Emerald City Music Announces Season 09: Global Resonance Concerts from October 2024 to May 2025 in Seattle and Olympia – Opening Weekend: American Sketches
High resolution press photos available here.
Emerald City Music Announces Season 09: Global Resonance
Fifteen Concerts from October 2024 through May 2025
in Seattle and Olympia, WA
Violinist Kristin Lee, Artistic Director
Featuring Performances by violinist Kristin Lee, pianist Jun Cho, cellist Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir, violist Melia Watras, percussionist Bonnie Whiting, Brentano String Quartet, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center with guitarist Jason Vieaux, Dreamers’ Circus, Canellakis-Brown Duo, flutist Sungwoo Kim, & More
Opening Weekend: October 18-19, 2024
Season Subscriptions and Single Tickets Available Now: www.emeraldcitymusic.org
Seattle & Olympia, WA – Continuing under the leadership of Artistic Director and violinist Kristin Lee, Emerald City Music (ECM) presents fifteen concerts for its Season 09 between October 2024 and May 2025 at two signature venues – in Seattle at 415 Westlake and in Olympia at The Minnaert Center for the Arts – as well as at Olympia’s Capital High School Performing Arts Center and at Lairmont Manor in Bellingham. Emerald City Music is the Pacific Northwest home for eclectic, intimate, and vibrant classical chamber music experiences. Known for a casual environment combined with award winning artists, ECM has gained recognition since its founding in 2015. Season subscriptions and single tickets for Season 09 are available now.
The Seattle Times reports: "ECM isn’t falling back on the tried-and-true, under the assumption that a new listener is an unadventurous, easily frightened-off listener. Instead, they’re betting that the tried-and-true could be precisely one of the barriers to sparking interest that classical-music organizations need to overcome." The concept of the concert series as a platform where artists and audiences transform one another breathes life into every element of what ECM does – from the casual open-bar setting of its flagship Seattle concert experiences, to the bustling community that faithfully assembles in its concert halls in Olympia and beyond. At Emerald City Music concerts, the audience’s presence matters, transforming the artists, the community, and the future of classical music.
Artistic Director Kristin Lee says of this year’s diverse array of performances:
“The theme for Emerald City Music over Season 09 is Global Resonance. From the lively American program that starts the season to the Spanish Journey with The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Danish folk music with Dreamer's Circus, the festive Bulgarian Dance with the Canellakis-Brown Duo, and the timeless elegance of Joseph Haydn's compositions, this season is about experiencing the world's diverse musical sounds. This theme connects with our Evolution Series, featuring the flute – one of the world’s most celebrated instruments – and honors composer Pauline Oliveros, who championed the concept of ‘Deep Listening,’ encouraging us to tune into the universe's offerings.”
Emerald City Music’s Season 09 Mainstage Performances:
Kristin Lee: American Sketches
Friday, October 18, 2024 at 8pm: 415 On Westlake
Saturday October 19, 2024 at 7:30pm: The Minnaert Center for the Arts, SPSCC
Emerald City Music returns to the stage for its ninth season, celebrating Artistic Director Kristin Lee’s upcoming solo album, American Sketches, out on November 15 on First Hand Records. American Sketches captures the pride that Kristin Lee has for the U.S. as a foreign-born citizen, through tunes that embody a recognizable and spirited sound. Lee states: “It’s been quite a journey in bringing this album to life, especially since this is my very first curated album. Through recording and creating American Sketches, I’ve gained a voice and better understanding of myself. With the courage to share this album with the world, I’ve gained boldness and trust within myself. I’m embracing the changes that this process has bestowed upon me and eagerly anticipating how I will continue to evolve, bringing changes to my musical life.” For the opening weekend of Season 09, Lee performs with pianist Jun Cho, showcasing selections from the album including music by H.T. Burleigh, Jonathan Ragonese, Ernest Bloch, George Gershwin, JJ Johnson, Scott Joplin, and Amy Beach, with arrangements by Jeremy Ajani Jordan.
Composer in Focus: Pauline Oliveros’s Sound Meditations, Curated & Hosted by Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir
Friday, November 8, 2024 at 8pm: 415 On Westlake
Saturday, November 9, 2024 at 7:30pm: Capital High School Performing Arts Center
Pioneer of “deep listening” and “sonic awareness,” ECM celebrates the life and music of Pauline Oliveros. This meditative evening, curated and hosted by cellist Sæunn Thorsteinsdóttir, will combine live performance, film, and an interactive audience experience. Pauline Oliveros' life was about opening her own and others' sensibilities to the universe, influencing American music profoundly through improvisation, meditation, and technological exploration. She was one of the original members of The San Francisco Tape Center – a significant resource for electronic music in the 1960s – and a founding member of the Deep Listening Band, which was formed in 1988 in Port Townsend, Washington. The concert program will include video segments from an Oliveros documentary that explains her concept of music; performances of her compositions by Thorsteinsdóttir, Kristin Lee, violist Melia Watras, and percussionist Bonnie Whiting; along with group activities of meditation.
Quartet in Spotlight: Brentano String Quartet with Haydn’s Opus 33s
Friday, December 6, 2024 at 8pm: 415 On Westlake
Saturday, December 7, 2024 at 7:30pm: Capital High School Performing Arts Center
The incomparable Brentano String Quartet, going on 30+ years as an ensemble, joins Emerald City Music’s stage for the first time with a monumental program of Haydn’s Op. 33 Quartets in its entirety. Three of the quartets will be performed in Seattle on Friday evening, the other three in Olympia the following evening – a great opportunity to experience ECM in both cities. Joseph Haydn, also known as "Papa Haydn," earned his nickname through his pioneering contributions to symphonies, string quartets, and piano trios. Throughout his life, he composed 104 symphonies and 68 string quartets, becoming a pivotal figure in classical music and a mentor to both Beethoven and Mozart. In 1781, Haydn wrote his Opus 33 string quartets, which were dedicated to the Grand Duke of Russia, leading to their nickname, the "Russian" quartets. These works are renowned for their wit and humor, including the "Joke" quartet being one of his most celebrated compositions.
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center: Spanish Journey
Thursday, February 6, 2025 at 7pm: Lairmont Manor, in partnership with Bellingham Friends of Music
Friday, February 7, 2025 at 8pm: 415 On Westlake
Saturday, February 8, 2025 at 7:30pm: The Minnaert Center for the Arts, SPSCC
New York’s Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center returns to the Emerald City Music, bringing a vibrant celebration of Spanish music. This exciting program features Artistic Director Kristin Lee alongside the acclaimed, GRAMMY-winning guitarist Jason Vieaux, who returns to the ECM stage. Spend a musical evening in Spain, a country of enchanting colors, rhythms, and textures, in this special evening curated by Lee. The distinctive Spanish style is beautifully expressed in piano trios of Falla and Turina, while guitar – an instrument deeply associated with Spain – is also featured, played by Jason Vieaux. Song complements the balance of the program with vocal works by Sarasate, Rodrigo, and Obradors, the texts of which beautifully express the flair and passion of the Spanish language. The combination of the guitar’s intoxicating sounds, the language’s seductive tones, and the trios’ vivid style illustrates the richness of this culture. Soprano Vanessa Becerra, cellist Clive Greensmith, and pianist Soyeon Kate Lee join Lee and Vieaux for these evocative performances.
The Return of Dreamers’ Circus
Friday, February 28, 2025 at 8pm: 415 On Westlake
Saturday March 1, 2025 at 7:30pm: The Minnaert Center for the Arts, SPSCC
After a smashing hit in 2019, having made their American West Coast debut on Emerald City Music’s stage, Dreamers’ Circus is returning to the Puget Sound from Denmark. The young Danish Trio is a driving force in Nordic world music. Contemporary and endlessly innovative in their approach, they draw inspiration from the deep traditions of folk music in the region and reshape them into something bright, shiny, and new. Dreamers’ Circus are Nikolaj Busk (DK) on piano and accordion, Ale Carr (SWE) on Nordic cittern and Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen (DK), also of the Danish String Quartet, on violin. Dreamers’ Circus display inventiveness and talent in their approach to performances that include music from Denmark and Sweden as well as Finland, Norway, and the far reaches of the windswept Faroe Islands. The ensemble has won five prestigious Danish Music Awards and were named 2023 Artist of the Year by the Danish national classical radio channel P2, becoming the first non-classical group to earn that honor.
An Evening of Music and Film with Canellakis-Brown Duo
Friday, April 11, 2025 at 8pm: 415 On Westlake
Saturday April 12, 2025 at 7:30pm: The Minnaert Center for the Arts, SPSCC
Returning artists Nicholas Canellakis and Michael Stephen Brown bring a program with a twist to the ECM stage, showcasing collaborative original films in dialogue with music by Rachmaninoff, Korngold, and more, in Such Stuff as Dreams. Reinventing the cello/piano genre into a concert experience unlike any other, Such Stuff as Dreams combines the many talents of cellist-filmmaker Nicholas Canellakis and pianist-composer Michael Stephen Brown into one evening. Featured on the program are two films – Canellakis’s latest short comedy My New Cello, and Such Stuff as Dreams, a mesmerizing new multimedia work for film and live score, directed by Canellakis and composed by Brown. Alongside will be evocative and thrilling music by composers with strong ties to the world of film, creating a truly singular, multi-genre event.
EVOLUTION Series: Evolution of the Flute, Co-Curated by Sungwoo Kim
Friday, May 16, 2025 at 8pm: 415 On Westlake
Saturday, May 17, 2025 at 7:30pm: TBA
An ECM fan favorite, the EVOLUTION Series is back, this time delving into the fascinating world of the flute in Evolution of the Flute, co-curated by flutist Sungwoo Kim. The flute is among the earliest known identifiable musical instruments, with origins dating back more than 53,000 years. Over millennia, this remarkable instrument has evolved through numerous stages to become the flute we know today and is one of the most celebrated woodwind instruments. This extraordinary concert will feature five exceptional flutists, each showcasing the instrument's remarkable evolution from its ancient origins to its contemporary brilliance. Experience the transformation of the flute, from a simple tube with holes to a sophisticated, multi-metal marvel with over 120 articulating parts, exploring the flute’s lineage, and witnessing a variety of flutes in diverse repertoire.
For Emerald City Music’s Complete Schedule and Concert Details, visit www.emeraldcitymusic.org/calendar.
Emerald City Music’s 2024-2025 concerts take place on Fridays at 8pm at 415 Westlake in Seattle, WA and on Saturdays at 7:30pm at The Minnaert Center for the Arts in Olympia (2011 Mottman Rd) or Capital High School Performing Arts Center (2707 Conger Ave NW). Season tickets and tickets to individual concerts are now on sale at www.emeraldcitymusic.org.
About Kristin Lee, ECM Artistic Director
Kristin Lee is a violinist of remarkable versatility and impeccable technique who enjoys a vibrant career as a soloist, chamber musician, educator, and artistic director. “Her technique is flawless, and she has a sense of melodic shaping that reflects an artistic maturity,” writes the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and The Strad reports, “She seems entirely comfortable with stylistic diversity, which is one criterion that separates the run-of-the-mill instrumentalists from true artists.”
As a soloist, Lee has appeared with leading orchestras including The Philadelphia Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, Milwaukee Symphony, Hawai’i Symphony, Tacoma Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Nordic Chamber Orchestra of Sweden, Ural Philharmonic of Russia, Korean Broadcasting Symphony, Guiyang Symphony Orchestra of China, Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional of Dominican Republic, and Singapore National Youth Orchestra.
She has performed on the world’s finest concert stages, including Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, the Kennedy Center, Kimmel Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Ravinia Festival, the Louvre Museum, the Phillips Collection, and Korea’s Kumho Art Gallery. An accomplished chamber musician, Kristin Lee became a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center after winning The Bowers Program audition and completing the program's three-year residency. In addition to her prolific performance career, Lee is a devoted educator. She is on the faculty of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music as an Assistant Professor of Violin. Lee is also the founding artistic director of Emerald City Music (ECM), a chamber music series that presents authentically unique concert experiences and bridges the divide between the highest caliber classical music and the many diverse communities of the Puget Sound region of Washington State.
Kristin Lee’s honors include an Avery Fisher Career Grant, top prizes in the Walter W. Naumburg Competition and the Astral Artists National Auditions, and awards from the Trondheim Chamber Music Competition, Trio di Trieste Premio International Competition, the SYLFF Fellowship, Dorothy DeLay Scholarship, the Aspen Music Festival’s Violin Competition, the New Jersey Young Artists’ Competition, and the Salon de Virtuosi Scholarship Foundation.
Born in Seoul, Lee moved to the United States and studied under prestigious teachers including Sonja Foster, Catherine Cho, Dorothy DeLay, Donald Weilerstein, and Itzhak Perlman. Lee holds a Master’s degree from The Juilliard School. Lee’s violin was crafted in Naples, Italy in 1759 by Gennaro Gagliano and is generously loaned to her by Paul & Linda Gridley. For more information, visit www.violinistkristinlee.com.
About ECM
Emerald City Music (ECM) is the Pacific Northwest home for eclectic, intimate, and vibrant classical chamber music experiences. Deemed “a welcoming and more inclusive environment for intimate music-making” (The Seattle Times), ECM hosts world-renowned musicians in unique concert experiences. Founded in 2015, Emerald City Music produces and tours seven productions annually, with each tour visiting Seattle’s South Lake Union (415 Westlake, a chic contemporary venue with an open bar), Olympia’s Minnaert Center (a 495 seat modern concert hall), a once annual concert at the Bellingham Music Festival, and an annual concert in New York City.
ECM has gained recognition regionally and nationally as a major player in the chamber music scene. Artistic Director Kristin Lee –– a touring violinist awarded the Avery Fisher Career Grant and a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center –– is regarded for her innovative programming that both honors the tradition of chamber music while expanding the genre’s boundary past common limits. Emerald City Music made a name for itself beginning in its second season with a national collaborative commission with Grammy-winning composer John Luther Adams, and has continued to press the boundary of chamber music with accolades like a tour of Steve Reich’s iconic and rare Music for 18 Musicians, a pitch-black performance of Georg Haas’s “In the Dark” quartet, and the West Coast debut of the Danish folk group The Dreamers’ Circus.
ECM values real, authentic connection and holds the belief that music possesses the innate power to connect people, inclusive of varying backgrounds and perspectives. Over eight years, artists from every corner of the globe have visited Emerald City Music to prove just that: there exists a special connection between artist and listener that only music can facilitate.
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