Join April Kim & Friends, an ensemble group with a cellist, violinist, and pianist, as they perform in the museum.

Live! At the Museum is presented in partnership with Laguna Beach Live!
Please arrive early and enjoy the museum’s gallery and social time.

Laguna Live! concerts are partially funded by the lodging establishments and City of Laguna Beach.

Advance tickets recommended.
Laguna Art Museum members & Laguna Beach Live! Members: FREE
Non-members: $14 per person

April Kim is a Korean-American violinist and entrepreneur who seeks to utilize her bicultural background, musical passion and business leadership to share the art of music, cultivate partnerships and broaden her positive influence in the community. Ms. Kim received her undergraduate education as a violin performance major in Claire Trevor School of the Arts at University of California, Irvine, where she was a Rawlins Scholar from 2009 to 2013. Also, Kim played memorable master classes with Eugene Drucker from Emerson Quartet and Emanuel Ax from Juilliard School while attending Chamber Music | OC’s Young Artist Program. Her performance venues include Soka Performing Arts Center, Barclay Theatre and Nixon Presidential Library & Museum, and she also took part in Chamber Music | OC’s Carnegie Hall Debut in 2017. Kim continues to develop her musical skills under the tutelage of Dr. Iryna Krechkovsky and maintains a private studio in Orange County.

With a passionate pursuit of an additional field of study, Kim earned her MBA from the Paul Merage School of Business in 2020.

As an active member of the community, Kim directed multiple Korean youth orchestras, and she currently serves in Vision Youth Classic Concert, an organization that creates music concerts to help raise donations for people with disabilities. Kim hopes to become an important bridge that makes the benefits of classical music accessible to many people in various organizations and communities.

A native of South Korea, Esther Kim began earning recognition as a pianist at the age of 15 when the Korean government designated her an Outstanding Young Artist. She attended Gyeonggi Arts High School on a full scholarship and there majored in piano performance. After graduating high school in South Korea, she moved to the United States to broaden her musical experiences and to begin her preparation as a professional musician.

After moving to the U.S., Kim completed her undergraduate and master’s degrees in Keyboard Collaborative Arts at Chapman University under the tutelage of Dr. Louise Thomas. She was awarded Best Keyboard Collaborative Artist and was a recipient of the Musco Scholarship.
She has played in several professional choirs, orchestras, and recitals. Kim continues to grow her passion for music by helping other performers develop solid musical foundations, expand their creative abilities, and instill a deep-rooted love for music. She currently works closely with aspiring pianists of varying ages and skill levels and both assists and collaborates with other musicians. Her recent appearances include the Long Beach Opera’s production of King Arthur, and she is currently serving as a pianist for the Treble Choir at Chapman University.

Hanna Kim, cellist, completed her M.M. in Cello Performance and B.M. in Cello Performance from California State University, Fullerton. She studied primarily under Bongshin Ko and her past teachers also include Jonathan Kramer, and Malkhaz Dediashvili. She enjoys teaching students of various age and playing music as a soloist, ensemble, and orchestral musician. Currently, she privately teaches numerous talented students in Orange County and coaches for Orange Community Christian Youth Orchestra. As a cellist, she is an active member of Shekinah Ensemble.