Born in Seoul, South Korea, cellist Jonah Kim moved to the United States to begin his musical studies at seven years of age. After some instruction from his father, who is not a musician, the Juilliard School awarded him a full scholarship.

In his first year at Juillliard, Jonah was recognized as exceptional by the legendary cellist and pedagogue, Janos Starker, who invited Jonah to perform at Indiana University. In 1999, Jonah was invited to the Curtis Institute of Music, but enrolled the following year in 2000. For 6 years, Jonah studied at the Curtis Institute under the tutelage of Orlando Cole (Curtis String Quartet), Peter Wiley (Guarneri Quartet), and solo cellist Lynn Harrell. During his career at Curtis, he studied chamber music with coaches such as violinists Joseph Silverstein, Arnold Steinhardt, Aaron Rosand, pianists Gary Graffman, Seymour Lipkin, etc. and performed chamber music in masterclasses for the Emerson Quartet, Vermeer Quartet, Takacs Quartet. He has also received high praises in solo masterclasses with cellists Joel Krosnick, Timothy Eddy, Stephen Isserlis, Gary Hoffman, Marcy Rosen, Andre Diaz, and Ron Leonard, to name a few.

Jonah soloes with orchestras such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, etc. As a recitalist, Jonah has performed in major venues including the Kennedy Center (Washington D.C.), Kimmel Center (Philadelphia), Kravis Center (W. Palm Beach). Winner of numerous competitions, Jonah was broadcast on radio for WHYY and WITF, as well as on television for NBC and CBS. He has also aired as a special guest on the Ananda Lewis Show (KingWorld Productions, Inc.), his showcase including a performance of Paganini Caprices.

An avid performer of contemporary music, Jonah enjoys learning and performing new pieces. His performances of works from 'Vox Balaenae' by George Crumb, written for electric trio of flute, cello and prepared-piano to Terry Riley's string quartet 'The Ecstasy: Salome Dances for Peace' to brand new works by his colleagues at Curtis have been praised for precision, emotional connectivity, and "[the ability to] communicate the complex in a simple way" (Richard Doran, November 2004). To further enlarge the cello repertoire, Jonah has adopted the task of arranging pieces originally written for other instruments. Jonah's transcription of Bach's Chaconne from the Second Partita in D minor "adds a dimension of depth and mass to [the Chaconne] that a violin could never have" (Edward Aldwell, March 2006). Jonah has also arranged a list of favorites by Kreisler, Ponce, Gershwin, Chopin, Bartok, Sibelius, Wieniawski, including virtuosic showpieces like Sarasate's Ziguerneweisen and the complete 24 Caprices by Paganini.

Jonah graduated from Curtis in Spring of 2006. He studies with David Cole at Lynn University in Boca Raton.

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