Phillip Levy and Tae Yeon Lim • Winter 2023 Concert Artist Interview [Postponed until further notice]

Linda Wehrli, here. I’m the Chair and Program Director for The Athena Foundation for the Arts. We have an exciting 2023 Winter-Spring concert series featuring stellar musicians, lined up for you.

For newbies to our blog, before each concert, we interview the musicians to break the ice and share behind-the-scenes stories about themselves and their program.

Opening our 2023 Winter Season is none other than award winning violinist Phillip Levy and pianist Tae Yeon Lim. This dynamic duo will be presenting a splendid program of gorgeous works of Brahms, Schumann, Beethoven, Mozart and Dvorak. The full program may be viewed on Athena’s webpage.

Phillip Levy has wielded his violin at festivals from Bayreuth, Edinburgh, Israel, Hong Kong, Aspen and now North Hollywood! Mr. Levy has performed with prestigious English orchestras, symphonies and string quartets and on BBC Television with Sir Yehudi Menuhim. While holding a senior lectureship in violin and chamber music at Stanford University he led the Stanford String Quartet. Mr. Levy is also a recording artist for the Hollywood film studios and has been featured on over one thousand movie soundtracks, including Star Wars, ET, Toy Story, Finding Nemo, X-Men, Frozen and Avatar. He has also recorded with legendary artists such as Barbra Streisand, Sting, Phil Collins and Elton John. A much sought after teacher, Mr. Levy has taught at festivals throughout the world.

Phillip Levy

Tae Yeon Lim is a powerful pianist with an energetic style and intelligent touch. Originally from South Korea where she earned many musical awards for performances at prestigious concert halls, Tae Yeon currently lives in Los Angeles where she is in high demand as a soloist, chamber musician and conductor.

Tae Yeon Lim

I first learned of Tae Yeon Lim through mutual friends-in-music on social media. When she posted about her Classical Midsummer Night Concert at the quaint Ye Cafe Stage and Tea House in Koreatown last August, I had to attend. Luckily my Wednesday night was free.

Indulging in delicious tea and honey rice cakes while listening to beautiful music was a perfect way to escape the heat on a summer evening. My hubby and I were blown away by Tae Yeon’s exquisite playing and selection of piano solos by Handel, Chopin, Franck, Grieg and Bridge.

Later that month Tae Yeon posted about her September concert at St. Timothy’s Church in West Los Angeles with violinist Phillip Levy. The hubby and I thoroughly enjoyed their memorable performances of Sonatas by Beethoven, Dvorak and more.

After the concert, I mentioned to Tae Yeon about The Athena Foundation for the Arts’ well-appointed concert hall serving the North Hollywood and surrounding communities. She was eager to learn more.

Later that month, I arranged a meeting with Tae Yeon, the stage manager and public relations director at the venue. She was so impressed she immediately asked to be considered for our concert series. It was an honor to oblige.

I recently caught up with Tae Yeon and Phillip to learn more about their collaborations and program they curated for us this month. Without further ado, here’s their story.

LRW: Tae Yeon, it was such a pleasure hearing your solo piano concert and duo with violinist Phillip Levy last summer. For my readers, may I ask how you two first met and decided to collaborate? Details, please.

PL: Serendipity…. A few years ago we were both invited to perform at a local 4th July Chamber music concert and enjoyed each other’s musicianship.

LRW: And the rest is history! Lucky for us! For your upcoming Athena program, may I ask how you decided on the pieces curated for the concert? Why these composers? Why now?

TYL: They are all beautiful pieces by great composers that we both enjoy working on and performing.

LRW: Nice. May I ask, do you have plans to record your beautiful duos?

PL: Not the specific pieces in this program, but we have both recorded a substantial amount in the past and have several chamber music recording projects on the horizon.

LRW: Glad to hear. Perhaps a blog to celebrate upcoming recordings might be in order. Please keep us posted. Thank you. Do each of you have a favorite quote by a composer or musician that you’d like to share with our readers?

TYL: I’m fond of this one by composer Antonin Dvorak:
Mozart is Sunshine ~ Antonin Dvorak Share on X

LRW: I hadn’t heard that before. Lovely!

PL: My favorite quote is by Duke Ellington:
There are only two kinds of music, good music and the other kind. We're only about the good stuff and I can't wait to make more of it available to each & every heart across the globe... ~ Duke Ellington Share on X

LRW: Amen to that! Thanks for sharing your As to my Qs. We look forward to your beautiful concert.

If you’d like to learn more about these maestros, please visit them at:
Phillip Levy Website
Tae Yeon Lim Website, Facebook, Instagram

I’m pleased to present their concert and ticket details below.

CONCERT DETAILS: [POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE]

Date
Friday, January 27, 2022

Time
Check-in: 6:45 PM
Concert: 7:30 PM PDT

Place
Community Auditorium
Church of Scn of the Valley*
11455 Burbank Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 91601
*This concert is not a church event.
It is hosted exclusively by The Athena Foundation for the Arts.
The Community Auditorium is a public space rented to our foundation.

FREE Parking: Farmdale Avenue lot and street parking

Tickets
Purchase tickets on Eventbrite here or scan the QR code at the door. Cash or Credit card payments by Zettle/Paypal also available. Questions? Please feel free to email us. Looking forward to an inspiring concert!

. . . . . . . . . .

The Athena Foundation for the Arts sets the stage, providing world class performing arts programs to enrich and educate the community. If you enjoyed this story, please feel free to share on your favorite social media to get the word out about our nonprofit! Thank you for your support.

Want first notice on more upcoming Athena art and cultural events? Subscribe in the footer! You can learn more about Athena Foundation for the Art’s concert series by clicking the link or feel free to explore the website.

Join the fun! Follow us on:
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube (coming soon)