SEJONG HERE & NOW FESTIVAL
Sejong Soloists launches a new spring festival in New York and Celebrates its
30th Anniversary at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall!
Inaugural 2024 Festival to Include World Premieres by
and a US Premiere by
With Special Guests:
Steven Banks, saxophone
Hannah von Wiehler, conductor
Juliana Zara, soprano
Earl Lee, conductor
Four Sejong Soloists Concertmasters Alumni:
Other Soloists:
New York, NY: March 12, 2024 – Internationally renowned New York-based chamber orchestra Sejong Soloists presents the first biennial Sejong Here & Now Festival, dedicated to commissioning and performing exciting new works for strings and soloists alongside carefully curated selections from the classical repertoire.
The inaugural festival—taking place on May 17 and 22, 2024, at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall—celebrates Sejong Soloists’ milestone 30th anniversary with two commissioned world premieres, a US premiere, and distinguished guest artists.
Tickets are available at carnegiehall.org
On May 17, Sejong Here & Now 2024 presents a world premiere by Augusta Read Thomas on the occasion of her 60th birthday alongside music by Bach and Tchaikovsky. On May 22, the concert features a world premiere by Texu Kim written expressly for this 30th Anniversary concert in collaboration with the four violinists who will be featured as soloists—all of whom are former Sejong Soloists concertmasters and now serve as concertmasters at leading world orchestras. The May 22 concert also features the US premiere of the ensemble version of “Puzzles and Games,” a section of Unsuk Chin’s opera Alice in Wonderland; as well as Mendelssohn’s Octet.
On May 29th there will be a private, advanced screening of the documentary feature film "Earl”, directed by the Emmy award winning director and producer Ty Kim. The screening is hosted by the Consulate General for the Republic of Korea - New York at the Korean Cultural Center New York City.
From its inception in 1994, Sejong Soloists has been dedicated to musical excellence, and many of its alumni have landed concertmaster and leading roles in orchestras around the world.
“The Here & Now Festival marks the beginning of our next 30 years,” says Creative and Executive Director Kyung Kang, “and reaffirms our commitment to commissioning new work for the 21st century, exploring new technologies, and continuing to perform pieces from the classical canon with virtuosity and excitement.”
Sejong recently commissioned and premiered Overstory Overture by Tod Machover, featuring mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, in March 2023 in New York and Seoul, Korea to critical acclaim.
Classical Voice North America wrote that the orchestra was “taut and focused yet buoyant” and “demonstrated an exceptional sense of balance, allowing each voice to emerge organically.”
“The success of our collaboration last year with Tod Machover,” Kang continues, “inspired us to create a recurring opportunity to explore music by living composers who are responding to our ever-changing world.”
