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…
Watch this short documentary made by The New Haven Symphony. Part 1 is here, head over to YouTube for part two.