Alumni Spotlight: Yiheon Kim
Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance
Since graduating in May, I had the amazing opportunity to spend the summer
in Cortland, New York working as the audio engineer for Cortland Repertory
Theatre. I mixed "Hair" and "Kiss Me, Kate" and sound designed "Over the
River and Through the Woods." I installed the sound system from ground
up, learned my way around the Behringer x32 console, and worked with some
truly incredible creatives. Unfortunately, my summer got cut short by a
month due to a COVID outbreak among the cast and production team, we were
two performances into "Murder on the Orient Express," and rehearsals for
"Mary Poppins" were just about to begin. With the fear of being stuck living
in my grandparent's basement, I used this new opportunity to look for work.
Although I wanted to explore the possibility of touring or free-lancing
as a sound designer/audio engineer, I also applied to regional theaters
all over the country. Over the course of two weeks and interviews and many
emails, I was offered a few different positions and ultimately chose to
move to Washington D.C. Currently, I am a sound and video technician for
Arena Stage. I was the A2 for the Atlantic Festival and I got to mic and
interact with some interesting and important people. I am also the audio
engineer for "Sanctuary City" which is getting remounted here at Arena
Stage. I'm working on a Yamaha M7CL and learning the intricacies of Dante.
More exciting things are sure to come in the future, but already I have
learned so much and I'm just getting started. Finally, I would like to
say that without the support of professors and friends from WVU, I wouldn't
be where I am today. For that, I will be forever thankful for my time at
WVU and will forever be a proud Mountaineer!
I started my education at WVU in the Horticulture program. I had chosen WVU
because they offered programs that spoke directly to my personal interests.
However, I quickly realized that my love for plants didn't necessarily
translate into a love of horticulture. I saw some amazing student work
coming out of the College of Creative Arts and took a few classes on a
whim. The faculty's passion and expertise were contagious so I
changed majors to the BFA program and never looked back.
The art program at WVU isn't just classes. It's visiting
artist lectures, internships, live artist demos, one-on-one critiques with
practicing artists, faculty and student exhibitions, and more. This robust
program spoke directly to my artistic interests and provided me with a
well-rounded art education from which to build my career.