JAMES KIM, cello with ALAN WOO,
piano
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4 at 7:30 p.m.
RAMSEY CONCERT HALL
UGA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER 230 RIVER RD, ATHENS, GA
SERIES ARTIST
JAMES KIM, cello
Tuesday, February 4, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.
Ramsey Concert Hall
UGA Performing Arts Center
with Alan Woo, piano
PROGRAM
Papillon Op. 77
Élégie Op. 24
Sonata No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 117
Allegro
Andante
Allegro vivo
Sonata in G Minor, Op. 65
Allegro moderato
Scherzo
Largo
Allegro
Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924)
Fauré
Fauré
INTERMISSION
Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849)
Introduction and Polonaise brillante, Op. 3 Chopin
“Mon cœur s’ouvre à ta voix” from Samson et Dalila Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921)
Lauded by The New York Times for his “admirable purity of tone and accuracy,” James Kim has appeared as soloist with the Boston Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, Wallonie Royal Chamber, and Juilliard Orchestra working with conductors such as David Zinman, Michael Sanderling, Alexander Shelley, Keith Lockhart, Frank Braley, Tan Dun, Julian Kovatchev, and Benjamin Zander onstage at Carnegie Stern Auditorium, Boston Symphony Hall, Jordan Hall, and Metropolitan Museum of Art. Kim has given solo recitals at Carnegie Weill Hall, Seoul Arts Center IBK Hall, Midday Masterpieces Series at the Greene Space, McGraw Hill Young Artist Showcase hosted by Robert Sherman, Beautiful Thursday Series at Kumho Art Hall, Garden City Chamber Music Series curated by Bruce Adolphe, James Kim with Friends at Music Space Camerata in Paju, Tuesday Series at Seoul National University, and Faculty Artist Series at UGA Performing Arts Center. His performances have been broadcasted on radio stations NPR and WQXR.
In his native Korea, Kim has performed concertos with Daegu, Korean, Gwacheon, and S.O.N.G. Symphonies; Incheon, Daejeon, Goyang, and Wonju Philharmonics; and TIMF and KBS orchestras, engagements which have brought him to Seoul Arts Center, Tongyeong Concert Hall, Daegu Concert House, DITTO Festival, and Lotte Concert Hall, where he is the first soloist in its history. A champion of the music by Shinuh Lee, Kim premiered her Cello Concerto in 2021 and released Death and Offering , an album of her works dedicated to him, through Sony Classical in the same year. In 2023, he presented that program in recital at Seoul Arts Center. Other collaborations include Sejong Soloists, with whom he has toured performing J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations arranged for string trio by Dmitry Sitkovetsky on numerous occasions. He has also served as guest principal cellist of Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. He is represented in Korea by Music & Art Company.
Winner of the 2006 David Popper International Cello Competition and 2012 Salon de Virtuosi’s Sony Career Grant, Kim is a laureate of the 2015 Isang Yun International Cello Competition and 2024 Naumburg International Cello Competition. From 2016 to 2021, Kim performed on a Matteo Goffriller cello from Venice ca. 1715, generously loaned by Samsung Cultural Foundation and Stradivari Society® of Chicago, Illinois. In 2025, he joined pianist Liza Stepanova and violinist Itamar Zorman as a member of the Lysander Piano Trio.
Under his tutelage, Kim’s private students have won top prizes at major international cello competitions. He regularly gives guest lectures at Seoul National University’s
College of Music. His co-edition with Daniel Morganstern of the Locatelli Sonata in D Major for cello, published by International Music Company in 2020, provides his technical guidance in its preface. He holds an Artist Diploma from The Juilliard School and a Doctor of Musical Arts from Manhattan School of Music. His former teachers include Susan Moses, János Starker, Laurence Lesser, Aldo Parisot, Joel Krosnick, and Philippe Muller. Kim currently serves as Assistant Professor of Cello at University of Georgia’s Hugh Hodgson School of Music.
Praised by the New York Times as a pianist with “assurance and vitality,” Alan Woo made his Lincoln Center debut at Alice Tully Hall performing with the Juilliard Orchestra under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin. He has since collaborated with conductors Daniel Hege, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, and Tito Muñoz in solo appearances with the Houston and Fort Worth Symphonies, and the Music Academy of the West Festival Orchestra. Other recent performances include solo recital engagements throughout the US, Puerto Rico, and Europe.
Woo has been featured on The McGraw Hill Financial Young Artists Showcase broadcasted on WQXR in New York and has performed in venues such as Carnegie’s Weill and Zankel Recital Halls. An avid chamber musician, he has made appearances at the Brooklyn Chamber Music Society, La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest, Gamper Festival of Contemporary Music, Bowdoin International Music Festival, and Juilliard’s ChamberFest. Other accolades include prizes at the High Point University, Ima Hogg, Iowa and Juilliard’s Gina Bachauer piano competitions. Born in Arlington, Virginia, Woo is a graduate of The Juilliard School and Peabody Institute, where he completed degrees in piano performance under Robert McDonald and Yong Hi Moon. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Georgia, he served on the faculty at Elizabeth City State University.
Scholarships and Graduate assistantships funded by donations to the Thursday Scholarship Fund make it possible for students to learn and pursue their passions at the Hugh Hodgson School of Music. Please consider a taxdeductible gift to the Thursday Scholarship Fund so we may continue to support our students and make their education possible. Scan the QR code now or reach out to Melissa Roberts at roberts@uga.edu or 706-254-2111.
SUPPORT INDIVIDUAL AREAS OF THE SCHOOL OF MUSIC
In addition to our primary Support and Scholarship Funds, many specialized areas of interest, including our orchestra and choral programs, have support and scholarship funds you can contribute to directly. You can now learn more about all the ways and areas you can support the Hugh Hodgson School of Music. Scan the QR code or visit music.uga.edu/giving-and-alumni to the support the Hugh Hodgson School of Music area of your choice.
JOIN THE DIRECTOR’S CIRCLE
Gifts of all amounts are greatly appreciated. However, annual giving at the $1,500 level and higher provides membership in the Director’s Circle, our Hugh Hodgson School of Music Honor Roll. Director’s Circle members are invited to exclusive events and performances throughout the academic year.
For large gifts, please contact Melissa Roberts at roberts@uga.edu or 706-254-2111.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA HUGH HODGSON SCHOOL OF MUSIC.
OPEN HOUSE HUGH HODGSON SCHOOL OF MUSIC
Friday, March 28 Noon - 7 p.m.
If you are (or have) pre-college students, are a regular audience member or donor, or have interest in private music lessons at any age, this is a fantastic and free event for you!
Faculty and students are already preparing special performances and presentations during this afternoon. Rehearsals and classes will be open for you to step inside and experience our work.
PLUS:
Lamar Dodd Student Market
Guest Artist: João Pedro Oliveira composer lecture at 6 p.m.in the Dancz Center for New Music
Learn about the Community Music School and Summer Camps
Visit music.uga.edu for more details later this month!
UPCOMING FACULTY PERFORMANCES
*5:30 p.m. TUES 2/11
2/28
3/10
3/24
LIZA STEPANOVA, piano
Praised by The New York Times for her “thoughtful musicality” and “fleet-fingered panache,” Liza Stepanova is in demand as a soloist, collaborator, and educator. In the fall of 2020, she was named Musical America Worldwide’s “New Artist of the Month,” a rare distinction celebrating her work and particularly the impact of her recent CD “E Pluribus Unum.”
FACULTY ARTIST SERIES: SHAKHIDA AZIMKHODJAEVA, violin
Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Shakhida Azimkhodjaeva began violin studies at the Tashkent State Conservatory’s Special Music School. At age eleven, she made her debut with the Uzbekistan Symphony Orchestra and won the Uzbekistan National Violin Competition. Azimkhodjaeva graduated from the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory where she studied with Professor Irina Medvedeva.
MAGGIE SNYDER, viola
Violist Maggie Snyder is Professor of Viola at the University of Georgia, Principal Violist of the Chamber Orchestra of New York, with whom she records for Naxos, and is on the Artist-Faculty of the Brevard Music Festival. She has performed solo recitals, chamber music, concertos and as an orchestral musician throughout the United States and abroad.
FACULTY ARTIST SERIES: MILTON MASCIADRI, double bass
Milton Masciadri is a third generation double bass player. Born in Montevideo, Uruguay, he began his studies with his father and by age 17 was co-principal Bassist with the Porto Alegre Symphony in Brazil. He completed his Master’s and Doctorate Degrees with work under Gary Karr, Julius Levine and Lawrence Wolfe.
FACULTY CHAMBER ENSEMBLE: WELCOME HOME
This is a unique opportunity to hear the three newest faculty at the Hugh Hodgson School of Music offer a shared concert. Featuring new assistant professor of cello James Kim, newly appointed assistant professor of saxophone Brandon Quarles, and newly appointed assistant professor of piano Alan Woo, this concert will include a wide range of music that highlights each of their talents and demonstrates their drive for collaboration.
*All events will be held at 7:30 in Ramsey Concert Hall unless stated otherwise
THURS 2/6
7:30 p.m.
Ramsey Concert Hall FREE CONCERT
MON 2/10
3:30 p.m.
Ramsey Concert Hall
FREE CONCERT
MON 2/10
7:30 p.m.
Ramsey Concert Hall FREE CONCERT
WED 2/12
7:30 p.m.
Hodgson Concert Hall FREE CONCERT
THURS 2/13
7:30 p.m.
Hodgson Concert Hall
$20 - Adult
$3 - Child/Student
FACULTY RECITAL: ELIZABETH JOHNSON KNIGHT, mezzo-soprano
with Eric Jenkins, piano. Elizabeth Johnson Knight, American mezzo soprano, is in demand as both a choral and solo artist. She made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2010 as alto soloist in Handel’s Messiah with Andrew Megill and the Masterwork Chorus.
REPERTORY SINGERS
Joshua Wagner, Conductor
The Repertory Singers is a mixed chamber choir directed by graduate student conductors. Its format offers laboratory rehearsal and performance experience for conductors and singers alike.
GUEST ARTIST RECITAL: REED HANNA, bassoon
Bassoonist and composer Reed Hanna is quickly becoming a noteworthy new voice in the double reed community whose compositions have become known among wind players for their interesting and imaginative musical ideas that challenge performers and captivate audiences.
WIND SYMPHONY & SYMPHONIC BAND
As one of the Hugh Hodgson School of Music’s large orchestral ensembles, the University Philharmonia offers an outlet for musical expression to all string players at the University of Georgia.
THURSDAY SCHOLARSHIP SERIES: FACULTY FOLLIES - “AN EVENING OF MUSICAL COMEDY”
Not since the days of Victor Borge and P.D.Q. Bach has there been such a collision of classical music and side-splitting laughter. Curated by professor of comedy...er...clarinet D. Ray McClellan, this fun-filled evening features faculty and students sharing music that highlights joy and playfulness. Silly situations evocative of a classic “Follies” like variety show promise to unfold. What a great way to celebrate Valentine’s Day!