Music Speaks: Into the Light – Jordan Bak, viola & Ji Yung Lee, piano
Tuesday | November 9 2021 | 7:30 pm
Watch Jordan Bak introduce this concert:
Works by H. Leslie Adams, Rebecca Clarke, György Kurtág, György Ligeti, Zoltán Kodály, Tōru Takemitsu, Georg Philipp Telemann, Henri Vieuxtemps & Delong Wang
“A star in the making” (Seattle Pi), Jamaican-American violist Jordan Bak is an outstanding artist of passion, energy and authenticity in the recital and chamber music arenas. A Sphinx MPower Artist Grant Recipient and a top laureate of the 2020 Sphinx Competition, Bak is also a winner and Audience Prize recipient of the 2019 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition, the recipient of the 2019 Samuel Sanders Tel Aviv Museum Prize and the 2019 John White Special Prize from the Tertis International Viola Competition. In addition to his growing solo career, Jordan Bak is a member of the celebrated New York Classical Players and is a featured artist for WQXR’s inaugural Artist Propulsion Lab.
Bak says, “’Into the Light’ is really a storybook of my own life centered around the subject of under-representation in Classical music through the lens of an under-represented instrument. Through that, I share personal West Indian influences and culture, memories from my childhood, family members who have inspired me and shaped my perspective, even as healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and connect that with the current work I’m doing to hopefully motivate and give opportunities to the next generation of musicians of color. ‘Into the Light’ speaks to today’s important conversation of diversity and true equal opportunity in the arts, finding one’s own voice despite the circumstances, and poses the question of, ‘What can we do to ensure that our future in Classical music shines even brighter?’”
Bak is a WQXR Propulsion Lab Artist.
$15 students tickets are available by phone or in person. Call the box office at 212 501 3330.
Into the Light is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
In memory of William Reid Pitts, Jr. M.D.
