Talented senior bass player Ian Kim received some good news earlier this month: an acceptance letter from the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA) for their 2025 Asia tour.
The tour is hosted by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute. Each year, NYO-USA selects roughly 100 players aged 16 to 19 to create a full-sized symphony orchestra. The entire trip is free for all participants.
After picking out players through an elaborate admissions process — including essays, introductions, recommendation letters from teachers and video auditions — the players receive their offer to play in an international summer tour.
Kim submitted multiple video auditions to the program, including a self-choice solo piece and required excerpts for the double bass.
Courtesy of Ian Kim
Kim performs an excerpt from Mozart’s Symphony No. 40.
Before the official tour starts, the ensemble will meet in New York for a two-week intensive training program.
After the training program ends, the official tour starts on July 20 at Carnegie Hall. Following the New York performance, the group will travel to Japan, Hong Kong, China and South Korea.
Last year, Kim participated in NYO2 — the same program as NYO-USA for ages 14 to 17 — and performed in Texas and New York.
“NYO is a really immersive experience into what it’s like to be a performing artist,” Kim said. “Getting the chance to tour around the world with friends and perform with professionals was very fun and eye-opening to me so I’m excited for the second time.”
Of the roughly 100 players last year, only eight positions were for the double bass, leading to an incredibly small acceptance rate for the spot. However, Kim says his years of experience in various orchestra groups have helped him a lot in terms of preparation for opportunities like NYO.
“I started rehearsing for various orchestra groups in the last few years, which have all given me a lot of experience playing different pieces,” Kim said. “Since I’ve come to SHS, the orchestra department has been incredibly supportive of my endeavors and helped me improve my musical techniques.”
Kim started playing the double bass in third grade with influence from his older brother. Since then, he has been taking lessons from Bruce Moyer, a music educator at San Jose State and Stanford.
Kim’s older brother — Nathan Kim — was the principal chair for the Saratoga Strings (the highest orchestra level at SHS) while Ian was assistant principal chair. Since Nathan has graduated with the Class of 2022 — now continuing his music journey at the Eastman School of Music — Ian has become the principal chair for Saratoga Strings.
“At first playing the bass was just another hobby for me, but it’s gradually become one of my greatest passions,” Kim said. “Whether it’s my developed love for classical music or the friends I’ve made along the way, playing the bass has become an integral part of my identity.”
