Kim Rabenda

Kim Rabenda (f.k.a. Haeyoung Kim) was born in Cheonan, South Korea. She began playing the piano at the age of four, graduated from Chungnam Arts High School, and obtained an undergraduate degree in classical piano from Sookmyung Women’s University in Seoul, studying with Haejeon Lee. Kim went on to obtain postgraduate degrees both as a New Music pianist and as a classical concert pianist (Konzertexamen) from Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen, Germany, where she studied with New Music expert Bernhard Wambach and Ensemble musikFabrik’s Benjamin Kobler.

She received further inspiration through consultations and masterclasses with new music pianists including Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Pi-Hsien Chen, Jean-Pierre Collot (ensemble recherche), Marino Formenti, Nicolas Hodges, and Ueli Wiget (Ensemble Modern), as well as with classical pianists Karl Betz, Roland Pröll, Ilya Scheps, Nina Tichman, and others.
Kim was selected to participate in various festivals and workshops including at Darmstadt (International Summer Courses for New Music), Essen (NOW!), Freiburg (Ensemble Academy), Kürten (Stockhausen Concerts and Courses), Montepulciano, Munich (Academy of New Music), Schwaz (Klangspuren/IEMA), and Seoul (Young Creative Korea); she was supported by scholarships from DAAD, Kunststiftung NRW, and Tongyeong International Music Foundation.

Since making her debut at Philharmonie Essen, Germany, in 2011 with works by John Cage and Steve Reich, Kim Rabenda has been active as a concert pianist specialising in New Music. She regularly performs the essential works of the 20th century, ranging from Arnold Schönberg through to Pierre Boulez, Isang Yun, and Helmut Lachenmann. At an early stage in her career, Kim gained considerable expertise in the works of Karlheinz Stockhausen and, more recently, has been focusing intensively on the music of Olivier Messiaen. She especially enjoys her regular encounters and collaborations with composers of New Music – for whom she also frequently premieres new works – including Roland Breitenfeld, Unsuk Chin, Peter Gahn, Seongmin Ji, Heera Kim, Jungjik Kim, Sae-Ahm Kim, Sehyung Kim, Younghi Pagh-Paan, and Oliver Schneller.

Kim Rabenda was a member of the New Music ensembles »Ensemble CONSORD« (Münster, Germany) and »Seoul Modern Ensemble« (Seoul, Korea). Since 2023, Kim has been a co-founder and the pianist of the New Music collective »Project Ensemble O« (Seoul, Korea), and in 2024, she formed »DuO:GK« together with New Music violinist Subin Hwang.

Since 2017, Kim has been the musical leader of »sämusic«, a platform for New Music projects and concert productions that she launched together with her husband, music journalist Christian Rabenda. less

Having served as a church musician at a free evangelical church in Germany for several years, Kim Rabenda also continues to engage with music in the church context, on occasion directing music-related church services and church-related concerts.

Kim Rabenda has taught piano at Sookmyung Women’s University in Seoul, and in 2017, she established »Studio Rabenda« in Seoul as a space for professional music education, masterclasses, and musical events, such as house concerts.

As of 2025, Kim Rabenda is based in Seoul, South Korea, and regularly travels to Germany and Europe.

»sämusic« is a platform for New Music projects and concert productions founded by music journalist Christian Rabenda and pianist Kim Rabenda in 2017 with the aim to present New Music within a seamless aesthetic experience that also engages with the rich intellectual and artistic discourses surrounding it.

Funded by the »Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture«, »sämusic« launched in 2018 with an inaugural lecture concert on »Culture and Identity: New Music Between Korea and Germany« at Ilshin Hall, Seoul, followed by several other productions. After the pandemic had greatly limited the scope of the planned activities, as of 2024, more regular productions are being planned to take place from 2025 onwards.

saemusic.org

»Project Ensemble O« is a New Music collective founded in 2023 at the initiative of composer Haryun Bong. Uniting both composers and performers of New Music, its collaborative structure allows for an exceptional closeness between composition and performance.

Concepts are developed collectively, enabling composers to create new pieces as decisive contributions to a cohesive artistic vision.
This ethos is exemplified by concert programs that combine avant-garde music classics from the 20th century with new works by member composers, and likewise by projects such as »Die Klangdiebe« (»The Sound Thieves«) that presents compositional reworkings and reinterpretations of classical and popular musical material.

Kim Rabenda is a founding member and serves as the pianist of »Project Ensemble O«.

»DuO:GK« is a contemporary music duo formed by pianist Kim Rabenda and violinist Subin Hwang. Having specialized in contemporary music performance during their respective studies in Austria and Germany, Kim and Subin met upon returning to Korea while collaborating on »Project Ensemble O«.

Their swiftly developing musical friendship, combined with a desire to deepen their collaboration beyond the ensemble context, led to the founding of »DuO:GK« in January 2024. United by a vision for innovative and engaging approaches to contemporary music, Rabenda and Hwang aim to present thoughtfully curated projects that balance sophistication with accessibility.

Funded by the »Anyang Foundation for Culture & Arts«, »DuO:GK« held their debut concert »DuO:GK’s Walpurgis Night – Piano, Violin and Picture Book« in November 2024 at Pyeongchon Art Hall in Anyang, Korea, exemplifying their vision: Blending avant-garde works by composers such as Beat Furrer and Salvatore Sciarrino with lighter 20th-century pieces from Béla Bartók, Astor Piazzolla, and others, the audience’s experience was further enriched by a picture-book-style programme book featuring illustrations created by Subin Hwang in collaboration with Artificial Intelligence, encapsulating »DuO:GK’s« mission to present contemporary music through imaginative formats.

»Studio Rabenda« was established in 2017 by Kim and Christian Rabenda as a space for both music education and musical events.

With two branches in Seoul, »Studio Rabenda« is a premium institution, offering world-class instruction in piano, music theory, and composition, as well as in foreign languages (German and English), including expert guidance in essay writing, interview preparation, and language and educational consulting, as well as hosting masterclasses with internationally renowned musicians.

With professional backgrounds in both music and language, the founders Kim and Christian Rabenda aim to maintain exceptionally high standards, combining depth of expertise with a welcoming atmosphere that is accessible to passionate learners of all levels – whether aspiring professionals or dedicated hobbyists.

Since its inception, »Studio Rabenda« has also been serving as a space for intimate musical events, such as house concerts.

studiorabenda.com