Hello hello. The past month has been busy but fruitful; I finished composing a solo marimba piece for a friend and am getting ready to launch a couple new projects, Jazz Toilet and Nossa Nova duo. This Brazilian duo will be having our first gig on Valentine's Day at Ideya in SoHo! And if you're interested in entrepreneurship, I'll be moderating a panel through the Center for Music Entrepreneurship at the Manhattan School of Music on Friday, 2/17 from 2-4pm. Lastly, don't forget to check out my "To a Certain Boy" EP for this month of love, sweets & music.
With love that overflows,
Joyce

To all my friends in my many homes, perhaps near no longer, but still dear to my heart. I want to wish you a happy new year. Did you know that new year's day is my favorite holiday? It's exciting to have an opportunity to let go of things in the past and look forward. I also appreciate that I can celebrate this day of catharsis & opportunity throughout the year, whenever I make up my mind to start anew. I am going to start compiling a mailing list so please sign up here if you want to hear about my adventures through occasional emails.
Love,
Joyce

Dear friends,
I write this post full of pre-Halloween candy, consumed while pumpkin carving this afternoon. I made a white cyclops pumpkin with a spiky brow, which looks a lot cuter than it sounds. Between that and going apple picking, it seems that autumn has fully arrived. I am thankful for my communities in this city and constantly in awe of the opportunities present in my daily life. I've a few concerts in the next month, posted on the schedule, so come by if you'd like! Take care of yourself as the weather gets colder and happy harvest!
Love,
Joyce

It's only my first week in New York and there has already been an earthquake and a hurricane scare; I anticipate my time here will be quite exciting. I've wrapped up a couple projects, Resonations and cOllage, which you can read more about on the projects page. I would encourage you to check youtube.com/voicekwon for videos that are more accurate depictions of my performances, beyond the few tracks on my listen page. Lastly, I'm delighted to be an artist-in-residence at the International House, here in Manhattan, and look forward to this academic year!
Love,
Joyce

On the occasion of my half-birthday, I'd like to let you know that I'm moving to New York for the masters program at Manhattan School of Music. My sister tells me this information has elicited many a puzzled look, until she tells inquirers that I plan to do a dual degree in education from Columbia. Then they seem a lot happier about that. Well, good. Please come say hi & bye at my LAST LA SHOW on Wednesday, 8/10! I've always wanted to host a half-birthday party but my baby sister graduates from jr. high school today & I realize that's a bigger cause for celebration. So congrats class of 2011!
-Joyce

Can you believe it's yet another new year? I'm releasing a collection of my songs addressed "to a certain boy" today; the downloads are available on iTunes and the CDs on cdbaby. I think you will enjoy it. And it is rather appropriate for this lovely month of February. In other news, I'll be on the east coast at the end of this month for grad school auditions and hope to soon come out of this self-imposed winter hibernation mode. It's getting too warm in Los Angeles to be hibernating.
Cal bear,
Joyce

it's the korean holiday 추석! and a quiet one it is. I've been in la for nearly a year now & it just keeps getting stranger, the more familiar I become with it. I don't appreciate life being a string of occurrences; I want to be alive each day. it's always a matter of identity; I've been forgetting who I am. ...going forward, a couple exciting projects underway - I'll be leading a new voice/bass duo, alongside 3 duos led by LA old-timers, Cathy Segal-Garcia, Mon David & Cheryl Barnes. I'm also going to record originals with my trio and work on those grad school apps. GRE's - here I come!
daughter,
joyce

strange how life will be playing out at a slow tape speed until suddenly, it's being fast forwarded at chipmunk speed. time is unusual. time flies. time stops. I used cassettes regularly through the end of high school but they are a rarity these days... the times are changing. the time is coming. as I sat still today, sweating from the newly arrived summer heat, I wondered where my last few months had gone; there's a lot to do! I'll be recording demos next week and singing at my favorite place, blue whale, on sunday, august 15th. check back for the demos and come to blue whale!
with love that overflows,
joyce

hello friends,
it has been a rough & lengthy transition to LA but spring is finally here!! I see it on the trees outside my bedroom window and in the fruits beared thus far, since my move. I have been hibernating in more ways than one, and now I feel as though I am finally waking up! I never thought I'd say this but I love los angeles and am thankful beyond words for my newfound families. come meet one of them, my quartet, at Café Metropol on may 1st! I hope your spring, too, will be a time of renewal.
w/ great joy,
joyce

it's the year of the tiger - my favorite holiday to bring in my favorite year! I will be documenting my Resonations project at SilkResonations.com - feel free to visit, as I will be updating throughout the year. as for this site, I will not be updating on the first of the month as I've done thus far, because there is no need. lastly, LA friends, please come out to my Portrait project at Catalina Jazz Club on the first tuesday of march (3/2) at 8pm! I would really appreciate your support and also, catching up with you.
love,
joyce
p.s. happy valentine's day <3

oh my, it's already february!
what can I say about haiti? please help.
the guestbook is now spam free and running, thanks to the brilliant david luoh, so feel free to write.
I will be staying in LA and continuing to learn to play gayageum here; watch out now, I might become a gayageum master... in a few decades ;)
I will be up in the bay-area this sunday for a solo gig in berkeley with other Asian Pacific American artists.
lastly, I would like to say that hyperlinks are great!
-joyce

hello friends,
this past year was dynamic, to say the least, and I'm glad to see 2010 has arrived! I'll be in new york next week to participate in an improv workshop, then coming back to los angeles and then... we'll see. I have a couple projects underway that I'm excited about, in particular "resonations," which you can find on my projects page. also, please check the schedule page for upcoming dates in berkeley & los angeles. I wish you all a fruitful new year and hope to see you soon.
love,
joyce

hello friends,
wow - it's already december!
time is such a funny thing.
I hope you all enjoy time with family and friends in this wonderful season.
love,
joyce

have I ever told you what an impatient person I am? the transition out of college and back to LA has been more difficult than anticipated, requiring much patience and waiting. far from being numb with an overload of work, I've had time to just be and reflect. I'm beginning to see that waiting can require more energy & intentionality than pursuing something. in brazil, I learned to rest; now, I'm learning to wait - essential vitamins for my deficient, restless personality. in the mean time, I'm looking forward to learning to play gayageum from an old family friend.
peace,
joyce

I am now, mind, body & soul, back in the states! For each of the past 3 weeks, I have been deciding where to live in 2010 (the bay-area, LA or Rio de Janeiro), only to change my mind the following week. As of this morning, I don't know! But for now, I am in Los Angeles and bursting with excitement for my post-college life! After this 3 month sabbath in Brazil, I am ready to shed & work on my musical technique, while figuring out what it means to be a 효녀 (filial daughter) & a good sister. I'll be presenting on Asian-American activism & music in Boston this month so see you if you're in the area!
love! joyce!

dear friends,
it's already the last of my three months of resting/traveling and I'm excited to visit rio and bahia, after I wrap up my time here in são paulo. I feel as though I could possibly stay in brazil longer, but will return to the states, as planned - I'm sorry that I'm not there right now as many of you struggle with the forest fires in california, but I am praying for you. I'll be seeing you in october, itching to make lots of music after this hiatus, hopefully with our homes still in tact.
love you all,
joyce

hello my dear friends,
summer has already come to an end for me as I am now quickly adapting to winter in são paulo! I've only added a few photos from the amazon in the gallery but you can view more at facebook.com/voicekwon. also, I've added a link to youtube.com/voicekwon on the contact page and updated my resume on the about page. that's it for announcements - I hope you are enjoying yourselves, wherever you are!
love,
joyce

Hi,
This is the first time I've had internet access in three weeks! I had no idea what I'd be doing before I got here but I have been blessed to be able to teach music to indigenous people in Amazonian villages and am really glad for my time here, in São Gabriel da Cachoeira. I could say so much but I won't here.
Beijinhos,
Joyce

hi friends,
I packed up the last 4 years of my life in berkeley and just drove down to la. I am currently helping my family pack so that we can move next week, not too far away from where we live now. then, I will be packing to leave for brazil toward the end of this month. but you are sure to find me back in the bay-area sometime in the future because that's where my heart belongs. I have been tremendously blessed with friendships, community and music there and plan to move back, after I explore the amazon and this foreign place called los angeles, where I previously lived for a decade.
joyce, the expert packer

hi everyone,
if you weren't yet confused about my musical genre, my singer/songwriter album will be out this month! also, I will be graduating with a BA in music, with an emphasis on composition as well as jazz & improvised music, from UC Berkeley in just a few weeks. please go to the schedule page to check out my last few gigs as an undergrad, before I graduate. hope you're keeping sane in this crazy time of the school year when everyone seems to be running around like chickens with their heads cut off.
love always,
joyce

hello hello,
it's already april and I'm looking forward to all the gigs this month. the jazz & improvised music (jim) ensemble I'm in at uc berkeley will be doing several collaborative performances with both ucla and mills college, which will be a lot of fun, and my own groups also have a few gigs that you can check out. I'm currently preparing for my north korea project, a work in progress presentation this saturday, with a great lineup of improvisers and guest musicians - you will not want to miss this one!
hope you're enjoying the sun,
joyce

hello dear friends,
I'm glad March has rolled in, giving me more time to compose and practice! I'm getting pieces together for my upcoming North Korea Project, including a string quartet piece I'll base on a folk melody, as well as continuing to study Eric Dolphy's Out to Lunch album, recording my singer/songwriter material, researching multidisciplinary works and starting to collaborate with a Chicago-based visual artist. that should keep me busy for a while. oh yes, then there's that thing called school... I will try to be a better student. maybe.
incredulously,
joyce

새해 복 많이 받으세요
saehae bok manhi badeuseyo

check out my upcoming gigs including a live webcast this saturday and a benefit concert for the Jazz & Contemporary Improvised Music program at UC Berkeley, featuring Taylor Eigsti. I would greatly appreciate your support at this benefit concert on friday, february 6th! wishing you a happy lunar new year,
joyce

dear friends,
I hope you have been enjoying this holiday season. this will be another exciting year filled with music and much more - I'm going to go write my new year's resolutions now. happy 2009!
love,
joyce

hello friends,
happy december!
if you're in the area, please come check out my christmas noon concert this friday in berkeley & go to the schedule page for details. it'll be fun!
love,
joyce

hello friends & family,
welcome to my newly launched website! look around & feel free to sign the guestbook.
love,
joyce