ENSEMBLE 212

Presents

its 2017-18 Season Opener: Love & Celestial Musings

New York premiere of Composer in Residence Jeffrey Mumford’s Cello Concerto,

Three Mozart Operatic Arias, and Artistic Director Yoon Jae Lee's chamber reduction of

Mahler Symphony No. 4

Saturday November 11th, 2017 at 8 PM

Good Shepherd-Faith Presbyterian Church at Lincoln Center

New York, NY October 13, 2017

Ensemble 212 embarks on another season jam-packed with diverse and exciting musical offerings.

Featured on the Season Opener is the music of our Composer in Residence Jeffrey Mumford, a

protégé of Elliot Carter noted for his evocative use of sound imagery, Mozart, and Mahler.

Former core member cellist Michael Katz returns to perform the New York Premiere of Mumford's

“billowing pockets brightly layered” for Violoncello & Chamber Orchestra. Based on an earlier work

written for solo cello, the inspiration is drawn from the changing fabric of fleeting clouds. Lyric

soprano Jaeyeon Kim, returns from last season's eloquent performance of the Brahms Requiem to

sing three celebrated Mozart arias from Cosi fan tutte, the Magic Flute, Don Giovanni and the finale of

Mahler's Fourth Symphony.

Artistic Director Yoon Jae Lee leads the talented collective of orchestral musicians in his own chamber

arrangement of Mahler's most intimate symphony, as part of his ongoing Mahler Chamber Project to

create orchestral reductions of Mahler's works for chamber orchestra. The New York Times critic

Steve Smith, described Maestro Lee's chamber version of Mahler’s Fourth Symphony as

“Illuminating..... with solos leaping out in unusually bold detail.”

Forgoing traditional printed program notes, Ensemble 212 also features unique live program notes

projected on a screen during the performance, serving as a visual listening guide for the audience.

This spectacular evening-length extravaganza will be one of the can't miss season openers by a New

York chamber orchestra this season!

Ensemble 212’s mission is to propel the careers of young professional 

musicians as they develop into the finest performing artists of their generation.

Good Shepherd-Faith Presbyterian Church at Lincoln Center

152 W 66th Street (bet. Broadway & Amsterdam Ave)

New York, NY 10023

646-266-9632

Subway: 1 to 66th Street; Bus: M5, M7, M11, M20, M66, M104

www.ensemble212.org

www.instantencore.com/ensemble212

www.facebook.com/ensemble212

Ticket prices (online until 11/11 3 PM): $20 general; $18 for seniors and $15 for students with ID

https://celestialmusings.eventbrite.com

Ticket prices (at the door, cash only): $25 general; $20 for seniors and $15 for students with ID

Jeffrey Mumford, Composer in Residence

Born in Washington, D.C. in 1955, composer Jeffrey Mumford

has received numerous fellowships, grants, awards and

commissions. Awards include the "Academy Award in Music"

from the American Academy of Arts & Letters, a Fellowship

from the Guggenheim Foundation, and an ASCAP Aaron

Copland Scholarship. He was also the winner of the

inaugural National Black Arts Festival/Atlanta Symphony

Orchestra Composition Competition.

Other grants have been awarded by the Ohio Arts Council,

Meet the Composer, the Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund for

Music Inc. , the ASCAP Foundation, and the University of

California.

Mumford's most notable commissions include those from

the San Antonio Symphony, Washington Performing Arts, the

Fulcrum Point New Music Project (through New Music USA),

Duo Harpverk (Iceland), the Sphinx Consortium, the Cincinnati Symphony, the VERGE Ensemble

/National Gallery of Art/Contemporary Music Forum, the Argento Chamber Ensemble, Ole Bohn, the

Haydn Trio Eisenstadt (Vienna), the Network for New Music, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Chicago

Symphony Orchestra, a consortium of presenters consisting of the Krannert Center for the Performing

Arts at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Chamber Music Columbus (OH.) and Omus

Hirshbein, the Nancy Ruyle Dodge Charitable Trust, the Meet the Composer/Arts Endowment 

Ensemble 212’s mission is to propel the careers of young professional musicians as they develop into 

the finest performing artists of their generation.

Commissioning Music/USA the National Symphony Orchestra (twice), Cincinnati radio station WGUC,

the Walter W. Naumburg Foundation, the Fromm Music Foundation, and the McKim Fund in the

Library of Congress. His music has been performed extensively, by major orchestras, soloists, and

ensembles, both in the United States and abroad, including London, Paris, Reykjavik, Vienna, & The

Hague.

Recent and forthcoming performances include amid fleeting pockets of billowing radiance, by ‘cellist

Christine Lamprea, in Jacksonville, Fl., and at the Krannert Center at the University of Illinois UrbanaChampaign,

three windows for soprano. ‘cello & harp, by Alyson Cambridge, Christine Lamprea and

Ina Zdorovetchi, respectively at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., in soft echoes . . . a world

awaits, by Sound Energy, this season, in Boston, and by members of Ensemble 212, in New York,

revisting variazioni elegiaci . . . once more by ‘cellist Deborah Pae, in New York and Elyria, OH, an

expanding distance of multiple voices, by violinist Luosha Fang, in New York, undiluted days, by The

Meadowlark Trio, in New York, eight musings . . . revisiting memories, by violinist Caroline Chin, in

Toledo & Lorain OH., and a portrait concert of his music in Boston (funded by New Music USA). As

well, noted Italian pianist, Pina Napolitano will include his two Elliott Carter tributes in her European

concerts this and next season, with plans to record them as part of a disc of American piano music.

Current projects include, verdant cycles of deepening spring, a violin concerto for Caroline Chin, a new

string quartet for an international consortium (including ensembles from London, Berlin, Stuttgart,

Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Glasgow, Boston & New York, of radiances blossoming in expanding air, for

‘cello & chamber orchestra, for Deborah Pae,. unfolding waves, a piano concerto for Italian pianist Pina

Napolitano and the SMASH Ensemble based in Spain, and the ongoing set of “rhapsodies” for ‘cello &

strings.

His 2013 residency at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C, included three concerts featuring

his music as well as lectures at three area universities and his alma mater, the Sidwell Friends School.

He was (2008) Composer-in Residence at the Alba (Italy) Music Festival and The Chamber Music

Conference and Composers Forum of the East (Bennington, VT), and returned there in 2013. As well,

his program notes (commissioned by the Boston Symphony and Tanglewood) for three works of Elliott

Carter were published as part of a celebration of Mr. Carter’s music.

Mumford has taught at the Washington Conservatory of Music, served as Artist-in-Residence at

Bowling Green State University, and served as assistant professor of composition and Composer-inResidence

at the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music. He is currently Distinguished Professor at

Lorain County Community College in Northern Ohio. Mr. Mumford is published by Theodore Presser

Co. and Quicklight Music.

Ensemble 212’s mission is to propel the careers of young professional musicians 

as they develop into the finest performing artists of their generation.

Michael Katz, Violoncello

Hailed by the press for his “bold, rich sound” (Strad

Magazine) and “nuanced musicianship,” (New York Times)

Israeli Cellist Michael Katz has appeared as a soloist and

chamber musician in venues such as Carnegie Hall, David

Geffen Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Van

Wezel Performing Arts Center (Sarasota, FL), Oji Hall (Tokyo,

Japan), Philips Hall (Eindhoven, Netherlands), Teatro

Cervantes (Malaga, Spain), Lucerne KKL (Lucerne,

Switzerland), and Henry Crown Auditorium (Jerusalem,

Israel). He has performed at music festivals such as Ravinia,

Music@Menlo, Yellow Barn, Lucerne, Sarasota, Gretna,

Malaga Clasica, Perlman Music Program, Orford, and Kfar

Bloom, and has collaborated with conductors such as James

DePriest, David Stern, Dongmin Kim, and Menachem

Nebenhaus. His musicianship has been recognized with many

awards, among them all three awards at the 2011 Aviv

Competition, first prizes at the 2010 Juilliard School’s

Concerto Competition, and the 2005 Turjeman Competition, as well as scholarship awards from the

America Israel Cultural Foundation and the Ronen Foundation.

High in demand as a chamber musician, Mr. Katz has collaborated and performed with artists such as

Itzhak Perlman, Midori, Laurence Lesser, Donald Weilerstein, David Finckel, Anthony Marwood, Peter

Frankl, Charles Neidich, Roger Tapping, Lucy Chapman, Violaine Melancon, and Paul Biss. As the cellist

of the Lysander Piano Trio, he was a winner of the 2012 Concert Artists Guild Competition, and was

awarded first prizes at the 2011 Coleman Competition and 2011 J.C. Arriaga Competition. Their first

album “After a Dream” was released in 2014 on CAG Records and was praised by the New York Times

for its “polished and spirited interpretations.”

Deeply committed to community outreach and education, from 2014-2016 Mr. Katz was a Fellow in

Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect. He was previously selected to be part of a special string quartet led

by Midori to present formal and outreach concerts in Myanmar and Japan as part of the 2013-2014

International Community Engagement Program, and was invited to return to the program in 2016-

2017 for concerts in Nepal and Japan. As of 2015 Mr. Katz is on the faculty of Nyack College as an

adjunct professor and has previously taught at the Csehy Summer School of Music and the Chamber

Music Institute in Stamford, CT.

Ensemble 212’s mission is to propel the careers of young professional musicians 

as they develop into the finest performing artists of their generation.

Mr. Katz has a great passion for expanding the cello repertoire with both lesser known and

contemporary works. He has premiered works by Yehudi Wyner, Malcolm Payton, Vivian Fung, Gilad

Cohen, Reinaldo Moya, Sergio Natra, Ofer Ben-Amots, Mohammed Fairouz, Jakub Ciupinski, Eric Moe,

Huang Ruo, Stefan Weisman, and others.

Born in Tel-Aviv Israel, Mr. Katz began his cello studies at age 7. Among his teachers in Israel were Zvi

Plesser, Hillel Zori and the late Mikhail Khomitzer. Mr. Katz received his Bachelor of Music degree from

the New England Conservatory where he studied with Laurence Lesser, his Master of Music degree

from the Juilliard School where he studied with Joel Krosnick, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree

from SUNY Stony Brook as a student of Colin Carr.

Jaeyeon Kim, Soprano

Jaeyeon Kim is a Lyric Soprano from Korea. She is a graduate

of the Manhattan of School of Music, where she received her

master of music degree. She graduated from Ewha Woman’s

University with a bachelor of music degree in classical voice.

Her credits include Die Zauberflöte (Pamina, Erste Dame)and

Le nozze di Figaro (Susanna). She has participated in several

operatic scene works as Adina (L’elisir d’more) and Gretel

(Hansel and Gretel). Also, she worked as a soloist for A

German Requiem by J. Brahms, last season with Ensemble

212 Gloria by A. Vivaldi, and Messiah by G. F. Handel.

Jaeyeon Kim participated in the Indiana University Summer

Festival (2010), Cooperative Summer Program (2015),

International Vocal Arts Institute (2016). And she recently

played Susanna from Le Nozze di Figaro in the Martina

Arroyo’s Role Class. She won the Grand Prize in East Coast

International Competition, 2016, and also won the Best

Vocal Technique Award and Gold medal from Forte Internal Competition.

Ensemble 212’s mission 

is to propel the careers of young professional musicians as they develop into the finest performing artists 

of their generation.

Yoon Jae Lee, Conductor and Arranger

Yoon Jae Lee enjoys a multifaceted career as conductor, arranger, pianist,

and musical entrepreneur. As Founder & Artistic Director of Ensemble

212, Mr. Lee has built the New York based orchestra into one of today’s

finest young ensembles. Together they have received critical acclaim for

innovative programming featuring works by living composers, his own

arrangements, and exciting interpretations of the standard repertoire. A

dedicated champion of new music, Mr. Lee has initiated a new music

educational concert series aimed at introducing living composers to

young audiences. He has conducted numerous New York and world

premieres of works by award-winning composers including Mohammed

Fairouz, Huang Ruo, Daniel Felsenfeld, Ke-Chia Chen, Texu Kim, and Nina

C. Young. This season, he is collaborating with Jeffrey Mumford as

part of Ensemble 212’s Composer in Residence program. Recent

highlights include conducting engagements with the Mansfield Symphony Orchestra, the New York

Classical Symphony Orchestra, the world premiere of his chamber versions of Mahler's Third and Fifth

Symphonies, and performing Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue as piano soloist/conductor. His

arrangements have been performed in Asia, Europe, and North America including the Baltimore and

Phoenix Symphony Orchestras. His list of appearances as guest conductor include the K Radio

Philharmonic Orchestra, Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg, Bruckner Orchester Linz, Opera on Tap, New

England Conservatory and has collaborated with distinguished artists including Nick Canellakis, D’Anna

Fortunato, David Krakauer, Mimi Stillman, members of the Attacca, Borromeo, Orion String Quartets,

the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Mr. Lee was appointed Principal

Conductor of the Albano Ballet Company in 2014.

Mr. Lee’s arrangements have been praised by audiences and critics alike. His orchestral transcription of

Mendelssohn’s Octet “Incorporated winds and brass.....intelligently”, claimed David Patrick Stearns of

the Philadelphia Inquirer. The New York Times described his chamber version of Mahler’s Fourth

Symphony as “Illuminating..... with solos leaping out in unusually bold detail.” He is currently engaged

in “The Mahler Chamber Project” to arrange all the symphonies and Das Lied von der Erde for

chamber orchestra.

A native of New York City, Mr. Lee is a second-generation Korean-American. He received degrees in

piano and conducting from the Mannes School of Music where he was awarded the N. T. Milani

Memorial Conducting Fellowship and the Peter M. Gross Fund. Mr. Lee also studied at the Universität

Mozarteum Salzburg in Austria. During that time, he served as Assistant Conductor to the Salzburger 

Ensemble 212’s mission is to propel the careers of young professional musicians as they develop

into the finest performing artists of their generation.

Kammerphilharmonie. His conducting mentors include Dennis Russell Davies, David Zinman, Samuel

Wong, David Hayes, Michael Charry, Murry Sidlin, and Arkady Leytush.

Mr. Lee has participated in Kurt Masur’s conducting masterclass, the American Academy of Conducting

at Aspen, and the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute led by his keen interest in historical

performance practice. He maintains a private teaching studio in New York where he resides.

About Ensemble 212

Ensemble 212 (two-one-two) is making a tremendous impact in today’s cultural music scene. Founded

by the dynamic conductor and musical entrepreneur Yoon Jae Lee, this collective of talented

musicians is redefining the role of the 21st century chamber orchestra. Four vital programs comprise

of Ensemble 212's mission: the Composer in Residence program, the Young Artist Competition series,

educational concerts devoted entirely to new music titled "New Music for Young Audiences", and

“Cultural Convergences”, a new series of performances merging interdisciplinary and multicultural art

forms.

Through its Composer in Residence program, Ensemble 212 has been at the forefront of new music

performing numerous New York and world premieres of major works by composers Mohammed

Fairouz, Huang Ruo, Daniel Felsenfeld Ke-Chia Chen, Texu Kim & Nina C. Young. This season, Ensemble

212 will feature the music of accalaimed Korean-American composer James Ra and distinguished

African-American composer Jeffrey Mumford in the 2017-18 Season. The annual Young Artist

Competition series showcases outstanding young instrumentalists under the age of 18, providing them

opportunities to perform as a soloist with a professional orchestra.

In 2015, Ensemble 212 launched its New Music for Young Audiences series. By presenting elements

and techniques used in new music in a fun and inquisitive manner, young audiences can better

appreciate and understand today’s composers. Highlights of the Cultural Convergences include

collaborations with the Michael Mao Dance company combining Huang Ruo’s music and Yoon Jae

Lee’s chamber version of Der Abschied from Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with modern dance.

Other innovations Ensemble 212 has introduced to enhance the concert experience is the use of live

program notes projected on a large screen. These real-time notes offer audiences insight into having a

deeper understanding of the music.

Since its inception, Ensemble 212 has performed nearly sixty concerts featuring an eclectic mix of

repertoire from the Baroque era to the 21st century in chamber music, ensemble, and orchestra

concerts. Highlights from previous seasons include performances at diverse venues such as Merkin

Concert Hall, Miller Theatre, New York City Center, John Zorn’s The Stone, and collaborations with

clarinetist David Krakauer, Nicholas Kitchen & Yeesun Kim of the Borromeo String Quartet on Fairouz’s 

Ensemble 212’s mission is to propel the careers of young professional musicians as they develop into 

the finest performing artists of their generation.

Double Concerto commissioned by Ensemble 212, Daniel Phillips of the Orion String Quartet, and a

2011 memorial concert titled “Remembering 9/11: Memorial, Reflection, Assurance.”

Ensemble 212 has been featured on 105.9 FM WQXR’s Q2 Music program and on BBC News Magazine.

In recognition for its contribution to excellence in New York's diverse cultural scene, the orchestra was

acknowledged by 93.9 FM WNYC & WQXR’s Salute The Arts *STAR* Initiative in 2009 and 2013 and

was awarded funding from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs last season.