March 2022 (for voice, violin, harmonica, and guitar)

lyrics by Jessi Kaufman & music by Yuri Lee

Written, performed, and produced for an 11th grade English assignment, Bindlestiff Blues narrates the story of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men about two migrant workers who move from place to place in search of new job opportunities during the Great Depression.

The song explores the lives of Lennie, a burly but child-like migrant; George, a companion and care-taker of Lennie; Slim, a skilled worker and omniscient figure; Candy, an aging ranch handyman; Crooks, an African-American stable-hand; Curley, a confrontational, aggressive young man; and Curley’s wife, the only female character in the story, desperate for company.

Feb. 2022 (for clarinet, violin, and piano)

Inspired by Edith Wharton’s novella Ethan Frome, this piece explores the theme of inverted fairytale. The bright, playful beginning reflects the somewhat untroubled life of the Frome household and the light-hearted interactions between Ethan and Mattie. But Zeena’s jealousy of her husband and cousin’s budding romance begins a chain reaction of events that eventually leads to a dangerous sleigh ride aimed at a big oak tree, leaving Ethan crippled, Mattie paralyzed, and Zeena even more miserable than before. 

And they lived not-so-happily ever after.

Premiered @ Juilliard Pre-College Chamber Music on May 7, 2022, with Gabriel Paley (clarinet), Yuri Lee (violin), and Andrew Gu (piano).

Performed at the Juilliard Pre-College Composition Senior Recital on April 22nd, 2023.

A revised version performed for my senior recital on April 22nd, 2023.

Feb. - Oct. 2021 (for violin and piano)

Millions of people’s bright futures were extinguished, leaving their families and friends behind to suffer the aftermath of sudden tragedies. Many lives, dreams, opportunities, loved ones, and happiness were lost due to COVID-19. Even without a pandemic, we sometimes encounter moments where we forget how to smile, where the colorful world is soiled by gloom, where we blindly stumble through life and wonder if we will ever see again.

This piece is dedicated to those of us who are stranded in darkness, to serve as a reminder that no matter how long or cold the journey may be, there is always light at the end of the tunnel.

Performed at The Juilliard School Pre-College Composition Recital on Nov. 13, 2021 @ Morse Hall, with Ethan Fisher-Chaves (violin) and Yuri Lee (piano).

Winner of the National YoungArts competition 2022.

illustrated by Yuri Lee

July 2021 (for flute, horn, and piano)

A friend once told me, “I wish mosquitos disappeared from Earth; they benefit no one.”

The annoyingly energetic mosquitos are given a second purpose in this piece, transforming into beautiful stars as they float upwards to decorate the sky.

Ensemble Winner of the National Young Composers Challenge 2021; performed by the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra members @ Steinmetz Hall in April 2022.

June 2021 (for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano)

Here’s a new version of Sherlock Tango, this time with a new instrumentation and protagonist. Who’s Nyarlock? He is my version of the genius.

Performed and recorded by International Contemporary Ensemble in July 2021.

National YoungArts 2023 Finalist Winner

The American Prize National Nonprofit Competition in Composition (chamber division) 2022 winner

Tribeca New Music Young Composers Competition 2022 Honorable Mention

June 2021 (for bandoneon, violin, cello, and piano)

Inspired by the world’s beloved Sherlock Holmes, this piece begins with a creepy carousel-like music that the mischievous Moriarty, the arch-enemy of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s mastermind detective. Holmes intervenes before the situation becomes too perilous, looking for clues and solving the puzzle before humanity suffers great destruction. The love-hate relationship between the consulting detective and the consulting criminal progresses throughout the wild, maniacal tango.

May 2021 (for violin, guitar, bassoon, and percussion)

The giant finger-eating hamster is back, but this time as a quartet!

Recorded by International Contemporary Ensemble in May 2021.

April 2021 (for solo violin)

This piece is the self portrait of my brain—precisely, the 5% of it that is conscious, and the thoughts I am willing to share with the listener. It depicts the feeling of confinement that I often experience as a struggling trilingual. From the fast approaching fog that clouds my memory and steals away words and phrases of Korean and Japanese was born the notion of a glass box, an invisible force fencing me in from recalling what I once considered as basics of my native languages. It is merely a fun coincidence that my name in Korean means “glass”.

The G to A pizzicato motif is a key component that becomes the foundation of the piece, similar to breathing being the foundation of human beings.

What does the self portrait of your mind look like?

Feb. 2021 (for violin and classical guitar)

This piece was inspired by a weird dream I had, which involved getting chased by a 9 feet tall vicious hamster that indulges in eating human fingers - specifically thumbs. The rapid strumming of the guitar illustrates the victim desperately trying to shake off the hamster off of their hand. The melancholy theme introduced by the guitar makes the listener wonder, does the hamster have a sad history? Or has it always been, and will be, a masochistic fluff ball?

Jan. 2021 (for full orchestra)

From the Darkness is based on my favorite artist’s painting from 2008 and poem, which she exclaimed that the words rushed to her immediately after she finished the artwork, and it was written to celebrate her 80th birthday. The piece takes place in a dark, ominous forest filled only with the barely-audible chirps of insects, and the sudden arrival of three witches instantly brings magic and wonder. Their serenade is a soothing and remedying force that heals a trembling, lonely soul, and when their job is done, they vanish into thin air—perhaps to find the next fragile soul in need of comfort.

Selected as the apprentice composer of National Youth Orchestra of the USA (NYO-USA)2022.

Merit Winner of the National YoungArts Competition in composition (2022).

1st Prize Winner of the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra Emerging Composers Competition Division 1 (2022).

Read by The Juilliard School Pre-College Symphony on May 7th, 2022.

illustrated by Satoko Kitagawa