Monday, November 20, 2023
12 PM
Kasey Kay has been a favorite at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library for 12 years up until Covid shuttered all live group performances. This is her post-Covid debut in which she will be performing selections from composers Debussy, Beethoven, Chopin, Piazzolla and the Bach-Busoni Chaconne.
She has developed a stellar reputation for both technical brilliance and interpretive nuance by capturing the passion and emotive sensitivity of the composers she admires. Since her San Diego debut 2005 at the Athenaeum in La Jolla she has thrilled audiences with her dramatic and inimitable style. She has performed all over San Diego County from Fallbrook to Julian, from the Lyceum Theatre to the Encinitas and Carmel Valley Libraries always leaving her audiences begging for more. Her dazzling performances have delighted audiences throughout the county and brought them back for more. Recording soundtracks for Korean Television dramas and movies is another aspect of her music career success.
Ms. Kay, formerly Kyungshil Ji, a native of Seoul, Korea, discovered her love of music as a child in her very musical family. Her father, a trumpet player, her older sister, a composer, her brother, a French Horn player and music arranger/composer for numerous movie and television productions inspired her to develop her skills for the piano forte at age 6. As early as junior high she was winning competitions and by the end of high school won the Beethoven competition which landed her a full scholarship at Han Yang University, the revered music university in Korea. Each year she distinguished herself and received additional scholarships through graduation. There, after several years of developing her musical career playing in groups she came to San Diego and discovered her calling, to be a piano soloist. She poured her heart into this and demonstrated her artistry for American audiences in 2005 at the Athenaeum Library for the arts in La Jolla. Since then, she has played annual concerts for the Athenaeum and at the Lyceum Theater in San Diego. In 2019 she performed at the Conrad, La Jolla Music Society’s performing arts center. Shortly after settling here she began studying with Dr. Karen Follingstad, Senior Professor of performance for piano at SDSU. As her mentor and coach for her MA degree, Kasey has developed her range and virtuosity which has culminated in her invitation to compete at the Schlern International Music Festival in Tyrol, Italy in 2012. Since then she has performed at numerous venues throughout the county bringing records crowds and adulation from critics that know and treasure her musical gifts.
Free concerts at noon every Monday from fall through spring . . . no wonder the Mini-Concerts are the longest-running and one of the most popular classical music series at the library! This series was founded by Glenna Hazleton in 1970 at the Athenaeum, and has been going strong ever since. The concerts feature both local and touring musicians, prize-winning students, university music faculty members, local chamber ensembles. . . and the repertoire also includes jazz, folk and world music. There are no reservations, no tickets . . . just line up at the side door of the Athenaeum before noon. (Donations are always welcome!) Mini-Concerts take place every Monday at noon and last about an hour.
The concerts will be in person at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library. There are no physical tickets for these events. Doors open at 11:50 a.m. Seating is first-come; first-served. These events will be presented in compliance with State of California and County of San Diego health regulations as applicable at the time of each concert.
Masks optional. If you have a fever, cough, or flu-like symptoms, please stay home.