Wooden Fish perform “From Korea to America — 120 years and Beyond“ (2022) by Hyo shin Na

Hyo shin Na “From Korea to America — 120 years and Beyond“ (2022) Wooden Fish Peter Josheff, clarinet llana Blumberg, violin Ellen Ruth Rose, viola Thalia Moore, cello Hyunchae Kim, kayageum Thomas Schultz, piano Recorded live April 23rd 2023 at Old First Concerts, 1751 Sacramento St, San Francisco, CA 94109. For more upcoming concerts please visit I’ve spent much of the year 2022 writing a series of 5 pieces called From Korea to America - 120 Years and Beyond for clarinet in B flat, violin, viola, cello, sanjo kayageum/25 string kayageum, and piano. These 5 pieces were inspired by my interviews with 5 long- time friends who’ve come from Korea and have lived in California. The 5 pieces are titled: I. On a Cargo Ship, II. The Flow, III. While Crossing, IV. Happiness Piece, and V. Turning-Point. On a Cargo Ship was inspired by a friend who came to the US on a cargo ship instead of in an airplane many decades ago. She’s become very successful as a pharmacist and has given big donations to a Korean university at which she’d been educated before coming to the US. I began to imagine the beginning .of The Flow while listening to a friend’s talking about her life in California as a hardworking and kind neighbor. A long-time college professor in Korea in her 50s came to the US and began a business. While Crossing the Pacific Ocean, my friend and her husband promised to begin over fresh in the US. They’ve become successful with their business and are now comfortably retired. Educated as a pianist in Korea, this friend became a banker in the US. She and her husband achieved their American dream and have led a very happy life together. Happiness Piece came to me as I was happily listening to her story. One of my friends came to the US when she was 3 months old as an adoptee of an American family. She didn’t have much contact with other Koreans until she moved to Northern California where she first heard traditional music from Korea. That Korean music strengthened her identity as a Korean American. She’s now a professor of music. While listening to her talking about her passion for Korean music, I thought of the last section of Turning-Paint. I composed this series of 5 pieces with generous support from the San Francisco Artist Grant. Hyo-shin Na has twice been awarded the Korean In Korea instrumental music & for National Composers Prize (for Western traditional instrumental music), and in the west she has Korean Foundation at Harvard been commissioned by the Fromm Koussevitzky Foundation, the Zellerbach Family University, the Hewlett Argosy Foundation, the W & F Foundation, the InterMusic Richard Fohr Foundation, Foundation, the Elaine and International I began to imagine the beginning of The Flow while listening to a friend’s talking about her life in California as a hardworking and kind neighbor. A long-time college professor in Korea in her 50s came to the US and began a business. While Crossing the Pacific Ocean, my friend and her husband promised to begin over fresh in the US. They’ve become successful with their business and are now comfortably retired. Educated as a pianist in Korea, this friend became a banker in the Francisco Contemporary Music Players, the Kronos the San National Gugak Quartet, the San Jose Chamber Orchestra, the One of my friends came to the US when she was 3 months old as an adoptee of an American family. other Koreans until she moved to Northern California where she first heard traditional music from Korea. That Korean music strengthened her identity as a Korean American. She’s now a In Korea Hyo-shin Na has twice been awarded the Korean National Composers Prize (for Western instrumental music & for Korean traditional instrumental music), and in the west she has been commissioned by the Fromm Foundation at Harvard University, the Koussevitzlcy Foundation, the Zellerbach Family Foundation, the Argosy Foundation, the W & F Hewlett Foundation, the Elaine and Richard Fohr Foundation, InterMusic SF, the Other Minds Festival, and the Los Angeles International New Music Festival among many others. Hyo-shin Na has written for western instruments, and for traditional Korean and Japanese instruments and has written music that combines western and Asian instruments and ways of playing. Her music for traditional Korean instruments is recognized by both composers and performers in Korea (particularly by the younger generation) as being uniquely innovative. Her writing for combinations of western and eastern instruments is unusual in its refusal to compromise the integrity of differing sounds and ideas; she prefers to let them interact, coexist and conflict in the music.