Music Festival continues Wednesday with Duo Dolce

Monday, July 4, 2016
Pianist Phoenix Park-Kim (left) and cellist Kristen Yeon-Ji Yun will play music from their new CD, "Duo Dolce, " also the name of their ensemble. (Courtesy photo)

This week's free Greencastle Summer Music Festival concert will feature pianist Phoenix Park-Kim and cellist Kristen Yeon-Ji Yun playing music from their new CD, "Duo Dolce" (also the name of their ensemble).

Music by Debussy, Rorem, Chen Yi and Johannes Brahms will be performed in Gobin Memorial United Methodist Church this Wednesday evening from 7:30-9 p.m. As always, the concert is free and open to the public, thanks to the support of donations by local individuals and businesses, including the Inn at DePauw and an endowment at the Putnam County Community Foundation.

"Phoenix and Kristen are each amazing players, and they have a wonderful musical connection as well as a deep personal friendship," festival artistic director Eric Edberg praised. "The festival is a celebration of friendship and community as much as it celebrates all forms of music. They performed for us in 2010, and it's great to have these music-making friends back with us. Their CD is fantastic, and I'm really looking forward to this program."

Park-Kim and Yeon-Ji Yun collaborate as Duo Dolce in performances praised for their beautiful tone and sensitive expression. Duo Dolce has performed and given master classes throughout the United States, South Korea, Spain and Taiwan.

Highlight concerts in recent seasons include a lecture recital performance at the College Music Society National Conference in 2015, a concert of the guest artist series at Cedarville University, and a featured ensemble performance for the Symphony of Brotherhood Concert in Los Angeles, commemorating the 50th year of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech, where they received Special Congressional Recognition by Congress Woman Karen Bass. In the 2011 Liszt-Garrison International Collaborative Artists Competition, Duo Dolce was selected as one of only three finalists and received honorable mention.

Cellist Kristen Yeon-Ji Yun is a prize winner in numerous competitions around the world, including the IBLA World Competition in Italy in 2008, the 11th Annual Competition in the Performance of Music from Spain and Latin America, Walton Concerto Competition at Indiana University, Indianapolis Matinee Musicale, Chunchu Music Competition, Seoul National Competition, Nan-Pa Music Competition, Korean-American Competition, etc.

She has soloed with many orchestras such as Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra, Korean Symphony Orchestra, Colorado Mesa University Orchestra, Indiana University Orchestra, etc. She received a Doctor of Music on cello performance in 2012 from Indiana University at Bloomington, where she studied with world famous cellist, Janos Starker. She also has a performer diploma from the same school. She has a master's and a bachelor's degree in cello performance from Seoul National University in South Korea. Yun is currently assistant professor of cello at Colorado Mesa University and performs on a French cello, made by Guersan in 1766.

Pianist Phoenix Park-Kim began playing the piano at age five and gave her first public performance at seven years old. She has won top prizes at numerous competitions, including first place at the Miami Concerto Competition, Jefferson City Concerto Competition and Kansas City Philharmonic Concerto Competition.

An avid chamber musician, Park-Kim has performed with the Oxford String Quartet, Duo Dolce, Soprani Compagni and has appeared at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall as part of the Distinguished Concerts Artist Series. She has been heard on public radio in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Virginia, New Jersey, California and Ontario, Canada.

Her CD "Deep River," a collection of classical works by African American composers, was released under the MSR Classics label. Her recordings are available on cdbaby.com and iTunes. She is currently professor of piano at Indiana Wesleyan University.

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