Opening the concert on May 22 is the US premiere of Unsuk Chin’s Puzzles and Games, a 20-minute section of her highly acclaimed opera Alice in Wonderland arranged in 2019 for strings, winds, soprano, and percussion and premiered in Germany by the Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic.  The full opera Alice in Wonderland (2007) was named World Premiere of the Year by Opernglas magazine.  “I am so happy to work together with Sejong Soloists for the first time,” says Chin. “I have known about their creative, innovative activities for a very long time, and I am deeply touched by their musicality and totally enthusiastic about their highly professional, virtuosic performances.” 

Puzzles & Games features soloist Juliana Zara, who is making her Carnegie Hall debut.

Haemosu’s Celestial Chariot Ride
(2024, World Premiere)

May 17th, 2024

The celebrated American composer Augusta Read Thomas has been described as “a true virtuoso composer” by The New Yorker. Her music is “always in motion, as if coming perpetually out of a magician’s hat…playful and subtle, dancing on light feet. It is music that conjures" (Huffington Post) and “reaffirms the vitality of orchestral music” (The Philadelphia Inquirer). 

In her new work, Haemosu’s Celestial Chariot Ride, commissioned by Sejong and written for the ensemble and saxophone soloist Steven Banks, she imagines “panoramas seen and experiences incited when taking a ride with Haemosu [the revered Korean Sun God] through sparkling, empathetic, and radiant adventures. The saxophone soloist steers the flying chariot, escorting us across those auras, offering views from the vantage point of the sky.” The 30-minute saxophone concerto is inspired by six Korean Sijo poems (from the 16th to 20th centuries) that present beautiful scenes, energies, and moods and is performed in six movements without pause.

Thomas says, “Music for me is an embrace of the world, a way to open myself to being alive — in my body, in my sounds, and in my mind. It has been exhilarating to compose for Sejong Soloists and Steven Banks – their brilliant musicianship, insightful interpretations, superb ears for musical nuance, and generous empathy enrich the lives of countless human beings.”

On May 22, Sejong Soloists presents the world premiere of another commissioned work, with/out, by Korean-American composer Texu Kim. The three-movement work was written specifically to celebrate Sejong’s 30th Anniversary and features four violin soloists – all alumni concertmasters of Sejong who have gone on to major concertmaster posts around the world—Frank Huang (New York Philharmonic), David Chan (Metropolitan Opera Orchestra), Andrew Wan (Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal), and Daniel Cho (Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra).

“I asked each soloist for some thoughts about Sejong before I began composing with/out,” said Kim. “It was no surprise to me that they all mentioned the ensemble's soloistic (and, therefore, virtuosic) nature, but they all also mentioned how family-like Sejong was to them. I wanted to honor this sentiment, and it confirmed my initial idea about this piece being based on 'various human relationships/dynamics.'”

Throughout its three movements, Kim’s with/out explores disconnects among humans in contemporary society. A second-movement cadenza for all four soloists is inspired by the psychological phenomenon of “collective monologues,” when young children all talk at once without appearing to meaningfully communicate with each other. The work’s final movement takes a more optimistic stance and positions Sejong Soloists as a force for connection in a fragmented society.

“This opportunity to write for such a terrific group of musicians,” added Kim, “especially violinists, is an enormous privilege, particularly as a person who learned the violin as a kid, and as a student, knew Sejong's reputation for musicality and collaboration with esteemed composers like Earl Kim and Sukhi Kang. I am honored to be in their company, and hope my piece pays proper homage to this group’s history!”