Empire Wild at Baruch Performing Arts Center
$40 ($25 Baruch student w/ID)
- Ken Kubota, cello
- Mitch Lyon, cello
- Jiyoung Lee, piano
Claude Debussy — Selected works
Johann Sebastian Bach — Selected works
Traditional — Selected works (Swedish folk music TBA)
Chick Corea — Selected works
Ken Kubota — Selected works
Mitch Lyon — Selected works
Jiyoung Kim — Selected works
Empire Wild is a genre-bending crossover trio featuring Juilliard-trained classical musicians embodying a shared love of musical exploration. The eclectic program at Baruch PAC features the group's unique sound and instrumentation (two cellos, piano and vocals) blending its signature mix of original music, inventive covers, and twists on the classical canon. Music by Schubert, Debussy, and Bach are side by side with Swedish folk music, Chick Corea, and original compositions, all arranged by the members of Empire Wild (cellists Ken Kubota and Mitch Lyon and pianist Jiyoung Kim).
About Empire Wild
Empire Wild is a genre-bending, crossover trio featuring classically-trained musicians as a vehicle for their shared love of musical exploration—focusing the sounds of pop, folk, Broadway and more into their songwriting and composition. Empire Wild was selected as an Ambassador Prize winner in the 2020 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition.
The group's debut EP Paper Seasons features all original songs, highlighting the Trio's unique sound and instrumentation. Based in NYC, Empire Wild has brought its signature mix of original music, inventive covers, and twists on the classical canon to audiences across the country.
Individually, all three musicians are committed to community engagement and teaching. Together as an ensemble, Empire Wild feels that it is important to prioritize community-oriented work and bring creative musical outlets and opportunities to students of all backgrounds and skill levels. They have shared their unusual versatility with students through workshops at University of Iowa, the Peabody Institute, and the Preucil School, among others. Equally at home in classrooms, intimate salons and large concert halls, Empire Wild brings a sense of community to every performance.
https://www.empirewild.com/About Ken Kubota, cello
About Mitch Lyon, cello
Cellist Mitchell Lyon approaches music making with a zeal for harnessing the unique power of musical experience. Mitch is a founding member of Empire Wild, a genre-bending crossover trio and Ambassador Prize Winner of the 2020 Concert Artist Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition. Last season the trio delighted audiences with their signature mix of original songwriting and unique arrangements at venues across the country including a stop at South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center and a concert on the Harriman-Jewell concert series in Kansas City as well as an extensive midwest tour.
Passionate about community engagement and education, Mitch has been on the Teaching Artist Faculty of the New York Philharmonic since 2014, visiting schools across all five boroughs of NYC and scripting and performing interactive concerts for thousands of students. He frequently leads workshops for students of all ages and abilities, most recently at The Juilliard School Extension Division and Peabody Preparatory Institute.
Mitch regularly spends summers as an artist faculty member at the Preucil School of Music and the Charles Ives Music Festival at WCYO. In past summers, Mitch has performed at Caroga Lake, Fontainebleau, Finchcocks, and Norfolk. An alumnus of Juilliard (B.M., M.M.), Mitch’s primary teachers have included Bonnie Hampton and Timothy Eddy along with masterclasses with Steven Isserlis, Mark Kosower, and Andres Diaz. Away from the cello, he can be found cooking, reading something geeky, or plotting his next hike.
http://www.mitchlyoncello.com/About Jiyoung Lee, piano
University of Washington, Doctor of Musical Arts
New England Conservatory, Master of Music
Hanyang University, Master's degree
Yonsei University, Bachelor of Music