Ella Kim (piano), 15, is from Herndon, Virginia, and attends Oakton High School. Ella has won numerous awards, including first prize at the International Young Artist Piano Competition in Washington, DC, the American Fine Arts Festival International Piano Competition, the Virginia Music Teachers Association District Auditions, the Steinway & Sons Piano Competition in Washington, DC, and the Washington Music Teachers Association Haydn Sonata Competition. More recently, Ella won first prize and the Judges Recognition Award at the Carmel Klavier International Piano Competition. In addition, she won third prize at the Richmond Symphony League Concerto Competition and the Lancaster International Piano Competition.

Ella appeared on NPR’s From the Top as part of an eight-hand ensemble and she was invited back to be featured as a soloist in a show hosted by concert pianists Anderson and Roe. In 2020, Ella performed on From the Top’s Facebook Live Concert. In 2021, she hosted an Instagram Takeover for Washington DC’s WETA Classical, highlighting her life as a young classical musician. Her performance and interview with John Banther, WETA Classical’s radio host and producer, were featured on WETA Classical’s Facebook event.

Ella has performed at the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, the Ward Recital Hall at the Catholic University, the Embassy of Hungary, the Embassy of Poland, the Embassy of the Netherlands, the Embassy of Austria, the National Institute of Health, and the US State Department. Ella received instructions from renowned artists such as Ieva Jokubaviciute, Tamas Ungar, Marina Lomazov, Joseph Rackers, Enrico Elisi, and Alvin Zhu. Outside of music, Ella enjoys traveling, painting and trying new foods.