Music Guild at St. Matthew's will conclude its 2025–26 season on Friday, May 29, at 8 p.m. at St. Matthew's Church, 1031 Bienveneda Ave., featuring the Chamber Orchestra at St. Matthew's led by Music Director Dwayne S. Milburn and violinist YuEun Gemma Kim performing Dvořák's Violin Concerto in A minor.
"This is exactly the kind of program I love for a season finale," Milburn said. "It has color, energy, imagination, and tremendous emotional range. Debussy and Ravel give us elegance and sparkle, John Graham's music brings a vivid contemporary voice shaped by storytelling and drama, and Dvořák's Violin Concerto is one of the great Romantic works for the instrument. To close the season with YuEun Gemma Kim at the center of this concerto is especially exciting for all of us."
The concert opens with Claude Debussy's Danse (Tarantella Styrienne), a lively, graceful piece originally written for piano and later arranged for orchestra by Maurice Ravel. The program continues with music from John Graham's award-winning score for "Unbound," the hit Japanese historical drama that aired in 2025 on NHK, Japan's national broadcast network. The evening concludes with Dvořák's Violin Concerto in A minor, featuring Kim, a work full of warmth, energy and memorable melodies.
Kim, an award-winning South Korean violinist, performs internationally as a soloist and chamber musician on both modern and Baroque instruments. Since moving to the United States in 2013 to study with Midori Goto at the University of Southern California, she has appeared with ensembles including Delirium Musicum, American Bach Soloists, Musica Angelica Baroque Orchestra, Boulder Bach Festival and Voices of Music.
She has been recognized as a top prize winner at the Boulder International Chamber Music Competition Art of Duo, a semifinalist at the Qingdao and Michael Hill international violin competitions, and the recipient of the Jeffrey Thomas Award from American Bach Soloists. Kim is a core member of the self-conducted chamber orchestra Delirium Musicum and a former Artist-in-Residence with Musica Angelica.
A free pre-concert talk, "Liner Notes," begins at 7:10 p.m. Hosted by Milburn with guest David Garrett, the talk offers context about the music, composers and historical figures featured in the program and is open to all ticket holders.
Tickets are $45 general admission, with students paying $10 at the door with ID. Tickets may be purchased at MusicGuildOnline.org or at the door one hour before the performance. More information: 310-573-0722.
Edited by SMDP Staff