Pardon Our French / Thomas Giles & Jae Kyo Han at the Tenri Cultural Institute

Join us for a riveting evening of French works written and arranged for classical saxophone and piano. The program will include works by Ravel, Messiaen, Debussy, Fernande Decruck and the contemporary composer, Vincent David. The concert will be performed by saxophonist Thomas Giles and pianist Jae Kyo Han.

7:15pm / Doors Open
7:30pm / Concert
8:30pm / Wine Reception

Musician Bios:

Described as “breathtaking” (New York Music Daily), “insanely clever” (ClassicFM, United Kingdom), and “full of crystalline clarity” (Südkurier, Germany), Thomas Giles performs the music of our time with curiosity, imagination, and unflinching conviction. To date Giles has premiered more than 200 new works—many of which are dedicated to him. Recent premieres include works by Augusta Read Thomas, Marc Mellits, and Nicola LeFanu. Giles has enjoyed working closely with many leading composers e.g., Meredith Monk, David Lang, Charles Wuorinen, and the American indie-rock duo Wye Oak. His growing body of solo repertoire hones a fascination with simultaneity and the multilimbic capacities of a single wind performer.

As a collaborator, Giles is a founding member of the Telos Consort, ensemble-in-residence at the 92nd Street Y School of Music. He has performed with the London Royal Opera co., New York City Opera orchestra, Opera Parallèle, Ensemble Échappé, Metropolis Ensemble, Contemporaneous, New World Symphony, Raschèr Saxophone Quartet, and from 2012-2022, held the baritone chair of the critically acclaimed MANA Quartet. He has appeared at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Roulette Intermedium, Constellation, SFJAZZ, and internationally at Bachfest Leipzig, Heidelberg Kulturzentrum, Münster Musikhochschule, Szczecin International Saxophone Festival, Utrecht Bartholomeus Gasthuis, and the Citè de la Musique de Strasbourg.

A passionate teacher, Giles is Artist-Teacher of Saxophone at the Longy School of Music of Bard College, and woodwind faculty at the Aaron Copland School of Music - Queens College and the 92nd Street Y School of Music. Past faculty positions include SUNY Fredonia’s School of Music, Syracuse University’s Setnor School of Music, and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. He has given clinics, lectures, and performances on campuses across the nation, including Harvard University, Princeton University, Manhattan School of Music, NYU Steinhardt, University of Miami’s Frost School of Music, the CUNY Graduate Center, the Hartt School, and UC Davis. He has held teaching residencies at the Arts Academy of Szczecin (Poland), Landesgymnasium für Musik in Dresden (Germany), and as orchestral saxophonist for the National Music Festival, 2013-2017. Giles is a D’Addario Woodwinds Performing Artist and a graduate of the Florida State University (Doctor of Music, 2016). His principal teachers include Timothy McAllister, Lawrence Gwozdz, Patrick Meighan, and the legendary saxophonist, Carina Raschèr.

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Jae Kyo Han has devoted his life to the piano through his work as an instructor (Steinway Educational Partner), performer, tuner/technician and apprentice piano rebuilder. Introduced to the piano when he was four, Jae began to compete early on and continued to do so throughout his musical studies. He regularly received top prizes in statewide and regional competitions, and was a finalist in the 14th Chiang Wen-Yeh International Young Artist Piano Competition. He was also twice selected to perform in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, both times as a winner of the American Fine Arts Festival.

Following his graduate studies in classical piano performance, Jae directed a music school that provided lessons to hundreds of students and employed dozens of instructors in New York City. While maintaining the school, Jae apprenticed as a piano tuner/technician for two years where he serviced pianos for amateur and professional pianists, performance venues and recording studios. After the school closed due to the pandemic, Jae took time to reevaluate the focus of his future work. During this period he met and was inspired by Jimmy Greenfield (sculptor and carpenter) who founded Soapbox Gallery, a performance/gallery space; and James Carney (pianist, piano technician and rebuilder) who founded Pianoworks, a piano rebuilding workshop. Eventually in 2022, A4 Collective was born. The culmination of years of training, A4 Collective reflects Jae Kyo Han’s various explorations of the piano, as well as his desire to broaden the reach of classical music.

Program

Jae Han

Thomas Giles Saxophone (Classical)