“Ari" is a Korean word with multiple meanings: big river, wisdom and beauty. San Francisco Bay Area based Ensemble Ari's mission is to share beauty and wisdom, and to bridge Korea and other communities through western instruments while honoring Korean history and culture.
Program will include works by living Korean composers Jonghee Kang, Michael Lee, and Jean Ahn, as well as the beloved Schumann Piano Quartet in Eb Major.
CCE presents: Ensemble Ari
Heeguen Song, violin
Sarah Hong, cello
Sharon Lee Kim, piano
Jean Ahn, composer/director
With guest, Caroline Lee, viola
performing works by Jonghee Kang, Michael Lee, Jean Ahn, and Robert Schumann
Sunday, May 12 @4 pm
Epworth United Methodist Church
1953 Hopkins Street, Berkeley
free admission; donations gratefully accepted
www.communityconcertepworth.org
Ensemble ARI
"Ari" is a Korean word with multiple meanings: big river, wisdom, and beauty. Ensemble Ari is a group of Korean American musicians in the Bay Area who aim to share these qualities with the community. The ensemble made its debut in October 2014 in their Korean War Memorial Concert which contributed toward the SF Presidio’s Korean Memorial. Since then, ARI has been featured at UC Berkeley, UC Davis, Saint Mary’s College, University of the Pacific, L.A. Art Share, Old First Concert Series, Maybeck, and others. ARI is a two-time recipient of the Intermusic SF grant and was also recently awarded the Barlows Grant to commission Laurie San Martin for a new piece. This year marks ARI’s 10th-year anniversary, and they are delighted to perform internationally with concerts in Korea this summer. Sound recordings can be found at https://www.youtube.com/@ensembleari1695.
Heeguen Song, Violin
Native of South Korea, Heeguen Song is Associate Concertmaster of the SF Ballet Orchestra. She has held positions at Santa Rosa Symphony, Oakland Symphony and Berkeley Symphony Orchestra. Heeguen performs regularly in South Korea and throughout the Bay Area in venues such as Seoul Arts Center, Sejong Arts Center, Old First Concerts, Herbst Theater, Bing Concert Hall, and many more. She is an active chamber musician and is a member of Beaubliss Quartet and Ensemble Ari. She has studied at Oberlin Conservatory, the Juilliard School, Yale School of music and Rutgers University.
Sarah Hong, Cello
Sarah Hong studied at the Juilliard School with Zara Nelsova and Joel Krosnick while receiving
both the BM and MM degrees and the chamber music artist program at the San Francisco
Conservatory of Music. Ms. Hong is a formal member of the New Century Chamber
Orchestra, Broderick String Quartet, and associate faculty at the Zephyr International Summer
Music Festival. Currently, she is a cellist of Le Due Muse and teaches special needs children cello at AMASE and youth orchestras in the Bay Area. She also started the Phos (φῶς) Benefit Concert Series to raise money to help support various non-profit organizations serving children in the US and underdeveloped countries. www.cellistsarahhong.com
Sharon Lee Kim, Piano
Sharon Lee Kim is an active recitalist, chamber pianist, vocal coach, music director, choral/vocal accompanist, and piano instructor. Since joining Saint Mary’s faculty in 2008, her roles have included: Lecturer in Piano and Music History, Coach for Vocal Studios and Chamber Music, Choral Assistant Director and Accompanist. Beyond Saint Mary’s, she is the pianist of the Chamber Chorus and University Chorus at UC Berkeley and Piano Program Coordinator at UC Berkeley. Sharon is a member of the MTAC and received the Steinway Top Teacher Award (2021). In the fall of 2023, Sharon received her EFP certification in the Estill Vocal Training Program to enhance her vocal coaching skills. She holds degrees from UC Berkeley (BA Honors) and New England Conservatory (MM and GD Honors and Distinction in Performance in Collaborative Piano).
Jean Ahn, Director/Composer
Born in Korea, Jean Ahn completed her B.A. and M.M. at Seoul National University and her Ph.D. at UC Berkeley. Her works have been performed by the Santa Cruz Symphony, Oakland Symphony, Berkeley Symphony, Memphis Symphony, Earplay, and Ensemble Sur Plus, among others. She is a Lecturer at UC Berkeley and also teaches special needs students at CHIM Studio. www.jeanahn.com
Caroline Lee, viola (guest)
Caroline Lee is a member of the San Francisco Ballet orchestra and also performs with the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and San Francisco Symphony. She is the founder and artistic director of Community Concerts at Epworth ( communityconcertepworth.org ) Caroline received her bachelor in music degree at the University of Michigan and her masters and Artist Diploma at Yale School of Music