Teatime by the Thames and the British Parliament

I spent an inspiring week in London during the first week of July, staying at the heart of this vibrant city and working with my friend and pianist Sasha for our upcoming performances. I stayed at a flat in Ladbroke Grove, a gorgeous home with many fascinating histories behind. My host Eric graciously provided the ample space for me to stay and practice, a rarity in this part of the town. I also enjoyed tremendously my morning runs around the borough of Kensington and Chelsea with plenty of things to see around.

The drawing room in my flat where I got plenty of inspiration to practice and rehearse

I and Sasha have not played since we met at Norfolk Chamber Music Festival back in 2011, but it was very easy to work together. We rehearsed on works by Bernstein, Brahms, and Peter Lieuwen exchanging many interesting ideas and getting them in shape for our recital on Tuesday, 7 July. It was truly a pleasure to play with the great musical friend but also have many conversations on various things in our lives. The recital was tended by a small audience, but we gave quite a satisfying performance. We very much look forward to our upcoming performance in Madrid as well as our further collaboration in the US with our violinist friend Emily Westell.

rehearsing at the City College of London

We spent the last week of June in Nortern Virginia and Washington D.C. to play two recitals: Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic Association's Lyceum Summer Series and a house concert at our friend David's house in DC. Aside from our musical engagements, I and Grace got to enjoy the Smithsonian Institute, Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the DC Marina, old town Alexandria, and of course some wonderful companies.

Choi-Kim Duo Recital at Alexandria's Lyceum, sponsored by the Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic Association

Our program included: Martinu Sonatina, Bernstein's Clarinet Sonata, Devienne's Clarinet Sonata No. 2, Cantilene by Louis Cahuzac, "After you, Mr. Gershwin!" by Béla Kovács, and the world premiere performance of Bright River by Peter Lieuwen (commissioned by our duo in 2014). We quickly found out that it's a challenging but truly enjoyable program for everyone.

Visiting Northern VA is always sentimental as a place where I spent a good part of my youth growing up. I look forward to visiting again next year with another interesting program and see my old and new friends in the area.

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