Lineage: What an honor to have my work “Returning Souls” programmed alongside that of my teacher, Earl Kim; his teacher, Arnold Schoenberg; and Schoenberg's teacher, Alexander Zemlinsky, as well as Alma Mahler (a student of Zemlinsky) and Vilma von Webenau (Schoenberg's first student) at the Spitalskirche in Mödling, Austria. This celebration, part of the Schoenberg Center’s commemoration of Schoenberg's 150th birthday, is curated by Melanie Henley Heyn.
第33屆傳藝金曲獎最佳編曲提名【入圍理由】 編曲家以提琴、胡琴、鋼琴在無調性的作曲上進行對回憶的詮釋。樂曲時而急促、時而鬆緩；弦樂器時以長樂句拉出線性旋律，時卻以點狀切出頓挫之感；在高音曲重複製造張力，後旋即又回到平穩且平衡的協奏上。這些斷裂、衝突、瑣碎的樂句看似毫無道理，但卻道盡人們在「回憶」當下，其實正是撿拾拼湊過往時光碎片的本質。
or/and will be premiered at the Asia Society Texas Center (April), University of Heidelberg (July) and the soundSCAPE festival in Italy (July). or/and is a multimedia chamber operatic poem, following the journey of a composer who finds her voice only when she accepts the seeming contradictions of her immigrant identity. Choosing “and” over the divisive “or,” this work taps into the inclusive power of AND to help mend our divided world.
In celebration of the American Academy in Rome125th anniversary featuring music by AAR Fellows and Residents, past and present, I'm very honored that Our Names will have its European premiere on May 9th, Auditorium Parco della Musica, Teatro Studio, 9PM.
Excited about a residency at the Civitella Ranieri in August/September to work on a storytelling multi-media theatre work Messages From A Formosan Village. Messages from A Formosan Village, a 2020 MAP fund semifinalists and a storytelling a multimedia theater piece about empathy, diaspora, and cultural identity will be premiered in November 2021 at the Asia Society (Houston) and in 2022 in Frankfurt.
My latest album Silvergrass & Other Orchestral Works will release on January 17th (Available on amazon.com). Pieces include: A Plea to Lady Chang’e for Chamber Orchestra and Nanguan, Fantasia on the Theme of Plum Blossoms for String Orchestra, Concerto for Pipa and Chamber Orchestra, Fantasia on the Theme of Guanglingsan for Zheng and Chinese Orchestra, and Silvergrass, for Cello and Chamber Orchestra. Many thanks to the performers who participating in this recording: Wu Man, Wen-Sinn Yang, Mei-Hui Wei, Jerry Hou, Chih Sheng Chen, Yao-Yu Wu, Loop 38, National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra and The Little Giant Chinese Orchestra. This recording was made possible by a grant from The Alice M. Ditson Fund from the Columbia University.
CD release, available on the Amazon on November 26 Divergent Reflections, include Fantasia on the Theme of Plum Blossoms for Alto Saxophone and Piano, by Jennifer Bill, saxophone and Yoshiko Kline, piano
Solos and Encounters: A Musical Response to Turrell Skyspace (with Wu Wei, Shawn Conley and Kurt Stallmann), Solos and Encounters: A Musical Response to Alte Aula/Heidelberg (with Wu Wei, John Eckhardt and Kurt Stallmann) and Echoes from Within: A Musical Response to Cy Twombly (with Wu Wei, Shawn Conley and Kurt Stallmann) are a series of site specific works which explore the dialogues between the space, electronic sound and live performance. It was such an awesome experience to work with these wonderful performers in these amazing spaces! “Every line is thus the actual experience with its unique story. It does not illustrate; it is the perception of its own realization.” Twombly, 1957
Space City New Music Festival composer-in-residence portrait concert (July 14) included a workshop premiere of the Messages, Returning Souls and Twice Removed by Hub New Music and Cameron Leach at the MATCH, Houston. I was really honored to meet and work with so many excellent performers and talented composers.
Silvergrass, Cello and Chamber Ensemble German tour (March 22-24) and recording session in Munich, Ulm and Stuttgart by Wen-Sinn Yang. Many thanks to the all performers and the sponsor the HoHaiYan Künstlerverein zur Förderung von Musik und Darstellender Kunst aus Taiwan e.V.
Flashback Moments for piano quartet was commissioned, premiered and recorded by the New Asia Chamber Music Society at the Merkin Hall on May 13. Thank you, Andy, Nan-Chen, Ji-In and Tzu-Yi!
Ascending Waves for large orchestra, written for the Shepherd School of Music on the occasion of its fortieth anniversary, was premiered on April 19. I am in awe of all of the performers— Such an honor and privilege to work with the amazing Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra.
Ten Thousand Blooms, Falling Petals for Traditional Korean Orchestra was commissioned by the National Gugak Orchestra for the Pacific Rim Music Festival. This ambitious project began with workshops, readings and a two-week instrumental workshop at the Gugak Center in Seoul in 2015. It culminated with three excellent performances in October/December 2017 at the Music Recital Hall/UC Santa Cruz, the Hertz Hall/UC Berkeley, and the National Gugak Center, Seoul, Korea. Hats off to the director Hi-Kyung Kim for her vision and enormous hard work on this project—I am honored to be a part of it.
na ya i ya i for acapella chorus, a part of collaborative theater work The Pilgrimage , was premiered on September 29 in the Spotlight Concert series at the National Theater & Concert Hall, Taiwan. I’m very honored to be part of this project with a group of fun and wonderful Taiwanese composers. Many thanks to Ching-Wen Chao for curation this concert series.