South Korean Oboe Player Seeking Perfection Here

Perfection – that’s what Jeehoon Kim came to Round Top Festival Institute for this summer. It’s an elusive goal, but the South Korean-born oboe player from Los Angeles says it’s what keeps him focused.

“My teacher has a lot of connections with the faculty here, and he told me to audition during my freshman year,” he said. “I got in last year, but because of COVID, I couldn’t make it. This is the only place I auditioned for this year, because I heard they were doing it in-person. I was really grateful to be accepted.”

Most of the summer music festivals around the country like the one in Round Top have canceled concerts and in-person instruction again this year due to COVID. Many are offering virtual instruction. But it’s tough making orchestra music over an internet connection. Besides the technical difficulties, musicians lose the presence, feeling and connection that comes with playing live with a group.

“It’s one of the only festivals going on,” Jeehoon said. “I think something like 300 people applied this year and there are only 30-something of us here.”

Jeehoon, 20, started playing recorder in third grade. His mother encouraged him to pick up the oboe.

“Not a lot of people play it,” he said. “It’s a weird instrument, but its similar to the recorder in terms of the fingering and how you use the air. I started playing oboe in fourth grade.”

Jeehoon described his relationship with his instrument:

“It’s a love and hate relationship with the oboe,” he said. “You get such a beautiful tone and sound out of it when you play really well, but its so hard to control. The mouthpiece – the reed – is so sensitive and changes all of the time. It makes or breaks the tone and really frustrates me.”

By his junior year of high school, Jeehoon said he decided he would major in music in college. He attended the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan during his junior year. He will be a junior undergraduate student this fall at the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. He aspires for a career in orchestra.

“I came here for orchestra training,” he said. “I think I’m definitely getting it. We’re playing piano concertos where I’m learning how to blend in with the section. It’s a very good next step for me.

“Following the conductor, feeling how the music goes,” Jeehoon said when asked about what he is learning. “I have a hard time with the rhythm, but here I’m getting so much better with coming in at the right time.

“You want everything to be perfect, always better,” he said.

Jeehoon said that the drive for perfection is something shared by all students at the Institute this summer.

“They’re so creative, very artistic, also very sensitive,” he said. “That’s where the perfection and artistry comes – from the sensitivity.”

When not performing or studying music, Jeehoon said he’s enjoyed the Town of Round Top.

“The town is super cute,” he said. “They have some really good food. I’ve been to Teague’s Tavern and the Stone Cellar – the pizza is really good. Everything is really nice.”