FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Nicole Gallego
New Haven Symphony Orchestra
(203) 865-0831, ext. 21
ngallego@newhavensymphony.org
BEETHOVEN AND BEYOND
NHSO’s Composer-in-Residence Jin Hi Kim meets classical music master Ludwig van Beethoven
New Haven, CT March 31, 2010: Join the New Haven Symphony Orchestra (NHSO) and Music Director William Boughton on Thursday, April 22, 7:30pm, at Woolsey Hall for Beethoven & Beyond featuring two of Beethoven’s most recognized works Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68 “Pastoral” and Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67, and NHSO Music Alive Composer-in-Residence Jin Hi Kim’s 2007 NHSO Commission Monk Dance, featuring Kim as Korean Percussion soloist. Encore Performance: Saturday, April 24, 7:00pm, New Canaan High School.
December 12, 1808 saw an extraordinary concert at Vienna’s Theater an der Wien in which both Symphony No. 5 and Symphony No. 6 premiered together. Both of Beethoven’s works were received with acclaim by audiences and critics alike. Maestro Boughton and the NHSO will recreate this momentous concert experience for our audiences. Punctuating these classical masterpieces is a recent composed work by Korean American virtuoso performer and composer Jin Hi Kim.
Jin Hi Kim is highly acclaimed as both an innovative komungo (Korean fourth century fretted board zither) virtuoso and cross-cultural composer. In addition she also performs Korean percussion instruments and barrel drum set consisting of three to five suspended barrel drums. Kim’s music is deeply rooted in Korean tradition. She studied and practiced traditional music with masters from National Classical Music Institute. In 1980 she came to the United States to study composition with composers John Adams, Lou Harrison and David Rosenboom. In South Korea, Kim is highly respected for her role as cultural ambassador and her invention of the world’s only electric komungo. In October 2009, Kim premiered her NORI III, commissioned by the NHSO, and she performing electric komungo with the percussion quartet.
Kim’s Monk Dance is inspired by the Korean traditional solo dance piece, in which a dancer also plays the drums with vigorous rhythmic patterns on the highly ornate suspended barrel drums. The drum solo is derived from the Buddhist monks drumming on a big barrel drum for enlightenment. This tradition has been expanded by professional dancers and musicians elaborating it into a dance form that is one of the most popular repertoires in Korea.
As part of its ongoing community outreach program the NHSO partners with local social service groups to help benefit the community. This month’s group is Youth Continuum. Youth Continuum is experiencing a high volume of homeless youth seeking services in New Haven. Bus tokens/passes are desperately needed to help young people with transportation to their homeless youth-services center on Grand Avenue, where they provide food, clothing, educational support, job training, enrichment activities and can explore Youth Continuum supportive housing options. The number of homeless youth served in New Haven is expected to double in 2010. Bring a bus pass/tokens to the Woolsey Hall performance on April 22 which may be purchased online at cttransit.com, participating Stop & Shops, and at the CT Transit Center on the corner of Chapel and Church.
Tickets ($10-65) for both performances can be purchased by contacting the NHSO Box Office at (203) 865-0831, ext. 10 or by visiting newhavensymphony.org.
This concert series is made possible in part by the generous support of Evergreen Woods, New Haven Terminal, Stamford Hospital, and New Haven Register.
All programs subject to change without notice.
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