Yuniya edi kwon
American composer (born 1989)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
yuniya edi kwon (stylized in lower-case; born 1989), is an American violinist and composer. She is a 2025 Guggenheim Fellow.
- Violinist
- composer
yuniya edi kwon | |
|---|---|
yuniya edi kwon in Brooklyn, New York (2025) | |
| Born | 1989 (age 36–37) Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music |
| Occupations |
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| Awards | Guggenheim Fellowship (2025) |
| Musical career | |
| Instrument | Violinist |
| Formerly of |
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| Website | yuniya.net |
Biography
kwon was born and raised in Minneapolis, to Korean immigrant parents.[1][2] She began studying the violin at the age of ten.[3] She graduated from University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music as a jazz studies student.[1] She was a 2016 United States Artists Fellow.[4]
In 2021, she performed the piece Seep as part of a Bang on a Can event; David Wright said that "whistling, vocalizing, and folk-inflected violin effects evoked woodland spirits in" the piece.[5] She was featured in The Washington Post's "22 for ‘22" series, with nominator Wang Lu saying that Kwon’s works have a "naturally musical" quality and "don't make me feel that they are too much 'carved'".[6] In a May 2023 review of her piece Earth Iridescence/Sorrow Churn, performed by Sun Han Guild, Vanessa Ague called her voice "a moment of catharsis".[7]
kwon won a 2023 Foundation for Contemporary Arts Robert Rauschenberg Award in Music/Sound.[8] She was a 2023-2025 Princeton University Arts Fellow.[9] She performed violin at the 2024 Monheim Triennale.[10] She performed as violinist on Stephan Crump's 2024 album Slow Water; Thomas Conrad of Stereophile said in a review for that album that "melodies sound more yearning when played on a violin".[11] In 2025, she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in Music Composition.[12]
kwon co-founded the ensemble Sun Han Guild, and she is also part of the collective Juni One Set.[2] She has also been guitarist and violinist for experimental folk-rock band The Happy Maladies.[6] Regarding her performance style, UK Jazz News said that she "draws on her Korean heritage and Japanese butoh dance as well as jazz and classical music".[10]
kwon lives in Brooklyn.[8] She is transgender.[6]