Recognized worldwide for his musical prowess and a tone described as "unimaginably rich [and] robust at its heart," (SF Chronicle) Yubeen Kim will bring those qualities to SFCM as he joins its lauded faculty as Processor of Flute.

"I am extremely honored to join the SFCM faculty and excited to share my experiences with students and bring my vision to this great institution," Kim said. "I am also very passionate about teaching the next generation of music leaders," he added. 

Kim has been the Principal Flute of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra since January 2024, and served as the Principal Flute at the Konzerthausorchester Berlin from 2016 to 2023.

“Yubeen Kim is the most exciting and imaginative flutist of his generation," Chair of the SFCM Woodwinds Department Jerry Simas said. " A winner of international solo competitions and newly appointed principal flutist with the San Francisco Symphony, we are thrilled to welcome him to the SFCM facility where he will inspire our students for years to come.”

"To bring such an immense talent as Yubeen on to faculty is a tremendous win for SFCM," said Jonas Wright, dean and chief academic officer at SFCM. "He is the standard for flutists today and that our students get to work with him is very exciting.

"Yubeen is a total star—he is an astonishingly talented, expressive, poetic musician and an amazing flutist with one of the most beautiful sounds I have ever heard, said Catherine Payne who is on flute faculty at SFCM and performs with Kim at the San Francisco Symphony, "When I watched Yubeen work with the flute studio class for the first time, I knew immediately that he is a fantastic teacher as well! Yubeen has it all and he will be an incredible asset to our school," she added.

As a soloist, Kim has been invited to perform at numerous concerts and festivals, including the Prague Spring Festival, Nimus Festival, Bemus Festival, Festival du Jura, Weiwuying International Music Festival, and Tongyeong International Music Festival. He has appeared as a soloist with many prestigious orchestras such as the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Bochumer Symphoniker, Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, and Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra. Additionally, he performs regularly in Korea with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, KBS Symphony Orchestra, Korean Chamber Orchestra, and Korean National Symphony Orchestra.

Kim looks forward to taking what he's learned on the concert stage and sharing it with the next generation of musicians with a focus on fundamentals, "I aim to keep them motivated, and look forward to sharing what I've learned. I am obsessed with the basic exercises, they are the most important thing. It may seem easy but they actually can be the most difficult."

Originally from South Korea, Kim started taking piano and violin lessons at six before switching to the flute at nine years old. Kim studied at the Lyon Conservatory, Paris Conservatory, and the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin. He performed on the Berlin Philharmonic’s Berlin Concert album with John Williams on Deutsche Grammophon.

Learn more about studying Flute at SFCM.