CPP Music Department Welcomes Internationally Renowned Pianist, Reimagines ‘America the Beautiful’ on Stage
Cal Poly Pomona faculty, students and staff from the Department of Music will perform together in a concert that reinterprets the 19th century patriotic song “America the Beautiful” as they delve into the themes of diversity and belonging.
The concert, set for Friday, Nov. 14 at 8 p.m. in the Recital Hall and billed as “America/Beautiful,” will feature Rutgers University Music Professor Min Kwon. The upcoming performance, which will include 10 students, faculty and staff, is part of a multi-year commissioning project involving 76 composers from various generations and backgrounds, each offering their own take on “America the Beautiful” for solo piano.
Kwon’s visit also includes the opportunity for students to work with her in master classes Nov. 12-13 prior to the performance.
“I am so excited to welcome to Cal Poly Pomona the distinguished guest artist Dr. Min Kwon. Dr. Kwon is an outstanding performer and educator,” said Music Professor Nadia Shpachenko-Gottesman, a Grammy Award winner. “She is well-known on the national and international music scene both as a performer of standard repertoire and as a pioneer of contemporary music.”
“Dr. Kwon’s ‘America/Beautiful’ project is very important and is huge in scope,” continued Shpachenko. “She commissioned breathtaking music from today’s top composers representing such a diversity of cultural and musical backgrounds, musical styles, and compositional approaches, all reimagining the song ‘America the Beautiful’ and conveying what it means to each of them to be an American today. It’s a touching project and we are looking forward to sharing it with the Cal Poly Pomona and the local communities.”
Kwon, a Juilliard School alumna and pianist, is the professor of piano at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. She has performed in more than 60 countries and all 50 U.S. states. She is also the founder and director of the Center for Musical Excellence (CME), a nonprofit with a mission to mentor and support gifted young musicians. Kwon commissioned the composers for “America/Beautiful” through CME.
“The works explore themes of identity, migration, diversity, and belonging, and together they form a kind of living anthology of American stories and ideals,” Kwon said. “With America’s 250th anniversary approaching in 2026, I am working to expand the project’s performances and presentations to include a future generation of pianists and am thrilled to share this program with the community at Cal Poly Pomona.”
Scheduled to perform alongside Kwon are CPP Music Professors Iris and Ryan Shiotsuki and music students Katie Bernardoni, Gianni Campos, Evan Huang, Josiah Kemp, Andrew Mazzeo, Jesse Ortiz and Marina Zhang.
“I am excited to play at ‘America/Beautiful’ concert because I think I got a really cool piece,” said Zhang, a junior. “It has a good mixture between atonality and tenderness; the piece also has very exciting dynamics, as well as tons of passion and agitations. It will be a pleasure to express those emotional passages to my audience.”
Campos said the composition really speaks to him, and he looks forward to collaborating with Kwon.
“The agitated feel of this piece really speaks to me and captivates me,” said Campos, also a junior. “It also has a temper which I really hope to encapsulate.”
Huang, a senior, said participating in the project has opened him up to genres he hadn’t spent much time listening to before.
“Thanks to Dr. Min Kwon and being able to take part in this project, I started listening to more doowop and early American music,” Huang said. “It's another genre of music that has really enriched my experience working on this project and my future works as a musician.”
Visit the Department of Music event site for more information and to purchase tickets.