NEW YORK, NEW YORK (March 31, 2020) — In response to the coronavirus pandemic and the financial hardship it has placed on many in the arts community, violinist Jennifer Koh launches Alone Together, an online commissioning project that brings composers together in support of the many freelancers among them.

Twenty-one composers, most of whom have salaried positions or other forms of institutional support to carry them through this challenging time, have each agreed to donate a new, 30-second micro-work for solo violin, while also recommending a fellow freelance composer to write their own 30-second solo violin work on paid commission from the artist-driven nonprofit ARCO Collaborative. Starting this week, Ms. Koh will premiere a selection of these donated and commissioned works each Saturday at 7:00 p.m. ET via Instagram TV (@jenniferkohmusic) and Facebook Live (/jenniferkohviolin). Each performance will be subsequently available on demand via YouTube (/jenniferkohviolin). She will also share related content throughout the week leading up to each performance, including insights from each composer, behind-the-scenes rehearsal footage, and each musical score posted on social media.

Alone Together begins with the exploration and performance of four works this week: Wang Lu’s Hover and Recede; Joungbum Lee’s Hovering Green, commissioned at the recommendation of Ms. Wang; Vijay Iyer’s For Violin Alone; and Morgan Guerin’s Together, But Alone (In Quarantine), commissioned at the recommendation of Mr. Iyer. These works will receive their world premieres on Saturday, April 4 at 7:00 p.m. ET. The following is a complete list of composers participating in this project:

(Commissioned Composer — Recommending / Donating Composer)

• Katherine Balch — Andrew Norman
• Hanna Benn — Rafiq Bhatia
• Layale Chaker — Anjna Swaminathan 
• Caroline Davis — Qasim Naqvi
• Adeliia Faizullina — Nina C. Young
• Inti Figgis-Vizueta — Jen Shyu
• Tomás Gueglio-Saccone — Anthony Cheung
• Morgan Guerin — Vijay Iyer
• Tonia Ko — Sarah Gibson and Thomas Kotcheff
• Joungbum Lee — Wang Lu
• Angelica Négron — Tania León
• Nina Shekhar — Ted Hearne
• Lester St. Louis — George Lewis
• Rajna Swaminathan — Ellen Reid
• Darian Donovan Thomas — Ian Chang
• Cassie Wieland — Missy Mazzoli
• Elizabeth Younan — David Ludwig
• To be announced — Kati Agócs
• To be announced — Marcos Balter
• To be announced — Du Yun
• To be announced — Augusta Gross

The commission fee of $500 maintains the standard rate of $1,000 per minute of music. Ms. Koh is also donating her premiere performances and has committed herself to performing works from Alone Together as often as possible, ensuring not only greater visibility for their composers and these pieces in particular, but also compensation in the form of royalties.

Ms. Koh said:

“Our musical community has given me a sense of hope and light during these difficult times. Alone Together celebrates and supports our community creatively. We will look back at this time and be proud that we used this time to help other artists. And we can give ourselves and others solace by sharing creative space and giving artistic voice to our collective, universal experience during COVID-19.”

Violinist Jennifer Koh is recognized for intense, commanding performances, delivered with dazzling virtuosity and technical assurance. A forward-thinking artist, she is dedicated to exploring a broad and eclectic repertoire, while promoting diversity and inclusivity in classical music. She has expanded the contemporary violin repertoire through a wide range of commissioning projects, and has premiered more than 70 works written especially for her. Her quest for the new and unusual, sense of endless curiosity, and ability to lead and inspire a host of multidisciplinary collaborators, truly set her apart.

Ms. Koh was named Musical America’s 2016 “Instrumentalist of the Year,” was a winner in the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow and Concert Artists Guild Competition, and received an Avery Fisher Career Grant. Born in Chicago, She has a BA in English literature from Oberlin College and studied at the Curtis Institute, where she worked extensively with Jaime Laredo and Felix Galimir. She is an active lecturer, teacher, and Cedille Records recording artist; and is the Artistic Director of ARCO Collaborative, an artist-led non-profit that commissions, develops, and produces new musical works that highlight artists of color and women composers in collaborations that bring forth stories previously unheard in Western art forms.

For further information, visit jenniferkoh.com.

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Saturday, April 4 at 7:00 p.m. ET
Live webcast (streaming details below)

Jennifer Koh, violin

JOUNGBUM LEE Hovering Green — world premiere*
WANG LU Hover and Recede — world premiere
MORGAN GUERIN Together, But Alone (In Quarantine) — world premiere*
VIJAY IYER For Violin Alone — world premiere

*Commissioned by ARCO Collaborative

Free live-stream to be available via Instagram TV (@jenniferkohmusic) and Facebook Live (/jenniferkohviolin). Performance to be subsequently available on demand via YouTube (/jenniferkohviolin).

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Press contact: 

Lisa Jaehnig | Shuman Associates
ljaehnig@shumanassociates.net | (212) 315-1300