DoYeon Kim

DoYeon Kim is a Seoul born, Brooklyn based composer, improviser, and virtuoso of the gayageum, the ancient Korean zither, which she has brought into the world of contemporary improvised music. She trained under the gayageum master Yi Ji-Young before becoming the first student admitted to play a Korean traditional instrument in the New England Conservatory's Contemporary Improvisation program, where she absorbed the language of Ornette Coleman and Anthony Braxton. Grammy.com named her one of seven musicians pushing ancient Asian instruments into the future. Her debut album as a leader, Wellspring, arrived in 2026 with Tyshawn Sorey, Mat Maneri, and Henry Fraser, and she performs widely on New York's experimental scene.