Inspiring Influences

Winner of the prestigious Neeme Järvi Prize at the 2018 Gstaad Music Festival & Academy, and 2nd prize winner of the National Radio Television Albania Conducting Competition 2019 and 3rd prize winner of the IONEL PERLEA International Opera Competition 2021, Andrew Joon Choi is a classically trained, Korean American Conductor based in Princeton, New Jersey.

He has conducted many orchestras throughout Europe including Sinfonieorchester Basel, Kammerorchester Basel, Basel Sinfonietta, Musikkollegium Winterthur, Gstaad Festival Orchestra, Sinfonieorchester Liechtenstein, ORF-Radio Symphonieorchester Wien, LEAD! Festival Orchestra, Janáček Philharmonisches Orchester, Josef Kajetán Tyl Theater, Filharmonie Hradec Králové, Staatstheater Cottbus, Das Kurpfälzische Kammerorchester - Mannheim, Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie, Pazadzjik Sinfonieorchester, and Russe Philharmonisches Orchester.

Until January of 2020, he was the Assistant Conductor of the Basel Sinfonietta, a renowned contemporary arts organization bringing modern classical music closer to the audience using innovative and provocative programming. It is also known as the only organization of its kind to perform contemporary classical music for full orchestra, every program of the season.

Highlights of his 2019-21 season included concert debuts with the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra at Wien Modern 2019 alongside Maestro Baldur Brönnimann at the Musikverein Vienna, as well as performances with the Basel Sinfonietta and the Sinfonieorchester Lichtenstein and renowned soloists Claire Huangci (piano) and the Janoska Ensemble at the acclaimed Vaduz Classic 2021 in Vaduz Lichtenstein.

Highlights of his 2022 season included the Swiss premiere of the composer Olga Neuwirth’s work, “Die Stadt ohne Juden” with the Sinfonieorchester Basel, as well as conducting alongside world-famous maestros: Jukka Pekka Saraste, Hannu Linthu, Dalia Stavenska and Esa Pekka Salonen at the LEAD! Music Festival in Fiskars, Finland.

2022 and beyond, he makes his U.S debut with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra as well as planned concerts with the Opéra Orchestre Montpellier, the Berner Symphonieorchester, and the National Radio Orchestra Tirana Albania.

He is a graduate of the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste, under the tutelage of master pedagogue and conductor, Johannes Schlaefli. Prior to his studies and activities in Europe, Joon studied Orchestral Conducting at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore under the guidance of Maestro Marin Alsop, Gustav Meier and Markand Thakar.

andrewjoonchoi.com

Flutist Kimberly McCoul Risinger enjoys a diverse career of performing and teaching and has given concerts throughout the country and abroad. She is praised for her virtuosic technique, warm and lithe tone, and passionate musicianship. The Classical New Jersey declared “Ms. Risinger’s slow movement was haunting and painterly with a prestissimo movement that whipped along with complete precision and clarity that left audience members shaking their heads.”

Soloing in most of the major concert halls in New York City, Risinger made her solo recital debut in Carnegie Hall and later performed a solo recital in Lincoln Center’s Merkin Concert Hall. In addition, Risinger gave the world premiere of Matthew Halper’s Flute Concerto in Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall.

An advocate of contemporary music, Risinger often performs world premieres of new works written for and dedicated to her. Some of these performances include concerts at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, St John of the Divine, Rotterdam Conservatory, Juilliard School of Music, and Preston Bradley Hall at the Chicago Cultural Center (as part of the Dame Myra Hess Concert Series), and include invitations from the National Flute Association and Arz Vitalis: The New Jersey New Music Forum. Risinger performed the USA premieres of Samuel Zyman’s Flute Concerto No. 1 and No. 2. A supporter of the music of David Maslanka, Risinger has performed numerous pieces written for her by the composer and has recorded nearly all his works for flute. Other world premieres include Halper’s Sonata for flute and piano and Sonata Fantasy, Carl Schimmel’s Nixie for solo flute, Frank Levy’s Apostrophe for solo flute, David Feurzeig’s Sonatina for flute and piano and Duo for flute and clarinet, and Stephen Taylor’s Seven Microverses for flute and guitar.

Risinger is Principal Flute in the Illinois Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, is a member of the Linden Flute and Guitar Duo, the Sonneries Woodwind Quintet, and the ensemble Difference Tones. She has performed with the Chicago Jazz Orchestra and recorded with the orchestra and Clark Terry. She has also served as principal flute in the Heartland Festival Orchestra, the Washington Bach Sinfonia, the Ohio Light Opera, and the Sugar Creek Symphony and Song Opera Orchestra. In addition, she has performed and recorded with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and has performed with the Fairfax Symphony, Annapolis Symphony, Arlington Symphony, Mount Vernon Symphony, and with OMEGA Recording Studios.

Risinger has recorded for the Vienna Modern Masters, BWE Classics, Albany, and the Americana Records labels. Her solo CD, Sonata Fantasy, of contemporary American pieces for flute and piano was praised by Tannenbaum in the American Record Guide: “Risinger’s Virtuosity blazes forth from the opening bars of Samuel Zyman’s flute sonata, swift and fearless in the Allegro assai with never a hint of breathlessness. In the ensuing Lento, whose ultra-simple conclusion might cruelly expose a lesser musician, Risinger’s lithe tone, warm vibrato, and ardent phrasing beautifully sustain the melancholy.”  Risinger’s second CD, Songs of My Nights, is a recording of music written for her by composer, David Maslanka. In addition, she made the premiere recordings of Halper’s Concerto for flute and wind ensemble, David Maslanka’s Song Book for solo flute and wind ensemble, and Maslanka’s O Earth, O Stars for flute, cello and wind ensemble. She can also be heard performing Mozart’s Concerto in D for flute and orchestra on a live recording with the Illinois Symphony Chamber Orchestra. She is currently a Professor of Flute at Illinois State University.