is a member of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra in Houston, Texas. She has curated and performed in critically acclaimed programs featured on KUHF’s Front Row radio program, Houston’s Zilkha Hall, the Cy Twombly Gallery and the Rothko Chapel. A dedicated proponent of contemporary music, Ms. Kawashima has worked with composers Tristan Murail, Anthony Brandt, Frederic Rzewski and Chen Yi, and commissioned Thomas Osborne and Erin Watson.
A recipient of the Dean’s Talent Award Scholarship at Oberlin Conservatory, Ms. Kawashima received a 2008 Presser Foundation Award to study various keyboard instruments in France (piano), the Netherlands (fortepiano), and at the University of Michigan (harpsichord). Kimi is completing her DMA studies in piano performance at Rice University, as a student of Brian Connelly. She was selected to perform at the Terrace Theater at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C as part of the Conservatory Project. She was the winner of the Shepherd School Concerto Competition, performing the Concerto for Piano and Strings by Alfred Schnittke with the Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra and conductor James Gaffigan.
Kimi is adjunct faculty at Weber State University and Westminster College, teaching courses in piano, keyboard skills, and world music. She is a frequent adjudicator and clinician throughout Idaho, Nevada and Utah.
