Readers that have previously encountered Yubeen Kim’s name probably know that he is Principal Flute with the San Francisco Symphony (SFS), a position he assumed in January of 2024. However, he is also on the faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM); and last night he performed a Faculty Artist Series recital in the Recital Hall of the 50 Oak Street building. Most of his selection required piano accompaniment, provided by Yu-Hsin Galaxy Su. (She is also a clarinetist, also performing with SFS.) Kim also performed duo work with another flutist, Julin Cheung, Assistant Principal Flute and Piccolo of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
Flutists Yubeen Kim and Julin Cheung performing with Yu-Hsin Galaxy Su at the piano (screenshot from the livestream of last night’s performance)
Due to the small number of performers, a relatively small area of stage space was occupied. As a result, camera work was limited to making sure that all performers were in the frame. Those limited numbers eliminated any risk of the camera looking in the wrong place! The only major activity on the stage involved replacing the piano with a harpsichord for Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s H 569 trio sonata in D minor (after which the piano returned to its proper place for the remainder of the program). Kim also performed an encore with Su, an arrangement of the “Méditation” intermezzo from Jules Massenet’s opera Thaïs, possibly performing from the vocal score.
Once again, the greatest shortcoming with the livestream was the audio. Once again I had to crank up the volume to eleven, as they say. However, because the Recital Hall is significantly smaller than the Concert Hall, the listening experience was not as frustrating as it had previously been; and Kim’s repertoire could not have been more engaging!
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