About

Biography

Ka Youn Yoo (2000-present) is a composer from South Korea, currently studying for a masters degree in Composition for Screen at Royal College of Music, having graduated from King’s College London and The Purcell School for Young Musicians in the UK. Her works have been premiered in various venues across the world, including Cadogan Hall in London, Korean Ministry of Unification and National Gugak Center in South Korea, Dobříš Castle in Czech Republic, and the Government House in Antigua and Barbuda.

Ka Youn’s ambition is to express the sound of international music and arts through her compositions. In October 2022, her composition ‘Han’ which she wrote about the sorrow of Korean women in Japanese colonial period, has been performed as the winning piece of the LaonG Gayageum (Korean traditional zither) composition competition. In 2019, she won the Purcell School’s annual orchestral composition commission for which she wrote a unique orchestral fusion ‘Taepyeong’(Peace), which was performed by the Purcell School Symphony Orchestra in their annual flagship concert at the Cadogan Hall. The work was inspired by Korean Taepyeong-song, incorporating traditional Korean music, as well as elements of the Western Classical traditions, in order to create a kaleidoscope of different musical cultures.

During her studies at university, she had opportunities to learn about various art forms including art works, poems, and films. She was fascinated by the role of music in film where music acts as a strong medium to deliver emotions to the audience. This experience led her to participate in an online summer program in Film Scoring Academy of Europe in July 2020. After that experience, she began her journey as a film composer and is now working on several short film projects with young film directors across London.

Ka Youn is also an orchestrator and arranger especially for young musicians. She has been commissioned to orchestrate music for Antigua and Barbuda Youth Orchestra since 2019 after leading Go-Compose workshop with Alison Cox in Antigua and Barbuda in July 2019. As an arranger, she worked with Korean Ministry of Unification for the North and South collaborative concert in November 2021.