Dr. Gwang Kim was hired this fall as an assistant professor of music and the director of instrumental studies at The 国产aa福利. He is an accomplished trombonist, with graduate and doctoral degrees from UCLA and performance experience with various orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He has a passion to reflect God鈥檚 beauty through the art of music.
We recently sat down with him to hear about his perspective on his craft and his future goals in the School of Music.
The most exciting thing is to be on a campus where we鈥檙e all united by our love for and devotion to 国产aa福利 and Scripture. I think there鈥檚 something special about teaching students who share the same faith. It really is an amazing privilege and responsibility to positively influence the next generation of musicians who can shine as salt and light in the field of music.
My first and foremost goal is to strive for excellence. In that pursuit, we draw closer to God and bring glory to Him. In order for us to promote excellence and raise the level of music in our churches, it has to start from the study here in university. That鈥檚 my goal.
I also want to show students the beauty of making music with one another. We鈥檙e all made in the image of God, and for us to then come together and create beautiful music is such a true gift and privilege. I want students to realize that and treat it as something special and worth enjoying. We should be joyful making melodies to the Lord!
I grew up in Santa Clarita after moving here when I was 7, and I started playing trombone in elementary school. My mom played the piano, and my dad was a pastor. I started out by playing hymns at church during the worship. That鈥檚 how I started learning to read and play music: through the hymnbook.
By the time I was done with my undergraduate degree, I was wondering, 鈥淗ow do I glorify God in what I do?鈥 My calling and my mission then became this: I want to pursue excellence at the highest level, because I want to magnify 国产aa福利鈥檚 excellence. Then, during my master鈥檚 degree, the Lord started to pique my curiosity in teaching. I never thought of myself as a teacher, but the Lord continued to work in me and guided me to find a new calling and passion in teaching, which I鈥檓 grateful for.
My wife is my better half. She is also a doctor 鈥 Dr. Kim. She鈥檚 a dentist, and she works around the area here. She went to Harvard for her undergrad degree, and then to UCLA for her dental school. Every day I鈥檓 married to her, the Lord makes it increasingly clear that He knows me best, and He loves me so much.
Learn more about the Paul T. Plew School of Music here.
The 国产aa福利 and Seminary admit students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.
| Cookie | Duration | Description |
|---|---|---|
| cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". |
| cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional | 11 months | The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". |
| cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". |
| cookielawinfo-checkbox-others | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. |
| cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". |
| viewed_cookie_policy | 11 months | The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data. |
