A pleasure as ever to welcome cellist, composer, and improviser, Okkyung Lee for a two-day residency alongside collaborators old and new.
Okkyung Lee moves freely between artistic disciples and contingencies. Since 2000 she has worked in disparate contexts as a solo artist and collaborator with creators in a wide range of disciplines. A native of South Korea, Lee has taken a broad array of inspirations—including noise, improvisation, jazz, western classical, and her homeland’s traditional and popular music—and used them to forge a highly distinctive approach.
Although Okkyung is probably known best for her improvisational work utilizing visceral extended techniques on her instrument, she has been creating various types of compositions and site-specific works, responding to its architecture, audience, or objects surrounding her, producing an immersive experience that also challenges the built-in hierarchy in traditional concert settings. She has appeared on more than 30 albums, including the latest release 나를 (Na-Reul) on Corbett vs Dempsey, and Teum (The Silvery Slit), written for acclaimed Acousmonium by GRM and live cello, released on GRM Portraits/Editions Mego.
She has been commissioned to compose music and assemble projects for Explore Ensemble (London, UK), Time Spans Festival (New York, USA), Groupe de Recherches Musicales (Paris, France), Sonic Acts Festival (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), Borealis Festival (Bergen, Norway), Donaueschingen Music Festival (Donaueschingen, Germany) and Nam June Paik Art Center (Yong-In, South Korea). She has performed in Museum of Modern Art (New York), Whitney Museums of American Art (New York, USA), The Met Breuer (New York, USA), Museum Tinguely (Basel, Switzerland), Museo del Novecento (Milan, Italy), Serpentine Galleries (London, UK), White Cube Galleries (London, UK) and many others.
Thursday 11 December 2025, 7.30pm
Okkyung Lee / Regan Bowering / Pat Thomas (Trio) + Okkyung Lee / Pat Thomas (Duo) + Okkyung Lee / Theodora Laird (Duo) + Okkyung Lee Listening Session And Discussion With Jennifer Lucy Allan
Friday 12 December 2025, 7.30pm
Okkyung Lee / Billy Steiger / Tom Wheatley (Trio) + Okkyung Lee / Ute Kanngiesser (Duo) + Okkyung Lee (Solo)
Photo of Okkyung Lee by Eun Chun