Perspectives Dawn Wohn & Esther Park

• Reena Esmail (b. 1983):
• 1 Jhula-Jhule 10:56
• Ellen Taaffe Zwilich (b. 1939): Episodes:
• 2 Episodes: No. 1, Arioso 05:35
• 3 Episodes: No. 2, Vivace 04:27
• Vítezslava Kaprálová (1915 - 1940):
• 4 Legenda 06:17
• Jung Sun Kang (b. 1983):
• 5 Star-Crossed 04:08
• Chihchun Chi-Sun Lee (b. 1970):
• 6 Provintia "Sunset of Chihkan Tower" 08:39
• Florence Price (1887 - 1953):
• 7 Deserted Garden 01:56
• 8 Elfentanz 04:12
• Lili Boulanger (1893 - 1918):
• 9 Nocturne (Version for Violin & Piano) 02:47
• Vivian Fine (1913 - 2000):
• 10 Portal 06:49
• Amy Beach (1867 - 1944):
• 11 Romance, Op. 23 06:05
• Total Runtime 01:01:51

Info for Perspectives

The contributions of female composers have long been neglected.

Violinist Dawn Wohn and pianist Esther Park have begun to change that with Perspectives, a beautiful album featuring works from a vast variety of female composers including Nocturne by Lili Boulanger and Legenda by Vítězslava Kaprálová— both composers died tragically while in their 20s.

Commissioned especially for this album, Star-Crossed by Jung Sun Kang tells the story of two unlucky lovers. Deserted Garden and Elfentanz by Florence Price highlight the talents of this African American composer whose works are just beginning to receive the attention they deserve.

This diverse release also includes works by Amy Beach, perhaps America’s best-known female composer, a two-movement piece by Pulitzer-prize winning composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, and works by Chihchun Chi-sun Lee, Reena Esmail, and Vivian Fine.

Wohn and Park have been making music together since their days as students in Juilliard’s Pre-College program. This exceptional album will almost certainly introduce listeners to some pieces they have never heard and expand the horizons for the great diversity in works by female composers.

Dawn Wohn, violine
Esther Park, piano

Dawn Wohn
Highly sought after as both a soloist and chamber musician, violinist Dawn Dongeun Wohn has performed throughout North and South America, Asia and Europe. She has appeared as a soloist for live-broadcast performances with orchestras such as the Korean Broadcasting Symphony and the Aspen Conducting Orchestra, Daejon Philharmonic, The New York Sinfonietta, Japan’s Telemann Ensemble and the Festival de Febrero in Mexico. In addition, she has performed recitals across the world including Carnegie Weill Hall, Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center, Merkin Hall, and Jordan Hall.

As an active chamber musician, Dawn has performed at International Musician’s Seminar Prussia Cove in England, Great Mountains Music Festival in South Korea, The Banff Centre, and has held fellowships at Music@Menlo, Aspen Music Festival and School, Norfolk Music Festival, Sarasota Music Festival, as well as the Juilliard School’s Chamberfest and the New York String Seminar. Notable collaborations include members of the Emerson Quartet, Miami String Quartet, Colin Carr, Roberto Plano, Susan Hoeppner and Christina Dahl.

As a musician with a wide range of styles and interests Dawn has performed with early and new music ensembles, as guest concertmaster for orchestras, as well as jazz and pop groups in venues as diverse as Carnegie Hall to Radio City Hall. New Music in particular has allowed her to work with composers such as Mark Phillips, Gunther Schuller, Christos Hatzis and Samuel Adams. Recent New Music activities include premiers of Brooke Joyce’s Lament for Orlandoand Stefano Sacher’s Le Memoria di Medea,as well as a performance of Mark Phillips’ Violin Power for violin and interactive electronics at Electronic Music Midwest Festival.

Dawn began her violin studies at age four. She trained at The Juilliard School’s Pre-College Division as a full scholarship student of the renowned pedagogue Dorothy DeLay and continued her undergraduate studies at Juilliard with Hyo Kang. She pursued a Master of Music and an Artist Diploma at Yale University and completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Stony Brook University under the direction of Philip Setzer of the Emerson Quartet and Soovin Kim, as well as mentor Gilbert Kalish.

Committed to teaching as well as performing, she currently holds the position of String Division Chair, Assistant Professor of Violin at Ohio University’s School of Music. As a guest clinician and recitalist she has presented and performed as schools such as Ithaca College, CUNY, Bowling Green State University, Kansas University, East Tennessee State University, and has been on faculty of festivals such as the Académie Anglicorde in France, International Music Festival of the Adriatic in Italy, and Festival de Febrero in Mexico.

Dawn performs on a 1732 Nicolo Gagliano violin, and in her free time enjoys cooking and traveling with her husband Jay and their dog Wolfie.

Booklet for Perspectives