Tyshawn Sorey and Do Yeon Kim | Improvisation: Duo

For its 50th Anniversary, NEC’s seminal Contemporary Improvisation (CI) program has been renamed Contemporary Musical Arts (CMA). For more information about the CMA program at NEC, please visit: “This piece grabbed your attention right from the concert’s start. Do Yeon had this easy rapport and rapid-fire spontaneity with Tyshawn, which was really intriguing, surprising, and innovative.” —NEC videographer David Apostolides In the culmination concert for his Contemporary Improvisation residency at NEC, Tyshawn Sorey took the stage with Korean gayageum artist Do Yeon Kim, who received her Graduate Diploma from NEC in 2018. Do Yeon is a frequent collaborator with Contemporary Improvisation faculty members Anthony Coleman and Joe Morris. “There is something awesomely confounding about the music of Tyshawn Sorey, the thirty-eight-year-old Newark-born composer, percussionist, pianist, and trombonist. As a critic, I feel obliged to describe what I hear, and description usually begins with categorization. Sorey’s work eludes the pinging radar of genre and style. Is it jazz? New classical music? Composition? Improvisation? Tonal? Atonal? Minimal? Maximal? Each term captures a part of what Sorey does, but far from all of it.” —Alex Ross, The New Yorker About New England Conservatory New England Conservatory (NEC) is recognized internationally as a leader among music schools, educating and training musicians of all ages from around the world for over 150 years. With music students representing more than 40 countries, NEC cultivates a diverse, dynamic community for students, providing them with performance opportunities and high-caliber training by 225 internationally-esteemed artist-teachers and scholars. NEC pushes the boundaries of making and teaching music through college-level musical training in classical, jazz and Contemporary Improvisation. It offers unique interdisciplinary programs such as Entrepreneurial Musicianship and Community Performances & Partnerships that empower students to create their own musical opportunities. As part of NEC’s mission to make lifelong music education available to everyone, the Preparatory School and School of Continuing Education delivers training and performance opportunities for children, pre-college students and adults. Founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1867 by Eben Tourjée, NEC created a new model of conservatory that combined the best of European tradition with American innovation. NEC is at the center of Boston’s rich cultural history and musical life offering concerts performed in NEC’s renowned venue Jordan Hall. Alumni go on to fill orchestra chairs, concert hall stages, jazz clubs, recording studios and arts management positions worldwide. Follow NEC YouTube: Facebook: Twitter: Instagram: Website: