Made possible with a grant from the Yvar Mikhashoff Trust for New Music. Steinway "D" Concert Grand Piano courtesy in part of Denton, Cottier, & Daniels.
 
Jihye Chang (pianist) & Derek Johnson (composer) are the first winners (2008) of the annual Yvar Mikhashoff International Competition for Pianist/Composer Collaborations.

This third in a series of annual new music grand piano concerts presented by Hallwalls in Asbury Hall with grants from the Yvar Mikhashoff Trust for New Music will feature a range of 20th- and 21st-century compositions ranging from two 1915 ètudes by Claude Debussy (1862-1918) to the World Premiere of a piece completed just this year (2009) by young American composer Derek Johnson (b. 1976). Johnson's new prize-winning composition, Infinity Plunge (2008/2009), was commissioned by a rising star of classical and new music piano virtuosity, Jihye Chang, who also selected the program of 10 other pieces by European, Asian, and American new music composers. Derek Johnson will be present to introduce his new piece, and a reception for both artists will follow in Hallwalls' Gallery.

ARTISTS' BIOS
Pianist Jihye Chang has appeared as soloist and collaborative artist in venues throughout the U.S., U.K., Canada, Korea, and Central America. Her performances have been broadcast on KBS FM Radio Korea, PBC Korea, and Costa Rica Classical Radio, and she has appeared as a soloist with the Wonjoo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Indiana University New Music Ensemble, the University Symphony of Minnesota State University Moorhead, the MS Sun-Hwa Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Hot Springs Festival Ensemble.

In addition to this 2008 Yvar Mikhashoff Prize, Ms. Chang has also received the Henry Kohn Award for outstanding achievement at the Tanglewood Music Center, an Honorary Fellowship from the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra, a full merit scholarship and the President's Award from Seoul National University, and the Grand Prize from Samick Piano Competition, Korea. She has recorded commercial CDs for Sony/BMG Korea, Seoul Record, Korea, and the University of Louisville Record. In 2009 a CD of intermediate level repertoire for student pianists will be released by Music Valley Korea, and recordings of music by Marc Satterwhite and Steve Rouse will be released by Centaur label.

As an avid performer of the music of our time, Ms. Chang has given numerous world premieres, and has performed at new music festivals at the University of Louisville and Ball State University. Her interest in contemporary piano repertoire has also taken the form of a series of lectures and recitals exploring the genres of ètudes and miniatures, presented at Indiana University, Seoul National University, Auburn University Montgomery, and Minnesota State University Moorhead.

Her most recent festival appearances include the Chamber Music Residency and Long Term Residency at The Banff Arts Centre and the ClefWorks Chamber Music Festival in Montgomery, Alabama. Ms. Chang has been invited to appear on the Studio 2021 series at Seoul National University in 2009, where she will perform a duo recital, record selected pieces, and present workshops for the composition department. She has also attended summer festivals at the Orford Music Centre, Tanglewood Music Center, and Sarasota Music Festival and worked closely with Emanuel Ax, Claude Frank, Ursula Oppens, and John Perry.

Ms. Chang holds the degrees of Doctor of Music and Master of Music in Piano Performance from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, where she served as an Associate Instructor for Piano and the theory instructor for the String Academy. Her primary teachers were György Sebök, Reiko Neriki, and Edward Auer. She received her Bachelor's degree summa cum laude from Seoul National University, where she studied with Jung-Kyu Kim.


Composer and multi-instrumentalist Derek Johnson originally hails from Boulder, Colorado and currently resides in Indianapolis. His compositions have been performed throughout North America by leading instrumentalists and ensembles, including the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne and Chicago Symphony Orchestra's MusicNOW ensemble, and have received honors from BMI, ASCAP and now—with this 2008 prize for Infinity Plunge won jointly with the pianist who commissioned it, Jihye Chang—the Yvar Mikhashoff Trust for New Music.

Mr. Johnson is currently active as an electric guitarist performing with various ensembles covering a wide range of musical genres including Basilica, the goodhands team, and the Bang On a Can All-Stars. He received his doctorate at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, and teaches Composition and Music Theory at the Ball State University School of Music in Muncie, Indiana.

Some publications related to this event:
April, 2009 - 2009