Chelsea Music Festival Announces America/Beautiful featuring Min Kwon, Timo Andres, & guests

Chelsea Music Festival announces a performance of Min Kwon’s America/Beautiful, set for Monday, June 22, 2026 from 7-9pm at St. Paul's German Church, 315 West 22nd Street, New York, NY, 10011. Tickets start at $65 and can be purchased here.

America/Beautiful is pianist Min Kwon's project — born during the pandemic — which commissioned variations on “America the Beautiful” from over 70 composers across the country, ranging in age from 21 to 96, and asking a single urgent question: What is America — is it beautiful, was it ever, or will it ever be? Selections will include New York Premieres by Samuel Adler, Stewart Copeland, Fred Hersch, Kenji Bunch, Libby Larsen, Timo Andres and others; each composer brings a radically different perspective on the American experience. Together, these variations form a powerful collection of stories as colorful and diverse as America’s people and landscapes. Images of American landscapes to accompany each variation by photographer Park Joon.

Min Kwon, piano

Timo Andres, piano

Claire Bourg, violin

Hsuan-Fong Chen, oboe

Park Joon, photographer

PROGRAM

Samuel Adler A Celebration of our Beautiful Nation (NY Premiere)

Timo Andres America Coda

Kenji Bunch Beauty For All (Or For None At All) (NY Premiere)

Stewart Copeland America Quite Beautiful (NY Premiere)

Michael Gandolfi Of Liberating Strife (NY Premiere)

Fred Hersch Four Windows Into America (NY Premiere)

Vijay Iyer Crown Thy Good

Pierre Jalbert Endeavor (NY Premiere)

Libby Larsen Amber (Variation) (NY Premiere)

George Lewis America, the changing same

David Serkin Ludwig Quaddiš” for Ruth Bader Ginsberg (Kaddish)

Jessica Meyer Halcyon Skies

Nico Muhly Refine (NY Premiere)

Judith Lang Zaimont in darkness veiled (NY Premiere)

Reception by Lysée to follow.

Chelsea Music Festival is a proud partner of Steinway & Sons. Click to see full list of Festival Sponsors.

ABOUT THE CHELSEA MUSIC FESTIVAL

Chelsea Music Festival celebrates great music by convening world-leading musicians & artists in the performing, culinary, and visual arts for an international audience. The Festival invites artists, composers, and performers to collaborate in pursuit of new perspectives in artistic expression. Inspired by its Chelsea roots, the Festival reflects the creativity of one of New York City's most dynamic neighborhoods. Programs span musical genres ranging from classical to contemporary to jazz with a special emphasis on Festival commissions by composers whose works are not in the traditional western canon. In addition, the Festival hosts an online library of recordings so music enthusiasts, artists, and students alike can explore unique interpretations of classical, jazz, and contemporary works via high-quality videos of world-class performances.

Since 2010, the Festival has established itself as a critically-acclaimed, accessible and interactive gateway to chamber music in non-traditional concert spaces such as art galleries, public squares, schools, and churches. Programming includes concerts, lectures, exhibitions, family events, and free outreach performances. In 2020, the Festival inaugurated its Online Encores and Online Originals YouTube series; Online Encores presents highlights from Festival archives while Online Originals presents new performances and recordings. We are proud to give emerging voices, particularly those of women and people of color, a stage and work to build an audience and intimate community to support a new generation of musicians, composers, and artists.

Festival Sponsors & Partners:

Carl Brandt, Inc., Brotherhood Winery, Columbia Alumni Association Arts Access, Consulate General of Germany in New York, Fordham University, German International School New York, Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation, Masterwork Arts Foundation, Materials for the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, Polycast Productions, Radeberger Gruppe USA, Sennheiser, Skylight Arts Productions, Steinway & Sons, Tarisio Fine Instruments & Bows, WBGO, Weinhaus Traubengold, and WQXR.

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