her story
friday march 3, 7:30pm
midtown arts & theater center houston
3400 main st, houston tx 77002
$30 general admission;
$10 student tickets at the door
Mary Grace Johnson, violin
Kayla Collymore, choreographer
Nicky Sohn, composer
About
Kinetic Ensemble celebrates Women’s History Month with a program of music by all female composers, including pioneering American composer Amy Beach and the award-winning Gabriela Lena Frank. At the program’s center is the world premiere of “Home,” a new multidisciplinary concerto for violin, string orchestra, and three dancers, spearheaded by a team of three female artists: Nicky Sohn (composer), Kayla Collymore (choreographer), and Mary Grace Johnson (violinist). “Home” is inspired by clients of the Women’s Home Houston, a rehabilitation and support center for women overcoming addiction; each movement focuses on an individual from the Center and her story, as a way to give voice to these women and raise awareness for the important work of the Women’s Home.
— curated by Mary Grace Johnson, violinist
Program
Amy Beach: String Quartet in One Movement (arr. string orchestra) (1921-29)
Nicky Sohn: “Home” for violin, string orchestra, and three dancers (2023 — Premiere)
Gabriela Lena Frank: Leyendas for string orchestra (2001)
Featured Artists
Violinist Mary Grace Johnson has appeared internationally at venues such as Lincoln Center, Solti Hall, and Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms. A decorated performer, her accolades include Grand Prize of the Nashville Symphony CURB Records Concerto Competition, 1st prize of the National MTNA Young Artist Competition in Baltimore, Maryland, and honorary mention at the Bartok World String Quartet Competition in Budapest, Hungary as a founding member of the Unison Quartet. A former DACAMERA of Houston Young Artist, Ms. Johnson frequently performs at the Menil Collection, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, and the Moody Center, among others, and with Houston-based collectives Kinetic Ensemble, Loop38 and MUSIQA. She has premiered works by over a dozen composers including Anthony Brandt, Amy Nam, Nicky Sohn and Theo Chandler and actively promotes the music of underrepresented composers, especially women, through her recital programming.
Ms. Johnson received her undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University, where she was awarded the Founder’s Medal for the Blair School of Music, the highest honor in her graduating class, and her master’s degree from the Juilliard School where she served as concertmaster of the Juilliard Orchestra. In addition to the violin, she has studied the viola and baroque violin. She is currently completing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree with Paul Kantor at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University and is on the faculty of the Paganini School of Music, AFA Chamber Music Academy and Lone Star College-University Park.
Mary Grace Johnson, violinist & curator
From ballet to opera to Korean traditional-orchestra, the wide-ranging talent of composer Nicky Sohn is sought after across the United States, Europe, and Asia. Characterized by her jazz-inspired, rhythmically driven themes, Sohn’s work has been described as “like John Adams’ ‘Short Ride in a Fast Machine’ on steroids” (YourObserver), “dynamic and full of vitality” (The Korea Defense Daily), and having “elegant wonder” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung). As a result, Sohn has enjoyed commissions from the world’s preeminent performing arts institutions, including sold-out performances at the Stuttgart Ballet in Germany, The National Orchestra of Korea, Minnesota Orchestra, Sarasota Orchestra, and the Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra.
Recent highlights include an orchestral premiere by the St. Louis Symphony overseen by John Adams, orchestral commissions and performances from National Orchestra Institute and Festival with Marin Alsop, Minnesota Orchestra under Osmo Vänskä, Annapolis Symphony, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, National Theater of Korea, Sarasota Orchestra, and the Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra under Hugh Wolff, and chamber commissions and performances from the Kinetic Ensemble as their composer-in-residence, the violinist Lucia Lin (Boston Symphony), the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, the Moody Center, Carpe Diem String Quartet, Southern Exposure New Music Series, and Atlanta Chamber Players. Nicky Sohn is currently pursuing a fully-funded doctoral degree at the The Shepherd School of Music of Rice University and holds degrees from The Juilliard School and Mannes College of Music.
Nicky Sohn, Composer
Kayla Collymore a New Jersey native, is a BFA Dance graduate of Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. Kayla has performed with several dance companies including METdance Company(Texas, USA), Hou Ying Dance Theater (Beijing, China) and Brian Brooks Moving Company (New York, USA). She is an alumna of The School at Jacob’s Pillow and was voted 2017’s “Top 25 to Watch” by Dance Magazine. She’s been featured in Southwest Contemporary Magazine, Dance Magazine and Arts & Culture Texas for her Co-direction, choreography, and performance of LINEAR/ FUNCTION. She has spent a large part of her career touring internationally with Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures in their productions of “Swan Lake”, “Nutcracker”, “The Car Man” and currently “Sleeping Beauty”. When Ms. Collymore isn’t on tour she is based in Houston, Texas as a freelance performer, dance educator, yoga instructor, movement designer and filmmaker.
Kayla Collymore, choreographer