Renowned Pianist Angela Kim is First SIUE Faculty Member to Headline Arts & Issues Performance
For the first time in its 34-year history, the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Arts & Issues series is welcoming an SIUE faculty member as its headlining performer. Angela Kim, DMA, assistant professor of piano in the SIUE Department of Music, along with New York-based artists Michael Robert Boswell and Peter John Kearney, will be debuting Chaos Magick on Thursday, Jan. 30, at 7:30 p.m. in the Dunham Hall Theater.
This evocative, multimedia production will take the typical concert performance to a new level. Through a collaboration between Kim, an internationally acclaimed pianist, Boswell, a graphic designer, and Kearney, a motion designer, the production will feature Kim’s piano performance integrated with design, animation, electronic sound and dance. This premier performance of Chaos Magick also will incorporate the work of composer Dan VanHassel and choreographer Kevin Hockenberry, assistant professor in SIUE’s Department of Theater and Dance.
“Everyone involved wanted to create a new kind of performing art experience with multiple disciplines,” said Kim. “Music has always been something more than music to me. Sometimes music is an extremely visual experience to me, and sometimes it is quite a physical experience. As artists, this is our way to share how we experience and interpret music.”
Born and raised in Korea, Kim began her career as a pianist at age 3 after taking up the instrument to follow in her older sister’s footsteps. By age 9, Kim had won her first competition, and at 15, she moved to the U.S. by herself to study English, music and art at the Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Boston.
Pursuing her love of music, Kim earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees and graduate diploma at the New England Conservatory of Music, also in Boston. Later, she completed her doctorate of piano performance and literature at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.
Kim has traveled the world performing both as a soloist and as a collaborative pianist in a variety of ensembles. From South America to Germany to her native Korea, she has worked with many influential composers and musicians throughout her career.
Kim joined the faculty at SIUE in 2017 as an assistant professor of piano and director of the keyboard area. She continues to be an avid creator of multimedia productions, the first of which she debuted in a warehouse as a sophomore in college. Kim’s upcoming performance of Chaos Magick will draw on her past experiences and collaborative nature to produce a thrilling show for audiences.
“One of the best things to do in this kind of multimedia project is to let the artists breathe and give them room to be creative rather than being too specific,” added Kim. “Things come together on their own, and this fits our title, Chaos Magick. Between chaos and order is a magical moment of synergy, and that’s what we’re aiming for.”
For more information about Chaos Magick and to purchase tickets, visit artsandissues.com.
