Chelsea Music Festival announces a performance of Min Kwon’s America/Beautiful, set for Monday, June 22, 2026 from 7-9pm at St. Paul’s German Church, 315 West 22nd Street, New York, NY, 10011. Tickets start at $65 and can be purchased at https://www.chelseamusicfestival.org/2026-events/june22.

America/Beautiful is pianist Min Kwon’s project — born during the pandemic — which commissioned variations on “America the Beautiful” from over 70 composers across the country, ranging in age from 21 to 96, and asking a single urgent question: What is America — is it beautiful, was it ever, or will it ever be? Selections will include New York Premieres by Samuel Adler, Stewart Copeland, Fred Hersch, Kenji Bunch, Libby Larsen, Timo Andres and others; each composer brings a radically different perspective on the American experience. Together, these variations form a powerful collection of stories as colorful and diverse as America’s people and landscapes. Images of American landscapes to accompany each variation by photographer Park Joon.

Min Kwon, piano

Timo Andres, piano

Claire Bourg, violin

Hsuan-Fong Chen, oboe

Park Joon, photographer

PROGRAM

Samuel Adler A Celebration of our Beautiful Nation (NY Premiere)

Timo Andres America Coda

Kenji Bunch Beauty For All (Or For None At All) (NY Premiere)

Stewart Copeland America Quite Beautiful (NY Premiere)

Michael Gandolfi Of Liberating Strife (NY Premiere)

Fred Hersch Four Windows Into America (NY Premiere)

Vijay Iyer Crown Thy Good

Pierre Jalbert Endeavor (NY Premiere)

Libby Larsen Amber (Variation) (NY Premiere)

George Lewis America, the changing same

David Serkin Ludwig Quaddiš” for Ruth Bader Ginsberg (Kaddish)

Jessica Meyer Halcyon Skies

Nico Muhly Refine (NY Premiere)

Judith Lang Zaimont in darkness veiled (NY Premiere)

Reception by Lysée to follow.

Chelsea Music Festival is a proud partner of Steinway & Sons. Click to see full list of Festival Sponsors.

Korean-born American pianist Min Kwon excels in a versatile career that encompasses concerti, solo recitals, and chamber music appearances, while in high demand around the world as pedagogue, arts advocate, and administrator. She has held professional engagements in over 60 countries on seven continents and all 50 U.S. states.

Professor of Piano at Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University since 2002, Dr. Kwon is also the founder and director of the Center for Musical Excellence (CME), a non-profit dedicated to mentoring and supporting gifted young musicians. To date, CME has awarded 12 international performing arts grants, each up to $10,000, and currently features 20 young artists on the 2019 CME Young Artists Roster. CME’s alumni/ae list includes more than 100 young artists from 22 countries.

As soloist, Min Kwon has performed extensively in Europe, North and South America, and Asia, with such orchestras as Philadelphia, North Carolina, Atlanta, New Jersey, and Fort Worth, Aspen Festival Orchestra, Orquesta Estaudo Mexico, Orquesta Sinfónica Venezuela, Wiener Residenz Orchester, Bacau Philharmonic, as well as all major orchestras in Korea on several nationally televised concerts. Since her Avery Fisher (now David Geffen) Hall, Lincoln Center debut in 1992 with the Juilliard Orchestra, she has appeared with many of New York’s leading ensembles, including New York Classical Players, Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, and the New York Sinfonietta. As recitalist, Kwon has performed at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, where she returns each year as Artistic Director of critically acclaimed, themed concerts featuring Rutgers pianists. pianistminkwon.com

Timo Andres (b. 1985, Palo Alto, CA) is a composer and pianist who grew up in rural Connecticut and lives in Brooklyn, NY. Andres’ season is threaded through by an ongoing collaboration with pianist Aaron Diehl; the duo performs a two-piano recital (including a new work by Andres) at Carnegie Hall and Howland Chamber Music in January. In recent seasons, Timo made his sold out solo recital debut at Carnegie Hall; received a Tony nomination for his work orchestrations and arrangements of Sufjan Stevens’s Illinoise for the acclaimed theatrical production by Justin Peck and Jackie Sibblies Drury; served as advisor and editor of a 2023 edition of the Philip Glass Etudespublished by Artisan; and performed with the Pomegranate Arts productions of the Glass Etudes internationally, including recent dates at Lincoln Center, the Chicago Humanities Festival, the Elbphilarmonie, the Philharmonie Berlin, and for NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts. As a pianist, Timo was nominated for a Grammy award for his performances on 2021’s The Arching Path, an album of music by Christopher Cerrone. Andres’s collaborations with Sufjan Stevens also include his May 2023 recording with Conor Hanick of Stevens’s latest album, Reflections; arrangements of ballets for New York City Ballet, and a solo piano album, The Decalogue. A Nonesuch Records artist, Andres has multiple albums on the label, including 2024’s The Blind Banister with Metropolis Ensemble. A Yale School of Music graduate, he is a Yamaha/Bösendorfer Artist and is on the composition faculty at the Mannes School of Music at the New School. He was recently awarded the 2025 Stoeger Prize by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. andres.com

Praised for being in “total command of music and instrument with an excellent sense of style and character,” violinist Claire Bourg is quickly captivating audiences with her sincere artistry, virtuosity, and passion. Ms. Bourg has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician in many of the world’s leading venues throughout the United States and Europe, such as Carnegie Hall, Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, the Kimmel Center, Bremen’s Kleiner Saal, Pritzker Pavilion, Jordan Hall, and the Fryderyk Chopin University Hall in Warsaw. Most recently, she was a soloist with the Camerata Bern in Hannover, as part of the Joachim International Violin Competition. Ms. Bourg is extremely passionate about premiering and performing the works of living composers. She has worked with Augusta Read Thomas, Jorg Widmann, David Ludwig, and Steven Mackey, among many others. She recently performed the Clearwater Rhapsody by Bright Sheng with the composer himself at the piano, in both Philadelphia and New York. A native of Chicago, Ms. Bourg holds an Artist Diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music studying with Pamela Frank and Arnold Steinhardt, and a bachelor’s degree from the New England Conservatory as a student of Miriam Fried. Currently residing in New York City, she is a student of Joseph Lin at the Juilliard School, where she holds the prestigious Kovner Fellowship. Claire currently performs on a violin by Zosimo Bergonzi of Cremona, c. 1770 on generous loan through Guarneri Hall NFP and Darnton & Hersh Fine Violins, Chicago. Claire holds the 2024 Esther deGrunigen Artist Chair. clairebourg.com

Oboist Hsuan-Fong Chen (pronounced “SHUan-fong”) is known for her versatility across orchestral, Broadway, and contemporary music scenes. Based in New York City, she has performed across the U.S., Europe, and Asia with leading ensembles such as the New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Albany Symphony, and the American Ballet Theatre. On Broadway, she has played in Wicked, The Phantom of the Opera, Camelot at Lincoln Center, and served as lead oboist in Rocktopia. In 2023, she was featured in the world premiere of Watch Night, directed by Tony Award-winner Bill T. Jones. A passionate advocate for new music, she performs regularly with Rocket City New Music, Talea Ensemble, Metropolis Ensemble, and at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music. Ms. Chen teaches at Queens College (CUNY), Juilliard Pre-College, the Calhoun School, and the Greenwich Music School. She also maintains a private studio and has served in leadership roles, including Artistic Coordinator and Orchestra Manager for the National Youth Orchestra of China. Originally from Taiwan, she studied at The Juilliard School (B.M.), Yale School of Music (M.M., Artist Diploma), and the Manhattan School of Music (Orchestral Performance Diploma). A former competitive pianist, she performed at Carnegie Hall and was featured in the National Palace Museum’s film A Museum Without Walls. She lives in NYC with her husband, Sean Ritenauer, their young son, and Cockapoo, Hiro. hsuanfongchen.com

Park Joon Park Joon is a South Korean photographer, based in New York City who has had numerous exhibitions in the New York City area. He was educated in New York and was deeply inspired by Ansel Adams. He calls himself an “outsider,” and his photography reflects this self-identification. As an immigrant, one of his passions has been to document and archive the beautiful sceneries of the American landscape. In order to capture the beauty of the American landscape, he has driven through every state of the US more than fifty times in his small car which now has over 200,000 miles. Every trip has been an adventure, filled with inspirations and trials. It is truly a journey of passion and soul searching for him. This unassuming outsider has a giant vision and sharp eyes to catch the most inspiring beauty of America. He says he wants to give back to the community. The generosity of his heart can be seen in his art. parkjoonart.com

LYSÉE (lee-zay) is a pastry boutique by Chef Eunji Lee in the Flatiron District. Inspired by her love of pastry as edible art, Lysée is named for Chef Lee’s sweet museum derived from the French word Musée. Lysée’s menu, like Chef Lee, is influenced by three cultures – French, Korean and New York City. lyseenyc.com

ABOUT MELINDA LEE MASUR

Lauded for her “impeccable technique and artistic interpretation” (The Columbian), pianist Melinda Lee Masur has performed on all three stages of Carnegie Hall, at London’s Wigmore Hall and Purcell Room, the Berliner Philharmonie, at the Ravinia Festival, Festival Les Muséiques Basel and in Boston’s Symphony Hall. An avid chamber musician, Masur has performed with such artists as Augustin Hadelich, Alban Gerhardt, Fanny Clamagirand, Adrian Brendel and Thomas Quasthoff.

She is pianist and founding member of The Lee Trio, praised worldwide for its “gripping immediacy and freshness” and “rich palette of tone colours” (The Strad). The Trio has garnered awards such as the Recording Prize at the Kuhmo International Chamber Music Competition in Finland and the Gotthard-Schierse-Stiftung grant in Berlin and has given world, American and European premieres of piano trios by composers including Edmund Finnis, Uljas Pulkkis, Nathaniel Stookey, Philip Lasser, Jane Antonia Cornish & Sylvie Bodorova and garnered awards such as the Recording Prize at the Kuhmo International Chamber Music Competition in Finland and the Gotthard-Schierse-Stiftung grant in Berlin.

Masur has a passion for working with the next generations of musicians and has taught at the University of Chicago and Boston University, and will serve on the Piano & Chamber Music Faculty at Stanford University this Fall. Masur is the Director of Piano Chamber Music and Co-Director of the Young Artists Piano Program at the BU Tanglewood Institute. A graduate of Harvard University and the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover, Germany, Melinda Lee Masur is a Steinway Artist. theleetrio.com

ABOUT KEN-DAVID MASUR

Conductor and Grammy-nominated producer Ken-David Masur has been hailed as “fearless” (SD Union Tribune) and “a brilliant and commanding conductor” (Leipziger Volkszeitung). As the Music Director of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Masur leads a range of dynamic programs with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, where his programming throughout the season continues to increase representation in the performance canon. He recently concluded the second year of an MSO artistic partnership with pianist Aaron Diehl, a collaboration forged through several seasons of the Chelsea Music Festival, and begins a new partnership with baritone Dashon Burton. As Principal Conductor of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Masur leads concerts throughout the season, including an annual Bach Marathon.

Other recent engagements include debuts with the New York Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Nashville and Omaha Symphony Orchestras, and a return to Poland’s Wroclaw Philharmonic. Music education and working with the next generation of young artists are of major importance to Masur. In addition to his work with the young musicians of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, he has led orchestras and masterclasses at Juilliard, the New England Conservatory, Boston University, Boston Conservatory, the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra and at leading universities and conservatories throughout the world. Masur graduated from Columbia University, where he served as first Music Director of the Bach Society Orchestra, building on his education as boy soprano in the Gewandhaus Children‘s Chorus. kendavidmasur.com

ABOUT THE CHELSEA MUSIC FESTIVAL

Chelsea Music Festival celebrates great music by convening world-leading musicians & artists in the performing, culinary, and visual arts for an international audience. The Festival invites artists, composers, and performers to collaborate in pursuit of new perspectives in artistic expression. Inspired by its Chelsea roots, the Festival reflects the creativity of one of New York City’s most dynamic neighborhoods. Programs span musical genres ranging from classical to contemporary to jazz with a special emphasis on Festival commissions by composers whose works are not in the traditional western canon. In addition, the Festival hosts an online library of recordings so music enthusiasts, artists, and students alike can explore unique interpretations of classical, jazz, and contemporary works via high-quality videos of world-class performances.

Since 2010, the Festival has established itself as a critically-acclaimed, accessible and interactive gateway to chamber music in non-traditional concert spaces such as art galleries, public squares, schools, and churches. Programming includes concerts, lectures, exhibitions, family events, and free outreach performances. In 2020, the Festival inaugurated its Online Encores and Online Originals YouTube series; Online Encores presents highlights from Festival archives while Online Originals presents new performances and recordings. We are proud to give emerging voices, particularly those of women and people of color, a stage and work to build an audience and intimate community to support a new generation of musicians, composers, and artists.

Festival Sponsors & Partners:

Carl Brandt, Inc., Brotherhood Winery, Columbia Alumni Association Arts Access, Consulate General of Germany in New York, Fordham University, German International School New York, Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation, Masterwork Arts Foundation, Materials for the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, Polycast Productions, Radeberger Gruppe USA, Sennheiser, Skylight Arts Productions, Steinway & Sons, Tarisio Fine Instruments & Bows, WBGO, Weinhaus Traubengold, and WQXR.

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