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IN TANDEM: “Lullaby for Those Fast Asleep” by Nicky Sohn
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IN TANDEM: “Lullaby for Those Fast Asleep” by Nicky Sohn

Created by violinist Lucia Lin, “In Tandem” is a non-profit initiative dedicated to bringing new voices to classical music through co-commissions of ten emerging composers with the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music. “Lullaby for Those Fast Asleep” by Nicky Sohn Gloria Chien - piano Lucia Lin - violin 2/2021
Nicky Sohn's "The Last Smile Of Love" performed by Bokyung Byun on an Otto Vowinkel '2a'
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Nicky Sohn's "The Last Smile Of Love" performed by Bokyung Byun on an Otto Vowinkel '2a'

Download a FREE pdf of Capricho Árabe arranged by Agustín Barrios here! https://tinyurl.com/y5cm7byv Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/guitarsaloninternational/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/guitarsalon Twitter: https://twitter.com/guitarsalon Guitar: 2020 Otto Vowinkel '2a' SP/IN (https://tinyurl.com/yyhvcrsk) Here's Bokyung Byun performing "The Last Smile Of Love" by Nicky Sohn on an Otto Vowinkel '2a' classical guitar made with spruce top and Indian rosewood back and sides. Recorded at the Guitar Salon International showroom in Santa Monica, CA. Huge thanks to the folks at Apogee Electronics (ApogeeDigital.com) for the use of their Ensemble interface in these recordings. http://www.guitarsalon.com/ All proceeds from monetization of this video goes to the GSI Foundation, a non-profit organization that raises money to support music education in public schools. Visit our site for more information: https://www.gsifoundation.org/ #friendsofgsi #classicalguitar #guitarsaloninternational #gsi
Toad, toad (2020)
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Toad, toad (2020)

Atlanta Chamber Players, January 17, 2021 Program note: Toad, toad was written from June 1st to June 10th, 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic and the deep and prolonged isolation that followed gave me the opportunity and space to participate in a special competition called “Rapido!”, a platform where composers are assigned a specific instrumentation, duration and theme for a chamber piece. This year’s required theme was to create a piece that expresses the sea-change the virus brought to everyone’s personal and professional lives. This has been a difficult time for me as it has been for everyone. With the endless and harrowing solitude, I was unable to continue my career as an artist in the way that had been second nature to me. The possibility of reaching my family back in South Korea was entirely out of the question, and the human ties I strongly depended on were largely severed. I was timidly looking down the long barrel of a seemingly endless summer. With a thoroughly unfulfilled longing for home, for a return back to my eternal resting place, the theme for this piece was instantly apparent. The Korean folk song, “Toad, Toad”, despite its simplicity and popularity as a nursery rhyme, struck something within me and painted the feeling of my separation from home. Offering a new house for toad’s old house felt like something I would dream about during my quiet quarantine. Translation: Toad, toad Toad, toad I’ll get you a new house, so give me your old house. Toad, toad bring me some water and I’ll build you a new house. Toad, toad your house is on fire, come on down with a pitchfork. Focusing on the isolation and repetition of my life in quarantine, the piece is structured around 12 measure long phrases. The melody from the folk song is the main source of the piece, and each phrase is treated as a variation from the main theme. The beginning of this decade has already been incredibly unpredictable, and all these unusual events estrange us from life as we had known it. Anger, despair, grief, frustration, and regret to a degree we don’t often see are becoming a daily occurrence. This abrasive world has calloused us in what feels like a single moment. Nevertheless, like toad I look to build my home again, clearing the debris and wreckage and finding a new place to rest.
Nicky Sohn -"Chesterton's Garden"
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Nicky Sohn -"Chesterton's Garden"

Nicky Sohn- "Chesterton's Garden" (Korean Premiere -Live Performance) Cello, Antonio Hallongren Piano, Sophy HY Chung *From ballet to opera to Korean traditional-orchestra, the wide-ranging talent of composer Nicky Sohn is heard across the US, Europe, and Asia. Characterized by her jazz-inspired, rhythmically driven themes, Sohn has enjoyed commissions and performances from the world’s preeminent performing arts institutions, including Stuttgart Ballet, National Orchestra of Korea, Minnesota Orchestra, and New York City Ballet. She recently received a commission from the Orchestra of St. Luke’s for a new orchestral work. *In listening to Korean composer Nicky Sohn’s music, you may hear influences from jazz greats such as Chet Baker, Bill Evans, and Antônio Carlos Jobim, as well as the living composers Michael Torke, David Del Tredici, and Esa-Pekka Salonen. “Much of their music,” Sohn says, “is characterized not just by major and minor triads at their foundation, but also a very organic way of generating rhythmic patterns—you get a natural sense of forward motion that’s also harmonically compelling.” "Chesterton's Garden" was the only piece by a Korean composer featured in the program of the concert. ・ "SOPHY'S SONATENABEND (III)" with Swedish Classical Music ・ Sunday, December 15, 2019 at 3 pm ・ Kumho Art Hall Yonsei (금호아트홀 연세), Seoul, Korea [Sophy's Sonatenabend (III) featuring Swedish Classical Music with Swedish Cellist Antonio Hallongren] was part of the official celebrating event of the 60th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Sweden and the Republic of Korea. Thank you very much. Sophy & Company presents
Bach at Home: Home-Body, Home-Bach by Nicky Sohn, perf. by Daire Fitzgerald
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Bach at Home: Home-Body, Home-Bach by Nicky Sohn, perf. by Daire Fitzgerald

For articles, interviews, and more, visit https://www.OSLmusic.org/Bach ____ Daire Fitzgerald performs Degaetano Compostion Institute Participant Nicky Sohn's piece for solo cello, Home Body, Home Bach. Special Thanks to Tristan Cook, producer Adam Abeshouse, audio consultant
Summer Music Series: Leo Villareal, "Radiant Pathway," (2010)
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Summer Music Series: Leo Villareal, "Radiant Pathway," (2010)

As part of the Moody's Summer Music Series, five composers from the Shepherd School of Music were commissioned to create original works responding to individual objects in Rice’s Public Art collection. Each composer wrote a short solo or duet to be performed in front of the artwork. The final composition in the series is inspired by Leo Villareal's "Radiant Pathway." It is composed by Nicky Sohn and performed by cellist David Dietz. This video is produced by Brandon Martin, Manager of Videography, Rice University.
Did old yeller really fight a bear? for solo cello (2020) by Nicky Sohn
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Did old yeller really fight a bear? for solo cello (2020) by Nicky Sohn

Did old yeller really fight a bear? for solo cello (2020) Performer: David Dietz Composer: Nicky Sohn #GLFCAMGigThruCOVID ▬ About the Initiative ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ The world has been stunned by the ferocious advent of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). In short order, as people have sickened and deaths have mounted, normal daily activities have ceased. In the United States, nationwide cancellations of concerts have put thousands of musicians out of work. Here at the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music, 65 of our composers are donating their time to create music — on an emergency turnaround of 14 days — for performers-in-need to premiere online while sheltered in. Through an initial pledge of $15,000 from GLFCAM and additional funds raised on GoFundMe, performers are paid $500 each to do what they must do: To be musicians and create. If you can donate any sum of money to our effort, you will be acknowledged on our website for your support of performers in need! To donate: http://charity.gofundme.com/glfcamgigthrucovid ▬ More Videos & Information ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Subscribe to GLFCAM: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN5aPToB7aLDMGkC7L3gEBA?sub_confirmation=1 For more premieres, series calendar, and performer-composer pairings: http://www.glfcam.com/covid19 For information about COVID-19: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html (also check your state’s Department of Health website) In the news: https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/music/composer-marshals-a-commissioning-project-for-beleaguered-performers ▬ Social Media ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/GLFCAM/ Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/glfcam/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/glfcamtweets Website: http://www.glfcam.com Copyright © 2020 Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music
Nicky Sohn - Homebody rags (2020)
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Nicky Sohn - Homebody rags (2020)

Homebody rags (2020) I. Stay-at-home rag II. Downtime rag 3:36 III. The last rag 6:40 Premiered on June 25, 2020 - East Carolina Piano Festival Piano: Molly Morkoski Program Note: “Homebody Rag” was written during May 2020, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. To my surprise, I found creativity and inspiration during this time of isolation, remaining stagnant in the cramped spaces of my apartment in Houston—self-quarantine provided a remarkably good environment to listen closely, to discover obscure artists and explore novel sounds. Molly Morkoski, the commissioner of this piece, collaborated with me in the past year on my song cycle. The song cycle was inspired heavily by tunes in the cabaret style, and Molly was extremely generous to find an opportunity to collaborate on a set of ragtime pieces for solo piano. This process was one of the most enjoyable, allowing me to find personality unique to mine in an unfamiliar genre. The piece includes three movements—fast, slow, and fast. Each conveys different moods and takes liberties with what is conventionally thought of as “ragtime”, but keeps the playful attitude that is hallmark to its sound. The piece should be played without restriction; the performer should feel free to improvise, adding extra rubatos, ritardandos, and dynamics at his or her will. Small ornaments such as these are always welcome in this style of early jazz.
Nicky Sohn: Even in Oddest Times - DELIRIUM MUSICUM
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Nicky Sohn: Even in Oddest Times - DELIRIUM MUSICUM

DELIRIUM MUSICUM plays Nicky Sohn's Even in Oddest Times (US Premiere). Boston Court Pasadena, Los Angeles, February 2019 https://www.deliriummusicum.com https://www.facebook.com/deliriummusicum https://www.instagram.com/deliriummusicum
Nicky Sohn - The Last Smile of Love (Andrea Gonzales Caballero, guitar)
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Nicky Sohn - The Last Smile of Love (Andrea Gonzales Caballero, guitar)

Catharsis is a commission project inspired by the Guitar Foundation of America's #Tearsfor2020 movement. As stated by GFA, "2020 has brought unimaginable heartbreak and anxiety to our global community. We seek to honor and support all affected by loss, uncertainty, sadness, and pain by performing tributes using the hashtag #Tearsfor2020." A diverse array of 15 composers and 13 performers worked together for the creation and premiere of 15 new compositions inspired by Francisco Tárrega's Lágrima (Tears). Catharsis aims to use music as an expressive outlet for all of the complex and painful emotions stemming from various crises of 2020. Between pandemics, systemic racism, polarizing politics, and a global economic crash, many people have cause to mourn. We hope this project helps connect people from various backgrounds and provide some relief and release of these emotions through music. For more information, please visit soundingboardfest.com/cartharsisproject.
Nicky Sohn, Estimated Delivery, IV: On its way
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Nicky Sohn, Estimated Delivery, IV: On its way

Recorded at San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Recital Hall, on March 1, 2020 as part of Hot Air Music Festival. Monica Chew, piano From Nicky Sohn's notes: Estimated Delivery is a solo piano piece consisting of four movements, commissioned by my dearest friend Tomas Feng. As I have worked with Tomas several times, I was aware of his technical strengths, and this work was created to showcase such abilities. Inspired by the four stages found in online delivery of Papa John’s pizza, the movements are named after each one: “Making”, “Baking”, “Boxing”, and “On Its Way”. First, “Making” imagines the process in which the pizza made. With kinetic scale runs that represent the sprinkling of shredded cheese, motifs that imitate the stretching of the dough, and quick range shifts that embody the tossing and throwing on toppings, each element found in this movement embodies the composition of the pizza itself. Next, “Baking” animates and personifies the pizza—the oven as a bedroom, a chamber of comfort, rest, warmth, and darkness. As the oven door closes, a lullaby begins. Tis second movement is lyrical and paced. Third is “Boxing”; this movement again continues the personification of the pizza, and imagines the pizza box as a casket. To symbolize this in a recognizable mode, Chopin’s “Funeral March” is taken and reharmonized—the rhythmic and melodic lines, as well as the phrasing found in Chopin’s piece is kept the same. Lastly, “On Its Way” represents the delivery car. This movement is heavily energetic and pattern oriented, depicting the countless yet routine stops the driver must make to deliver. Eventually, the piece abruptly ends, only envisioning the tale of delivery and nothing more.
Nicky Sohn - Things to avoid in oranges (2017)
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Nicky Sohn - Things to avoid in oranges (2017)

Performed by Antonio Hallongren, cello, Amalie Stalheim, cello and Thomas Rudberg, piano in Lövstabruk, Sweden July, 2017 The inspiration for Things to Avoid in Oranges came from the simplicity of eating an orange with a friend. This led me to discover that oranges are one of the only fruits that does not commonly cause allergic reactions. However, even in a harmless fruit, there are still obstacles to reach the juicy center. The outer peel, inner peel, and seeds all must be removed before enjoying the fruit. Like oranges, there are things to avoid in every relationship in life such as impatience, stubbornness, and petty arguments. Constant interruptions, cuts, and stealing of musical material by the two cellos and piano reflect this idea. Eventually the three instruments come together in an energetic and jubilant resolution. The piece was commissioned by and written for the Avalon Music Consort where I served as the composer-in-residence in the summer of 2017.
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