Jennifer Koh

Noozhawk
By Gerald Carpenter
April 27, 2018
original link

Gerald Carpenter: Violinist Shares Her ‘Madness’ at Saint Anthony’s

International violin sensation Jennifer Koh will perform a program of works written for her at Saint Anthony's Chapel.
 
UCSB Arts & Lectures brings the remarkable violinist Jennifer Koh — Musical America’s 2016 Instrumentalist of the Year — to Santa Barbara for a recital at 7 p.m. Friday, April 27, in St. Anthony’s Chapel, 2300 Garden St.

Koh will play selections from her epic program Shared Madness, which consists of short works for solo violin, written for her by 30-plus notable contemporary composers.

This will be the only West Coast performance of all or part of the work since it was premiered over two recitals in May 2016 at National Sawdust as part of the New York Philharmonic’s Biennial.

Koh said Shared Madness "is a project that tells the story of an amazing and generous community of fellow artists and friends who came to my aid at a time when I desperately needed their support and help.

"Many of them witnessed the eight years during which I tried to raise funds in order to purchase a violin I could perform on for the remainder of my life.

"When Elizabeth and Justus Schlichting, supporters of new music, stepped in to relieve a great deal of my debt and agreed to accept music commissions as payment instead of funds, my fellow community of artists came rushing to help.

"These composers have given me the great gift of writing a new work for me to help support this project, and they come from a community of colleagues and friends with whom I have worked over the years.

"Shared Madness celebrates the support of these friends, encapsulates the intensity of the creative process shared between composer and performer, and ultimately reveals the incredible support network that exists between artists," she said.

For the rest of the story of this unique collection, together with a complete list of the contributors and their works (and a lot of other fascinating information), visit http://jenniferkoh.com/projects/shared-madness.html.

Admission to the concert is $35 for the general public; $10 for all students with valid ID. To buy tickets and/or get more information, call the A&L box office, 893-3535, or visit www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu.

Copyright ©2017 Noozhawk