Keeheon Nam
Korean-American clarinetist Keeheon Nam is a versatile performer and educator. He has captivated audiences from dive bars in Minneapolis to Carnegie Hall. Equally accomplished in solo, chamber, and orchestral settings, Keeheon has collaborated with esteemed ensembles such as the Houston Ballet, Nashville Symphony, and the Princeton Symphony.He is a prize winner of the 2022 International Clarinet Association Young Artist Competition, a 2017 winner of the Eastern Music Festival’s concerto competition and was the 1st prize winner of the 2017 Tennessee Music Teachers Association’s Young Artist Competition. In 2017, Keeheon was invited by the Chancellor of Vanderbilt University and the Dean of the Blair School to perform a musical interlude at Vanderbilt University’s Commencement Ceremonies, where he commissioned and premiered a work for solo clarinet from composer Michael Slayton for a crowd of over 20,000 people.
As a chamber musician, he is the founding clarinetist of Houston-based Kodan Quintet and has appeared with WindSync and the Monarch Chamber Players. Keeheon is committed that new music is an important cornerstone of a well-rounded musician and actively seeks opportunities to perform new commissions. He has commissioned and premiered many works during his time at Vanderbilt, Juilliard, and Rice University, from composers such as Nicky Sohn, Michael Slayton, Michael Alec Rose, Lila Meretzky, Jordyn Gallinek, and SiHyun Uhm.
Born in Suwon, South Korea, and one of the only two in the family to be musicians, Keeheon immigrated to the United States at the age of 5 with his family. Beginning clarinet studies at the age of 10, he studied under the tutelage of Alexander Fiterstein, Burt Hara, and Karrin Meffert-Nelson. He is a graduate of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, The Juilliard School, and the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University. His primary instructors include Richie Hawley, Jon Manasse, and Bil Jackson.
