Annual Benefit 2011
KoreanAmericanStory.org held its inaugural fundraiser which was a Benefit Recital with David Kim, the Concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra, on June 4, 2011. We had a diverse group of attendees who witnessed an amazing performance by David Kim accompanied by Gail Niwa on the piano. David played 5 musical pieces, and in between each piece, he paused to share his story in a genuine and authentic manner that captivated the audience and moved them to laughter and tears simultaneously. As one attendee commented it was a “once-in-a-lifetime experience”.
We will be dedicating nearly $10,000 to commission artists and journalists to create content about Korean-American immigrants from the 1970s and 1980s. We will be sending out a call of submissions soon. Special thanks to all the volunteers, attendees, donors and supporters who helped to make this event a success. A heartfelt thanks to David Kim for the donation of his time and talents and Sue Lee Chong for spearheading our inaugural fundraiser.
KoreanAmericanStory.org is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that relies on the generous support of people like you to help accomplish our mission of preserving the stories of Korean-Americans. Please consider purchasing a Supporter or a Patron ticket. Your generous support will be recognized on the program. There are there are a limited number of tickets available, so PURCHASE TICKETS before they’re sold out!
General admission is $250 per ticket. If you would like to provide additional tax-deductible funding, you can become a Supporter ($500) or a Patron ($1,000).
If you can not attend the recital, please consider making a donation. CLICK HERE TO DONATE
About the Food
The food will be catered by the famous Myong Gourmet (a Korean-American) of Mt. Kisco, NY.
Passed Hors D’Oeuvres
Chicken Teriyaki Bites
Mini Lentil Pancakes with Myong’s Famous Sesame Cream Sauce
Traditional Maryland Mini Crab Cakes served with Myong’s Classic Tartar Sauce
Citrus Asian Shrimp
Veggie Cellophane Roll – AMyong Vietnamese Exclusive
Crudité and Fresh Fruit Station
2 Dinner Stations
Myong’s Glazed Baked Salmon on Cedar Plank
Sliced Asian Marinated Flank Steak with Silver Dollar Rolls (Horseradish Cream- Stone Ground Mustard)
Vegetables and Sides
French Bean Pan Sautéed with Shallot
Garlic Roasted Chef’s Potato
Asian Coleslaw a Myong Signature Salad with Dried Fruit and Seeds
Dessert and Coffee Service
Chocolate Bark and Cookies and assorted Myong Special Desserts
Fresh Fruit and Berries
ABOUT THE SILENT AUCTION:
We will have a limited number of great items for silent auction, so please bring your checkbooks. Credit cards will also be accepted, but paying by check will enable us to keep the transaction fees down, allowing more of the funds to be used to benefit KoreanAmericanStory.org.
CLICK HERE to see the list of auction items currently available. More will be added so please check back frequently.
DIRECTIONS TO MUSIC CONSERVATORY OF WESTCHESTER:
Music Conservatory of Westchester
216 Central Avenue • White Plains, NY 10606
Office Phone: 914.761.3900
By Car:
There is a parking lot attached to the conservatory. If the lot is full, there are plenty of street parking available near the school. Click on directions below for more detailed information.
By Train:
You can also take the Metro-North Harlem line to White Plains train station. The train station is about 5 minutes walking distance from the Conservatory, but you can also take a taxi for less than $10. Click on directions below for more detailed information.
Directions: http://www.musicconservatory.org/contact.html
Video Highlights
About The Artists
David Kim
Violinist
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Violinist David Kim was named Concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1999. Born in Carbondale, Illinois in 1963, he started playing the violin at the age of three, began studies with the famed pedagogue Dorothy DeLay at the age of eight, and later received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from The Juilliard School. In 1986 he was the only American violinist to win a prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.
As a highly sought after pedagogue, Mr. Kim presents master classes at schools and institutions such as Curtis, Juilliard, the New World Symphony in Miami, Yale, Shanghai Conservatory, the Korean National University of Arts, and universities and colleges across the United States. He serves as Artist in Residence at Eastern University in suburban Philadelphia. In May 2011, Mr. Kim will be delivering the commencement address to the graduating class of Eastern University and conferred the Doctor of Humane Letters degree, Honoris Causa.
Performance highlights of Mr. Kim’s 2010-2011 season include the Bach Double Violin Concerto with violinist Juliette Kang and the Philadelphia Orchestra; the Brahms Double Concerto with cellist Carter Brey and the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, the Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, other concerto appearances with orchestras in California, Georgia, Indiana, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Korea; recitals across the United States including Delaware, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Utah; and chamber music tours in the US and Korea with colleagues from the Philadelphia Orchestra. In January 2011, Mr. Kim will spend one week visiting third and fourth graders in their schools in the city of Philadelphia, culminating in The David Kim Children’s Concert at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.
Mr. Kim was founder and, for 20 years ending in 2008, artistic director of the Kingston Chamber Music Festival at the University of Rhode Island, from which he also was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Arts in 2001. In conjunction with the Kingston Chamber Music Festival, Mr. Kim founded an annual outreach program that took him to elementary schools, performing and speaking about classical music in an effort to cultivate future audiences. In the State of Rhode Island alone, he performed for well over 12,000 young people during his tenure there. Mr. Kim continues to devote a portion of his schedule each year to bringing classical music to children and visits numerous schools in the Philadelphia area each season.
Mr. Kim appears as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra each season as well as with numerous orchestras around the world. Conductors with whom he has performed include Kazuyoshi Akiyama, Myung Whun Chung, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Charles Dutoit, Christoph Eschenbach, Rafael Frubeck de Burgos, Vladimir Jurowski, Peter Oundjian, and Wolfgang Sawallisch. He also appears internationally at festivals such as MasterWorks (USA) and Pacific (Japan), and performs annually in Korea as a member of the Kumho Art Hall Chamber Music Society in Seoul, Korea.
The latest additions to Mr. Kim’s discography are The Lord Is My Shepherd, a collection of sacred works for violin and piano with pianist and composer Paul S. Jones and Encore, a collection of recital favorites with pianist Gail Niwa.
In 2008, Mr. Kim was awarded the C. Hartman Kuhn Award, which is given annually to “the member of The Philadelphia Orchestra who has shown ability and enterprise of such character as to enhance the standards and the reputation of The Philadelphia Orchestra.” The award was established in 1941 and the recipient is selected by the music director each year. He also serves as a member of the orchestra’s Board of Directors.
His instrument is a J.B. Guadagnini from Milan, Italy ca. 1757 on loan from the Philadelphia Orchestra. Mr. Kim resides in a suburb of Philadelphia with his wife Jane and daughters Natalie and Maggie.
Gail Niwa
Pianist
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Gail Niwa continues to thrill audiences as she did at the 1991 Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, where she became the only woman ever to win the Gold Medal. She also captured two additional awards, the Audience Prize and the Chamber Music Prize. She made her New York recital debut at Alice Tully Hall in October, 1991.
Ms. Niwa won high praise for her recent recitals at Orchestra Hall in Chicago, on the Allied Arts Piano Series, and at the Ambassador Auditorium’s Gold Medal Series in Pasadena. She also received outstanding reviews for her solo appearances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in February 1995, performing the Schumann; Piano Concerto with Sir Georg Solti conducting. “She reveled in Schumann’s lyricism…Her tone is big and velvety, and the concerto’s virtuoso declarations were both clearly etched and full of thunder,” said the Chicago Sun-Times. “Soloist Gall Niwa …achieved a heroic tone and perfect marksmanship,” praised the Chicago Tribune.
Ms Niwa has won major prizes in the International Chopin Competition and the Mae Whitaker Competition. Her 1987 Kennedy Center debut followed her victory in the Washington International Competition. She has given recitals at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, and in Athens, Montreal, Seoul, St. Louis and Kansas City, and has toured Scandinavia and the Far East.
The daughter of professional musicians, Ms Niwa was born in Chicago. She began piano studies with her mother and made her orchestral debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at age eight. She received a scholarship to the Juilliard School, where she earned her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees as a student of Adele Marcus. In addition to two more performances with the Chicago Symphony, Ms. Niwa has been soloist with the Utah, Memphis, Fort Wayne, Augusta, Reno, Evanston, and Grant Park Symphonies. In 1992. she was featured as soloist at Alice Tully Hall in Szymanowski’s Sinfonia Concertante. Her recent performance schedule has included recitals and master classes at the TCU Cliburn Institute in Fort Worth, Texas, and performances of the Poulenc Two-Piano Concerto with the Northwest Indiana Symphony and the Rachmaninoff Third Piano Concerto with the Florida West Coast Symphony.
An outstanding ensemble player, Ms. Niwa toured Holland in November, 1996 as a member of the renowned Het Reziend Musik Geselschap. She won the prestigious Best Accompanist Award at the 1986 Tchaikovsky Competition for Violinists in Moscow. She has been featured soloist with the Kammergild Chamber Players, the Banff Festival Chamber Orchestra, The Highland Park Strings and the Ocean State Chamber Players. She is active as a chamber musician in New York City, and participates in several music festivals, including the Park City International Music Festival and Summer Chamber Music at the University of Rhode Island. Ms. Niwa can be heard with violinist David Kim on recordings for the Musical Heritage Society and Teldec labels.
About KoreanAmericanStory.org
KoreanAmericanStory.org is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to creating, preserving and presenting the Korean-American experience through personal stories and leaving a cultural legacy for future generations.
Our Mission
Present and preserve the full range of Korean-American experiences to create a rich historical and cultural legacy for future generations.
How?
By supporting and promoting the creation of art in all media that explores and reflects the ever-evolving Korean-American Story.
Why?
There is an urgent need to preserve the stories and experiences of older generation Korean-Americans before they are lost forever. These stories along with contemporary Korean-American stories can be a catalyst and resource for driving cultural awareness among the Korean-American community and general population at large.
KoreanAmericanStory.org seeks to empower those within the Korean-American community whose voices have not traditionally been heard before by highlighting their stories and providing an outlet for their expression.
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