▲ Vian shares his stories at a cafe. Photographed by Choi Ji Won

As expressed by his stage name Vian, which means “full of life,” Kim Sung Bae (’94, Philosophy) has the dream of sharing his lively music with people to deliver hope, encouragement, and consolation. As a jazz pianist, a composer, and a professor, he lives a busy yet meaningful life. 

At the start of his career as a jazz pianist, there was the influence of his mother who was a devotee of classical music. Vian, famous as both a jazz pianist and a composer, reminisces about his childhood in a musical environment. “I started to learn playing musical instruments, and I remember myself singing along with my mother’s instrumental accompaniment,” he says. Thus, it seemed like his talent in music had appeared back then.

While he was mostly familiar with classical music as a small child, he did not feel much passion in that particular field. “I think I knew that music was more than a mere hobby for me, but I do not think I had the breadth of mind to notice for which genre of music I had ardency,” he says. It was the period when he was about to enter high school that he became truly interested in the piano. Vian continues, “I played the piano at church, and by the time I was in my second year of high school, I started making melodies and playing variations.” Although he did not have a particular audience with whom he could share his music, this was a great consolation for him. By “communicating with music,” Vian was able to relieve the stress that he received from his academic pursuits.

Despite his interest in music, Vian did not major in music at college. “As a student, I did not have a specific field that I wanted to study more in depth,” he says. He ended up registering in the Department of Philosophy at Korea University (KU). While attending university, however, his enthusiasm for music grew even more and he would practice playing the keyboard at the dormitory. Finally, he realized that he would like to do something with performing music and chose jazz. “One of my colleagues was also into jazz, so I went to see performances with him. It is true that I had put more value in music than philosophy,” he says.

▲ Vian playing the piano. Photographed by Choi Ji Won

Vian was a diligent student during his freshman year, but dedication waned as music increased. Still, it was a difficult decision for him to go to Berklee College of Music in order to pursue his dream as a musician. “There were musicians in the 1990s, including Kim Kwang Min, Jung Won Young, and Han Sang Won, who were graduates of Berklee College of Music. They inspired me that it is possible to go study music abroad,” Vian says.

His university life in America was not all that emotionally smooth. “It seemed like I was ‘a babe in the woods.’ Because musically talented students from all over the world were gathered there, I felt a sense of inferiority by comparing myself with others.” Vian spent a total of seven years in the U.S.––four years and a half at Berklee, and two years at Manhattan School of Music. He often took part in performances not only on campus but also outside of campus.

Since his official debut as a jazz pianist in 2006, Vian has produced a total of three full-length albums, and one project album titled The Great Korean Songbook. “The three albums consist of my original compositions, which reveal my enthusiasm toward composing,” he says. On the other hand, The Great Korean Songbook is an album that is based on Korean pop music. “Although these songs do not seem to be related to jazz, I tried to incorporate some elements of jazz and created unique songs,” he says. Since these songs were already familiar to the general public, there was a lot of positive response to them.

Vian chooses “A Gentle Whisper” contained in his first album as the song that best represents him. He introduces this song as the one that received the most interest and love from people. “It is highly lyrical and is also related with Christianity. I actually was inspired by the Old Testament when composing this song,” he says.

Vian extended his career to education; he has been a professor at Chungwoon University teaching applied music since 2009. He describes his relatively new job as “interesting.” Because he thinks that he himself had not started music at a young age, he understands the difficulties that many students face. “I try to deliver music activities live to my students,” he says.

In addition, Vian puts effort into making attempts to have frequent conversations with students. “I see that many collegians today are influenced too much by reality. It would be good for students to focus on what they truly like, but sometimes the environment does not allow them to do so,” he says. “This is why I try to instill courage in my students.”

Vian brings up the point that he learns a lot while teaching students. “Sometimes the message I try to deliver to my students can be applied to me as well. This allows me to reflect on myself,” he says. He also emphasizes how his sharing of information and experience with students is meaningful. “I think my most important role is to help students to find and develop their unique styles in music,” he says.

As a professor and an alumnus of KU, Vian gives advice to current university students. “Too many students are obsessed with self-development and the so-called ‘spec (specification)’. Although these can be good qualifications once students become members of society, there are many other important aspects.” He especially emphasizes relationships with other people. “Rather than regarding colleagues merely as competitors, you should try to develop mutual-assistance relationships with others,” he says. “Most importantly, you should find something that you truly like and something that can best represent yourself.”