The popular Concerts at the OSilas series closes its fifth season with a program that celebrates composers of varying backgrounds who emigrated to different parts of the world, bringing their culture with them.
The artists will perform amidst the backdrop of Portraits of Immigrants, the OSilas Gallery’s final exhibition for the 2020-21 season. The concert, which includes an informative discussion by the musicians, will be recorded at OSilas Gallery at Concordia College and broadcast to ticket holders on April 11 at 5 pm. A short video presentation of the exhibition will also be included.
Under the direction of Artistic Director Marija Ilic, Concordia Conservatory’s faculty Sun Young Chang (soprano), Chungsun Kim (cello), and Rami Vamos (guitar) will perform works by Dvorak, Weill, and Berlin. The pieces chosen remind us to celebrate our similarities and our differences.
To purchase tickets for this broadcast, visit www.concordiaconservatory.org or call (914) 395-4507.
About the Artists
Soprano Sun Young Chang has worked extensively both teaching voice and performing for over a decade, both in her native Korea and in the United States. She received her Masters and Professional Studies Diploma from Mannes College of Music, and made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2006 . She was named a Finalist in the Connecticut Opera Guild Competition and the Violetta Du Pont Vocal Competition, and a Semi-Finalist in Rochester Oratorio Vocal competition and Joy In Singing Competition. An active performer, she began as an Apprentice at the Hot Springs Music Festival in 2008 and was asked to return the following year as a Guest Artist. She has concertized annually (since 2007) with Rangeley Friends of the Art Summer Concert Series, and has made guest appearances at concert series from the Herbert Axelrod Theater to Seabrook (NJ). She has performed opera roles such as Mimi, Lauretta, Giulietta, Micaela, Donna Elvira, Pamina, Nella, Gilda, Anne Truelove, and Zerlina, with such companies as Empire Opera, the Delaware Valley Symphony Orchestra, Kaye Playhouse, and the Actors Studio. Also a Teaching Artist for the Metropolitan Opera Guild, she has worked as a private voice instructor and coach since 2002. She teaches actively at Concordia Conservatory of Music and Westerhoff School of Music and Art, and has been faculty at the Berkshire Choral Festival and the Joy of Singing LLC. She also volunteers actively, concertizing at Women In Need Casa Rita Drug Abuse Clinic of the Bronx and gives her time regularly for Sing for Hope.
A dynamic and versatile artist, cellist Chungsun Kim has been widely recognized for performances in major music capitals in North and South America, Europe, and Asia. Her expressive playing and extraordinary musicianship has led her to perform at many different concerts and venues in the United States and abroad, including Alice Tully & Avery Fischer Halls at Lincoln Center, Sejong Concert Recital Hall (Korea), Araki Concert Hall (Japan), Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Merkin Concert Hall. She has appeared as a soloist with Pro-Arte Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia Virtuosi, Sarah Lawrence Symphony Orchestra, National Repertoire Orchestra, Philharmonia Lawrencia, New York Virtouosi, Ars Ensemble, and Aspen Summer Music Festival Orchestra. As an active chamber musician, Ms. Kim is a founding member of Amasi Trio, the Trio in Residence of Nyack College School of Music for the past twenty years. The trio, whose name stands for American-Asian, is committed to perform music by Asian composers as well as traditional music. As a dedicated teacher and cello pedagogue, she has taught in various settings including Sarah Lawrence Music Festival, New International Music Festival, and master classes at University of Florida, Ithaca College, and Ithaca Violoncello Institute. She is a faculty member at Nyack College, Concordia Conservatory, and Hotchkiss School. She also has been teaching at InterHarmony International Music Festival in Acqui Terme, Piedmont, Italy, from the summer of 2016.
Combining his talents as a guitarist, educator, writer, and composer, Rami Vamos has created a wide array of original musical events ranging from children’s theater to concert music. His shows encourage people of all ages and backgrounds to explore music in the classical genre. Mr. Vamos works closely with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center as a curriculum planner, writer, composer, and host for both their Chamber Music Beginnings concert series and CMS Kids programs. Mr. Vamos began his career in education as a New York City Teaching Fellow. He currently teaches general music and conducts choir in Pelham, NY. He teaches career development and entrepreneurial courses for classical musicians at NYU. Vamos is on the guitar faculty of Concordia Conservatory in Bronxville, NY where he serves as string department head and teaches Suzuki Guitar group classes. Mr. Vamos writes two musicals each year for Concordia’s Musical Adventures for Children Concert Series. His arrangements and original compositions have been heard on CBS, Fox, and NPR. In 2003 he received a Meet the Composer Grant, which brought him to The Raritan River Concert Series. His work was premiered there by the Newman and Oltman Guitar duet and members of the Turtle Island String Quartet. In 1994 Vamos collaborated with guitarist Randal Avers on a set of guitar duets called “12 Silly songs for 12 Silly Strings”. The work was published by Clear Note Productions in 2014. He has also collaborated with his wife, violinist Nurit Pacht, on a series of original compositions for violin and guitar which they have performed in summer festivals and venues around the country.
Artistic Director Marija Ilić, pianist, is an active performer of the traditional repertoire and new music in New York City and has been praised as a “clear and decisive musician,” “compelling,” and “poetic”, and noted for her "quiet intensity" by The New York Times. Her performances include recitals at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC., Musica Viva and Kolarac Hall in Belgrade, the Clark Studio Theater at Lincoln Center, and the 92nd Street Y, as well as the Music Festival of the Hamptons, Aldeburgh Festival in England, Norfolk Contemporary Music Festival, Music at Concordia, and Trinity Church. Ms. Ilić has worked with composers Martin Bresnick, George Crumb, Oliver Knussen, Joan Tower, Vykintas Baltakas, Meredith Monk, and John Patitucci, among others. She has collaborated with the National Theater of the United States of America on their productions Chautauqua! and What’s That on My Head?, with choreographers Ariane Anthony, Rachel Cohen, and Rajika Puri, and she is a member of Dan Joseph Ensemble. She is the founding principal pianist of Christopher Caines Dance Company, with which she has appeared regularly since 2000. A native of Belgrade, Serbia, Ms. Ilić holds degrees from the Belgrade Music Academy and Mannes College of Music, and a doctorate in piano performance from Rutgers University. Her piano teachers include Susan Starr, Pavlina Dokovska, Nina Svetlanova, Stephanie Brown, and the harpsichord master Kenneth Cooper. She can be heard on New World Records, Mutable Music and Innova labels.