Kang receives Endowed Research Fellowship
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Dr. Juyeon Kang, assistant professor of music at
Northwestern College, has been selected to receive the college’s $10,000 Endowed Research Fellowship for 2007. She was chosen by the college’s Faculty Development Committee after an external review process.
The Endowed Research Fellowship is intended to fund substantive summer research that contributes meaningfully to the faculty member’s discipline. The $10,000 award is provided through the generosity of an anonymous donor and may be used for stipend, travel, equipment, books, supplies and student assistants.
An accomplished pianist, Kang will use the money to prepare for and record a CD, as well as to explore the relationship between her art and Christian faith. The CD, entitled “Joyful Noise,” will feature a classical piano repertoire by composers such as Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Brahms, Debussy, Rachmaninoff and Scriabin.
Kang’s plans are to record the CD in August at either Northwestern College or Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, working with renowned recording engineer Peter Nothnagle of Iowa City. The CD produced from the recording will then be distributed and promoted in the U.S. and internationally. She will also research the spiritual beliefs of the composers and how their compositions reflect their faith. The results of that research will appear in the program notes on the CD jacket.
As part of her preparation for the recording, Kang will spend up to four weeks this summer receiving coaching and instruction from renowned teachers. The fellowship will also fund several recitals during the summer.
A native of Korea, Kang earned a Doctor of Musical Arts in piano performance and literature from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. She also received the prestigious Artist Diploma in piano performance from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where she was on the faculty in the college division.
Kang has performed extensively in the United States and abroad, including Spain, Finland, Italy, Taiwan, China, Brazil and Korea. She launched a performance career that included her debut solo recital in Boston’s Jordan Hall after winning two first prizes in 1998: the Heida Hermann Young Artists Competition in Connecticut and the Josef Hofmann Piano Competition in South Carolina. The latter led to an invitation to perform at the Polish Embassy in Washington, D.C., where she presented the Chopin Commemorative Piano Concert on the 150th anniversary of Chopin’s death.
Kang has also appeared as a soloist with numerous symphony orchestras. Her performances have been aired on television in Korea and on National Public Radio in New York, Massachusetts, Georgia and South Carolina.
