Keeheon Nam

Korean American clarinetist Keeheon Nam has captivated audiences from dive bars in Minneapolis to Carnegie Hall. Equally accomplished in solo, chamber, and orchestral performance, Keeheon has collaborated with esteemed ensembles such as the Houston Ballet, Nashville Symphony, and the Allentown Symphony Orchestra.

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 first 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 have received prizes and recognition from the Coltman, MTNA, Fischoff, and New Orleans ChamberFest competitions. Keeheon is committed to presenting today's music and actively seeks opportunities to perform new commissions. He has commissioned and premiered many works during his time at Vanderbilt, Juilliard, and Rice, from composers such as Nicky Sohn, Michael Slayton, Michael Alec Rose, Lila Meretzky, Jordyn Gallinek, and SiHyun Uhm.

Keeheon is a passionate teacher and is the Adjunct Instructor of Clarinet and Aural Skills at West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia. During the summers, he is an Instructor of Clarinet at the Interlochen Center for the Arts.

Born in Suwon, South Korea, Keeheon immigrated to the United States at the age of 5 with his family. 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.