South Korean clarinetist Sangyoon Kim (1987) is the principal clarinet of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Kim has served as a guest principal clarinet with the leading orchestras, including the Cleveland Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony with Vladimir Jurowski, Christoph Eschenbach, Franz-Welser Most, Jaap Van Zweden, and many others.

Kim’s career highlights include winning top prize of the 67th Prague Spring International Music Competition 2015 and appearance as a soloist with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Music Director, Sakari Oramo.

As a soloist, Kim has appeared with the Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra of the Opera de Rouen Haute-Normandie, Auburn Symphony Orchestra, Kwazulu natal Symphony Orchestra, and multiple national orchestras in Korea such as Prime, Won-Ju, Sung-Nam, Mokpo and Gwang-Ju philharmonic Orchestra.

Sangyoon Kim is also a sought-after chamber musician and has been invited to the Marlboro Music Festival since 2021 and made his debut at the Ravinia Festival with the Calidore String Quartet in 2013. He has performed with highly regarded artists such as Swedish clarinetist Martin Fröst, the celebrated French string quartet Quatuor Ebene, and pianists Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Robert Levin.

As a passionate teacher, Kim was appointed assistant professor at the University of Minnesota in 2022. He has given masterclasses in multiple US and South Korean universities, including the Peabody Institute of Music, University of Southern California, University of Wisconsin Eau-Claire, Minnesota Clarinet Academy, Seoul National University, Korea National University of Arts, Han Yang University, and many others.

Kim is a graduate of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse in Paris, where he was accepted as the first Korean clarinetist in the school's history. After Paris, he went on to study in Los Angeles at the Colburn Conservatory of Music, gaining an artist diploma under Yehuda Gilad in 2014.