Pianist Eunbi Kim, Murakami Music: Stories of Loss and Nostalgia, November 1, 2014

NYC– On Saturday, November 1, 2014 at 8 pm, New York City based pianist Eunbi Kim (www.EunbiKimMusic.com) will perform at at the Baruch Performing Arts Center’s Engelman Recital Hall (www.baruch.cuny.edu/bpac/). The venue is located at 55 Lexington Ave., New York, NY 10010. General admission is $25.

Murakami Music is a performance piece inspired by the works of contemporary Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami, an author whose books have been translated into fifty languages, which have sold millions of copies.

Created by pianist Eunbi Kim, in collaboration with actress Laura Yumi Snell, and director Kira Simring, Murakami Music was conceived and premiered at The Cell Theatre in Chelsea, presented at NYC’s Symphony Space, and performed at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. This particular performance will feature guest jazz musicians Jeff Koch on upright bass, and David Kjar on saxophone.

A dramatic work, this program includes performances of piano works with theatrical readings that explore the complexities of the lives behind the pianists in Murakami’s books including Sputnik Sweetheart, Kafka on the Shore, and Norwegian Wood.

This program is one that explored Eunbi’s limits and growth as a performer: “The kind of artist I want to be is somebody that pushes herself to do new things. I never composed anything before. I never had to say dialogue before.”

A number of Murakami’s characters play piano or are passionate about music, which lends for an obvious source of inspiration and tribute. His works reference classical music, as well as popular music, jazz and blues.

He is also noted for his fully dimensional realizations of Asian characters, particularly women, which was a driving point of inspiration for Eunbi: “In American media, Asian women will be featured, but their background will be completely ignored. That’s what really drove me [to use Murakami for inspiration], all the ways he writes about women. It’s what made me passionate about him.”

A highly adaptable, black-box theatre work, Murakami Music has been lauded and featured on Japanese television network, FujiTV, and most recently profiled in the documentary, “The World Reads Murakami,” on NHK, Japan’s national public broadcasting organization.


Concert Program (works to be performed include):

Solo Piano

Schumann, Forest Scenes, Op. 82
Lennon/McCartney, Norwegian Wood
Chopin, Etude, Op. 25, No. 1
Mozart, Sonata in B flat Major
Prokofiev, Sonata No. 2 in d minor, Op. 14

Piano/Voice

Kennedy/Carr, South of the Border
Douglas/Parman/Levere, Pretend
Eunbi Kim, Kafka on the Shore

4-Hands Piano

Grieg, Norwegian Dance, Op. 35

About Eunbi Kim, pianist
Pianist Eunbi Kim thrives in collaborating with other artists to present classical and contemporary music in unique settings. Kim made her European orchestral debut with I Solisti di Perugia in Italy and has performed solo and chamber programs in venues such as the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. and the 92nd Street Y in New York City. She graduated with her Master’s degree at Manhattan School of Music, where she also held a fellowship at The Center for Music Entrepreneurship. www.EunbiKimMusic.com

About Laura Yumi Snell, actress
Laura Yumi Snell is an accomplished pianist, singer, and actress. Born and raised in Los Angeles, she began her career as a classical pianist, performing and competing in venues across California, Japan, and Austria. She attended the University of California, Davis on a full scholarship and received degrees in music and dramatic art. As a singer and actress, she won many young artist awards as a soloist with her vocal jazz ensemble and has performed in numerous productions. She recently returned from a worldwide tour of Avenue Q.

Bassist Jeff Koch was born and raised in New York City, where he has been playing and teaching for the past 10 years. He has performed all around the world at notable venues such as The Blue Note NYC, The Kennedy Center, and the Bimhuis (Amsterdam). Jeff has shared the stage with many notable musicians including Jimmy Cobb, David Liebman, and John Faddis. Jeff attended the Manhattan School of Music where he completed degrees in both the Bachelor’s and Master’s of Jazz Arts. Currently, he is pursuing a Master’s degree in Music Education at Teacher’s College of Columbia University.

David Kjar is a New York freelance performer, educator, and composer specializing in saxophone, clarinet, flute and oboe. David has been featured at Alice Tully Hall, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Somethin’ Jazz Club, as well as internationally at the Copenhagen, Edinburgh, Kongsberg, and Villard De Lans Jazz festivals. David is a graduate of the Master’s Program at Manhattan School of Music, and has taught at the Juilliard School, the Manhattan School of Music, Brigham Young University, and currently at New Heights Academy Charter School.

Resobox is an art gallery located in Long Island City, Queens, that not only strives to showcase Japanese-inspired art, but also acts as a Japanese cultural center, promoting various cultural events and holding classes that capture both the traditional and contemporary aspects of Japanese culture. “Resobox” is a name created from the words resonate and box. This “resonating box” envisions a space where artists can meet and collaborate to create new and innovative artwork. The space within this box resonates as well, shaking up everything inside. Japanese and non-Japanese artists alike are welcome at Resobox, adding and mixing in their ideas and sensibilities, and playing a great role in preserving and (even further developing) Japanese arts.

The concept of Resobox was originally created in August 2009 as a personal art project by Fumio Tashiro – New York composer, bassist, and videographer. However, in the wake of Japan’s earthquake and tsunami on March 10, 2011, Fumio Tashiro and his old friend, Takashi Ikezawa, worked together to reshape the concept of RESOBOX as a Japanese art gallery outside of Japan, but with a greater mission: “The place where people who are conversant with, dedicated to, and influenced by Japanese arts can gather, create innovative arts through the collaborative process, and disseminate them to the world.”

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Peter McDowell (Peter McDowell Arts Consulting)
P: 773.484.8811          E: [email protected]

Rose Rougeau (Asia Society Texas Center)
P: 713.208.1045          E: [email protected]/Texas