Jean Ahn
( She/Her/Hers )Jean Ahn completed her B.A. and M.M. at Seoul National University and earned her Ph.D. at UC Berkeley, where she currently teaches. She received the First Prize at the Renée Fisher Competition and the Sejong Korean Music Competition, as well as awards from the Korean National Music Composers Association, the De Lorenzo Prize in Music Composition, and the Isadora Duncan Award for Saltdoll. She was a two-time Finalist for the League of American Orchestra Women Composers Commissioning Competition and for the American Prize.
Her works have been performed by the Berkeley Symphony, Oakland Symphony, Memphis Symphony, Santa Cruz Symphony, Diablo Symphony, Contemporaneous Ensemble, Dinosaur Annex, Earplay, Enhake, Ensemble Sur Plus, Invoke String Quartet, Khasma Duo, and Aspen New Music Ensemble. Commissions include works for the Diablo Symphony, Red Cedar Chamber Music, Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, Volti, SF Bach Choir, SF Choral Artists, Tapestry Choir, Ong Dance Company, New Arts Collaboration, Gayaguem Soloist JUL, Locrian Chamber Players, among others.
Her research into Korean folk songs, “Folksong Revisited”, has been presented at the College Music Society Symposium, the National Association of Singers Convention, and the Symposium for New Music in São Paulo, Brazil. With her folk song collection, she introduces Korean songs and techniques to professional performers in the US. The recording, with a pronunciation guide, will be published by Hildegard Publishing Company in 2024.
She is the director of Ensemble ARI and the music director of CHIM Studio, where she teaches special needs students. www.jeanahn.com