August 5: Violinist Kristin Lee and Pianist Jeremy Jordan Presented by Marly Music

On Sunday, August 5, 2018 at 2pm, violinist Kristin Lee and pianist Jeremy Jordan join forces for a recital presented by Marly Music at the Museum of Fine Arts (255 Beach Drive NE). The program, entitled Americana, showcases a broad spectrum of illustrious composers and the American musical styles which influenced them, as well as their own musical styles which influenced generations of composers to come. The program opens with George Gershwin’s Three Preludes (arr. Heifetz), Jonathan Ragonese’s Non-Poem No. 4, and Maurice Ravel’s Violin Sonata No. 2. The second half continues with three ragtime tunes arranged by Jeremy Jordan: Gershwin’s But Not For Me, James Louis “JJ” Johnson’s Lament, and Scott Joplin’s The Entertainer. The performance concludes with Kevin Puts’ Air and John Novacek’s Four Rags.

A native of Seoul, Korea, Kristin Lee emigrated to the U.S. at the age of seven. During her childhood, playing the violin was a refuge for Kristin from bullying and racism - she moved to the U.S. not speaking any English, and feels the violin became her voice. As a foreign-born citizen of America, Lee was compelled to select this repertoire to express her pride of the country she now calls her own, and offers this program that has a distinct and recognizable sound of American music and its rich history, including blues in the second movement of the Ravel; jazz influences in the Gershwin Preludes; and ragtime in the Joplin, Johnson, and Gershwin arrangements and in the Novacek.

The Marly Music series at the Museum of Fine Arts is one of the museum’s longest-running programs, beginning shortly after the MFA opened in 1965. Marly Music has hosted scores of celebrated jazz, classical, and chamber musicians for performances often tied to exhibitions in one of the MFA’s rotating or permanent collection galleries.