Born in Seoul in 1982, So-Ock Kim moved to London at the age of three. At 15, she was the youngest ever winner of the gold medal in the prestigious Shell/LSO Competition playing the Tchaikovsky concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra in the Barbican Hall. At 19, So-Ock was selected for the Young Concert Artists Trust. Her teachers have included Itzhak Rashkovsky, Felix Andrievsky and David Takeno.
So-Ock has given numerous critically acclaimed performances around the world and at the Wigmore Hall, Royal Festival Hall and Barbican Hall in London. Abroad she has comprehensively toured throughout Asia, Europe and the US, performing concertos and recitals in the various international music festivals, such as Schleswig Holstein, Beethoven Festival, Ravinia, BBCProms, Montpellier and Aldeburgh. Many of her performances have been broadcast on radio and television worldwide, including the BBC, ABC, Radio France, RAI, KBS, Polish Radio and Classic FM.
So-Ock has made numerous acclaimed international performances with the Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Sofia Philharmonic, Orchestre Nationale de Montpellier, KBS Symphony, Torino Philharmonic, Seoul Philharmonic and Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestras. She has recently made tours with the Mexico State Orchestra, performed with Vladimir Ashkenazy and the Philharmonia Orchestra, and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra with Vassily Petrenko.
So-Ock has a keen interest in the performance of new works and has given several World Premieres that have been recorded for Universal (France and Korea) and Naxos. Future concerts include concertos with the RPO and Leonard Slatkin, a Stradivari Festival Concert for the Radio France Festival, and debuts with the Polish Radio and Krzystof Penderecki, Warsaw Philharmonic, London Mozart Players, City of London Sinfonia and English Chamber Orchestra. Her first worldwide recordings are due for release on the Sony/BMG label.
So-Ock currently plays a fine Stradivarius Violin kindly loaned to her by a generous benefactor.