A Man On a Mission To Get The Younger Generation Listening To Classical Music

Meet Noah Inada-Kim (@nik.classical) - a man on a mission to get the younger generation listening to classical music

Noah is a 21 year old pianist and student living in London. At the age of 6 he started piano lessons, which lead him on the path to falling in love with classical music.

Noah started @nik.classical in September 2023 as a way of expressing his love and interest in classical music. His strives to re-popularise the art accross all generations through social media. His audience grew rapidly, with a huge amount of interaction online. Noah firmly believes this proves that art has the power to change your life.

When writing this, his instagram stands at a staggering 449k followers!

- Hannah catches up with Noah after he attended our secret concert on the 9th May.

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Noah - welcome! Tell me about how you got onto this path and where your inspirations came from?

I started learning piano at the age of 6 through lessons with teachers. My Father and Grandmother also played, therefore it is something that has stayed in our family for generations. Being very young I was always reluctant to practice when my mum or dad told me to do so, I treated piano and practicing as a series of tasks I had to complete, not appreciating the art it actually is.

When it came to studying for exams at the age of 16-18, I completely stopped playing music and it wasn’t until my gap year before uni, where I realised the emptiness in my life without it.

My main inspirations are the romantic piano greats such as Chopin, Liszt and Debussy. These composers were able to tell stories and poems in the form of music.

There is a quote by Chopin which truly opened my eyes to the power of romantic classical music - “I tell my piano the things I used to tell you”. I remember when I first heard this, and it made me think that these genius composers are truly just expressing themselves through their instruments. Each Piece of music is a piece of them.

Tell us about a recent concert experience that really stuck out to you

I’ve been to many concerts in the last year, however DEBUT’s secret concert on 9th May was a truly unforgettable experience. The interactive and comfortable environment made you feel incredibly relaxed paired with the exceptional talent from the musicians, resulted in one of the best nights out you can attend in London!

- PS. {we didn’t tell him to say this!}

Aside from the piano - what is your favourite instrument? What music inspires you outside of classical?

I have always been in love with the violin. I have always seen it as the closest thing to the human voice. The passion that can come accross when you watch someone play is so immense and powerful that it can send you into a trance.

Aside from classical music, I mainly listen to 1960’s to 2000’s rock music. I also always enjoy when the piano features in modern music - artists such as Billy Joel, Elton John, and Radiohead are always on repeat for me.

And finally tell me about fun facts about yourself, and if you’ve got any exciting things coming up!

Weird fact - I’m afraid of cheese!
Fun fact - I’ve performed yearly for all my life with my next concert coming up in June.
Excitingly, I’m currently working with a European tech company in the development of a new classical music app scheduled for release soon!

Through my social media channels and app, my mission is to increase music education across the country (which is currently under-threat), as I believe classical music and instruments are something that need to be protected and taught forever!

If you’re on Instagram or TikTok, go and follow @nik.classical for inspiring classical content multiple times a week!

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