May 10, 2013
An avid solo and chamber musician, flutist Anna Urrey was celebrated as a "revelation” and a "great young talent” (Il Giornale, Spoleto, Italy) after a performance of J.S. Bach’s Cantata BWV 21 “Seufzer, Tränen. Kummer, Not” with members of the Spoleto Vocal Arts Symposium. Her love for musical collaboration extends beyond that of traditional flute music. She has performed in the East-West quartet with Music from China, a chamber ensemble that commissions and performs innovative repertoire, combining both Chinese and Western instruments in traditional and contemporary works.
As an orchestral musician, Ms. Urrey has performed with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Symphony in C in Philadelphia, among others, and has been recently appointed to Ensemble LPR, the resident orchestra at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City. She has also participated in the Castleton Festival, New York String Orchestra Seminar, the Riistavesi Music Festival in Finland and the Nice Festival in France with conductors Lorin Maazel, Jaime Laredo, Pietari Inkiness, and Philippe Entremont. As an Artist-In-Residence at the Banff Music Center, Ms. Urrey had the opportunity to perform with John Adams conducting his composition, “The Wound Dresser.”
Ms. Urrey takes great pride in her Finnish-American heritage. In 2011, she performed at the Finnish Independence Day Celebration under the auspices of the of the Finnish Embassy. She was recently named a Semi-Finalist for the Principal Flute position with the Finnish National Opera in Helsinki.
Ms. Urrey earned a Master of Music degree and Professional Studies Certificate from the Manhattan School of Music as a student of Michael Parloff and Robert Langevin. She also holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University, where she graduated magna cum laude and was honored with the Burian Award for “Outstanding Achievement in Performance” as a student of Bart Feller and Kaoru Hinata.
Soyeon Kim, a native of South Korea, has appeared as a solo and collaborative pianist with an extensive range of vocal and instrumental repertoire throughout the United States, Europe, and Korea. Ms. Kim has worked with distinguished artists, including Stefan Hoskuldsson, Eric Speller, Mark Nuccio, Judith Mendenhall, Kenneth Cooper, and Yeonsun Joo. Having enjoyed performing as a collaborative musician led her to various concert appearances at major concert halls such as Metropolitan Museum of Art, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, Zankel Hall and Weill Recital Hall at Carnigie Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, Cami Hall, Yamaha Hall, German House in NYC, Sejong Center and ArKo Arts Theater in Seoul, Korea, the Croatian Music Institution in Zagreb, Croatia, Konzerthaus in Berlin, and Gasteig in Munich, Germany.
Soyeon Kim won awards for her artistry in several competitions, such as First Prize and Best Interpretation Awards in William Garrison Piano Competition, Second Prize in the Artur Balsam Competition for Duos, Laureate in Korea Festival Ensemble Chamber Music Competition, and First Prize in Seoul National Teacher’s College Piano Competition. She also won Music Academy of the West Fellowship in Santa Barbara, New Triad Foundation Fellowship in New York City.
Ms. Kim has worked as a staff pianist and coach for Quartet Program, New York Vocal Institute, AIMS in Graz, and the Manhattan School of Music Summer Voice Festival. In the spring of 2012 she joined the piano faculty at Montclair State University, NJ where she has has served as a vocal coach and staff pianist as well. Ms. Kim also served on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music where she earned her second master’s and doctoral degree in Accompanying. She received her bachelor’s and another master’s degree in piano performance from Seoul National University, Korea.