Texu Kim: Jump!! (2021)

Texu Kim’s piece Jump!! portrays the sheer joy of playing outside (which we have not been able to enjoy fully for the past 14 months!). The beginning of the piece sounds like someone saying “one, two, three … and jump!” The piece develops in unpredictable ways, providing some fun for the audience with pizzicati (plucking strings) and multiple-stop chords that add
bounce and extra kick to the music. Jump!! also interweaves intricate triplet-based rhythmic patterns that are common in the folk music of Kim’s native country, Korea. Additionally, hidden in this piece are several variations of a phrase from Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, giving another layer of pleasure (like a scavenger hunt) to the audience.

The Portland Youth Philharmonic, conducted by David Hattner, gave the live premiere of this piece at their first concert of Season 98 at the Portland Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall on November 13, 2021 at 7:30 PM PST.

Videography: The AV Department - theavdept.com/
Recording Engineer: Rod Evanson
Photography: Jon Burkhart

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