Meet the Composer
Augusta Read Thomas and Jin Hi Kim in residence with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra
Composers Jin Hi Kim and Augusta Read Thomas will be composers-in-residence with the Hew Haven Symphony Orchestra for two seasons. Creating a strength from their musical differences, Ms. Thomas and Ms. Kim will each engage the orchestra's community through a variety of educational and performance activities throughout the residency. Entitled Shifting Patterns, this residency project will focus on the cross-cultural influences of both composers and explore the many different cultural backgrounds that make up the larger New Haven community.
The NHSO will premiere a new commission by each of the resident composers as well as perform numerous other existing works in a variety of settings. Ms. Thomas and Ms. Kim will also be centrally involved in launching and writing for the NHSO's soon to be formed New Music Ensemble.
In today's musical climate, non-Western cultural influences have become a part of the orchestral music mainstream. Cross cultural music is at the very core of my being as an artist, and it is the common thread that is woven throughout my life. Shifting Patterns will draw upon my unique background, and more importantly, present me with challenging opportunities to develop my skills as a composer, artist, and cultural ambassador.
—Jin Hi Kim
"A moving target within a moving target" is a metaphor I am fond of to describe my work. The moving materials, inside the moving materials, are all made by me, one note at a time. Everything is an outgrowth of something else. Transformation and organicism are key to my work.
—Augusta Read Thomas
The latest…
David J. Baker of the New Haven Register writes:
Symphony audiences sometimes forget that music is an ongoing process, with new works born daily, and that composers don't all come from Germany or Austria. The New Haven Symphony Orchestra has embarked on a two-year program involving two composers in residence—living creators of music, who will work with the group and with area music students. Thursday's concert by the NHSO sampled music by both these composers, an Asian and an American.
Read the rest of the review here: http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2009/10/18/entertainment/doc4ada83121...
During the next two seasons (Fall 2009-Spring 2011), Jin Hi Kim will be embarking on a new educational project with New Haven area youth. Reaching out to special needs children at three schools, Jin Hi will be teaching workshops on Music Meditation and Korean Drumming. Students will experience first hand the role music plays in meditation and experience the calming, focusing benefits this can bring.