Mayflower Art Center presents MusicON in Review
Performers and composers presented by the Mayflower Art Center:
Joanne Kang, Foo Jeng Wong, and Maxwell Lu, piano;
Yeji Pyun and Sara Salomon, violin; Clara Cho, cello; Daniel Lamas, viola;
KaiChen Cheng, flute; David Valbuena, clarinet
Youngwoo Jeon and Yoon Sang Timothy Cho, conductors;
Marc A. Scorca Hall, The National Opera Center, New York, NY
October 25, 2025
An evening of music by twelve promising – and in several cases much-lauded – young composers took place this weekend at the National Opera Center as part of the 2025 MusicON Festival under the auspices of the Mayflower Art Center, an organization offering education and support to young aspiring musicians. As the three-day festival was held from October 24th to October 26th, and this reviewer only attended the October 25th concert, a reader wanting to grasp the full scope of the festival will be able to find more about the other evenings by other reviewers at this site.
Meanwhile, as co-hosts Tianzhe Chen and Emily Bai announced at the concert, MusicON is in its fourth year, having worked with musicians of twenty countries and regions, featuring more than fifty performers and presenting 141 musical works. This year’s offerings featured thirty-eight composers, including six finalists in this year’s MusicON International Composition Competition, eleven works by invited composers, and twenty-one compositions by students of the Mayflower Art Center. Though Saturday’s concert included “only” twelve works, there was a dizzying amount of information to process, including which works were composed by those designated as Guest Composers, Honored Graduates, Emerging Composers, or Finalists of this year’s competition. Sadly there were no biographical notes on anyone, nor any program notes on the music, but more on that later.
Starting with highlights, one work will linger in this reviewer’s mind, and that is a piece called Syriac Fugato 2 by young Lebanese composer Sami Seif (Finalist in this year’s competition), as performed by Yeji Pyun on violin and Daniel Lamas on viola, both of whom performed standing up for the first time in the evening. The piece resembled a vocal improvisation passed between the two instruments, sometimes with strained hoarse sounds suggesting moans or crying out, but conjuring an overall sense of desolation throughout. There was effective use of a wide range of techniques – from bouncing bows and tremolos to microtones and slides – but it was the focus on a single tone, departure from it, and return (with humming at its close from the violist) that helped give the piece its compelling unity and humanness.
Another piece memorable for its sheer sense of adventure was Jetlag by Yiming Jia (Honored Graduate), performed by violinist Yeji Pyun, cellist Clara Cho, and pianist Foo Jeng Wong. Synchronized sweeping string slides against the rather jazz-infused piano part – along with several rapid tempo changes – gave the piece a disorienting effect one can only assume was meant to evoke the title condition. The overall impact was dreamy and humorous at once.
Among pieces one may need to hear twice to fully fathom was the closer of the program, Two Islands, by Fabian Leung (Honored Graduate). It overflowed with lush harmonies, interesting ideas, and contrasting styles, perhaps a few too many for this listener to assimilate in one hearing, but it was certainly brimming with energy and potential. As with all the works on the program, it was given a dedicated performance by skilled musicians – here, pianist Joanne Kang, violinist Yeji Pyun, cellist Clara Cho, flutist KaiChen Cheng, and clarinetist David Valbuena, with Yoon Sang Timothy Cho conducting (yes, due to the rhythmic challenges in much of the music on the program there were conductors listed even for some trios and quartets).
One comment on the overall concert was applicable here, that though it seemed there was much happening in the music, the listeners were left in the dark, figuratively speaking. It would not be too much “spoon-feeding” to illuminate the performances with some ideas of what each composer intended in each work (as audiences still benefit from program notes for music in very well-known styles, after all). Several composers were in attendance, and a few words from them (or printed notes) about their inspiration could have guided the listeners’ ears through some of the unknown territory.
Moving to the many other works on the program, there was as the opener, Silence Of Lost Songs in Extinction by Xinze Shi (Emerging Composer), played by pianist Joanne Kang, violinist Yeji Pyun, and cellist Clara Cho, with conductor Youngwoo Jeon (the latter whom at that point I could not see, before moving from the back of the hall). The performers navigated its mercurial shifts well, from the acerbic opening dissonance to more tonal glimmers from the piano, and on to quasi-Baroque sections, presumably among the “lost songs” to which the title refers.
A Short Conversation Without Words by Winston Schneider (Guest Composer) found pianist Foo Jeng Wong, violinist Yeji Pyun, cellist Clara Cho, and clarinetist David Valbuena wending their way persuasively through the piece as it developed from an expressive opening clarinet solo to more ominous and searching interchange.
Water Makes Many Beds I by Olex Li (Emerging Composer) was also rather cryptic, but the title seemed appropriate for some of the flowing, quasi-impressionistic sections. Pianist Joanne Kang and violist Daniel Lamas captured a floating feeling at times. Showing still more aquatic inspiration was Cerulean Cascade by Albert Lu (Emerging Composer). Though the music did not overtly convey a sense of the work’s title throughout, it explored numerous appealing effects from slides in the strings to flutter-tonguing in the flute part. The players – pianist Foo Jeng Wong, violinist Sara Salomon, cellist Clara Cho, flutist KaiChen Cheng, and clarinetist David Valbuena, seemed to handle their parts well, and conductor Yoon Sang Timothy Cho kept the flow with a solid beat in what seemed to be some metrically nebulous writing.
The Tree Has Seen Nothing by Cyrano Jett Rosentrater (Guest Composer) set up an interesting mystery of pleasant and contrasting sounds, though, as with other selections, one could only guess at the composer’s intent. Flutist KaiChen Cheng, violist Daniel Lamas, and guitarist Luis McDougal built it from its placid opening to a shrieking peak, before it receded into a gentle ambling guitar part and fadeout to the flute’s final quavering.
Fi by Maxwell Lu (Honored Graduate) found the composer serving as pianist himself, along with clarinet Jefferson Sheng. The word “Fi” means quite a few things, so again it would have been great to have some guidance via program notes. The innumerable repeated treble notes in the piano found the able clarinetist adding his lines to the texture and joining in exploration before the return to the high treble repeated notes. Crack by Sofia Jen Ouyang (Guest Composer) possessed yet another title with many meanings. Pianist Foo Jeng Wong joined cellist Clara Cho and David Valbuena on bass clarinet. The piece was filled will interesting effects from its explosive opening through to the end. More furious repeated notes were heard in Torque by Asher Lurie (Finalist), performed by pianist Foo Jeng Wong, violinist Yeji Pyun, and cellist Clara Cho. The exploration of subtly changing rhythms along with gradually expanding intervals was intriguing. One could almost imagine the rotational tension suggested by the title.
Tangle by Jingya Huang (Finalist) was then performed by a string quartet. Violinist Yeji Pyun, violist Daniel Lamas, cellist Clara Cho were listed – though there was another violinist not listed, who appeared to be Sara Solomon (though it is hard to say based on one’s view of the stage). Conductor Youngwoo Jeon kept the group on course from its measured beginning and ostinato-like sections right up to its dramatic final chords, played with ferocity.
Undoubtedly, we will be hearing more from many of these performers and composers, and one looks forward to following their development.
