Karen Kim is an American-born Chinese pianist and teacher based in Mason, Ohio.  Karen received her bachelor's and master's degrees in piano performance from the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati, where she studied on full-ride scholarship with Eugene Pridonoff and Soyeon Kate Lee.   

While at CCM, she was a winner of the Van Cliburn Scholarship Competition at the College-Conservatory of Music and the Glenn Miller Society Scholarship Competition in Iowa; she was also the first-place winner of the $9,400 prize at Three Arts Scholarship Competition. Aside from participating in several music festivals in the country, Karen has studied in Vienna, Austria at the Wienermusikseminar with Peter Efler and Wolfgang Watzinger. In 2017, she was one of 23 pianists to be selected for Pianofest in Hampton, New York, where she shared the stage with other top-level students in the country in numerous concerts.   

As a teacher, Karen has been featured in the American Music Teacher magazine for outstanding teaching and studio development. She is passionate about research and teaching materials, and she reviewed upcoming pedagogical publications for music teachers nationally and abroad. Her students have been winners of numerous competitions, including the Nathaniel Patch Piano Competition (University of Kentucky), OhioMTA Auditions Festival, and the 88 Tri-State Piano Concerto Competition, to name a few; and have been recognized with Distinction-level certificates from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. Karen has also taught for the Whiz Kids Music Program, working with teams to put on after-school music programs for “at-risk” kids in urban areas. Karen has been invited to teach and perform in numerous pre-colleges and venues in Asia, including the cities of Seoul, Chengdu, Chongqing, Taishan and Beijing.   

In 2020, Karen was awarded the prestigious Mary Sue Harris Teacher Fellowship award by Music Teachers National Association, the highest level of recognition a developing piano teacher can receive. Karen currently directs her studio “Musical Moments” with her husband, Korean pianist Jaesung Kim.