Kronos Quartet Welcomes New Cellist Sunny Jungin Yang
Sunny Jungin Yang, photo courtsey of Music@Menlo/Tristan Cook
The Kronos Performing Arts Association announced today that the Kronos Quartet will welcome a new cellist, Sunny Jungin Yang, to the ensemble this June. Yang will succeed Jeffrey Zeigler, who has performed with the quartet for the past eight seasons and will step down from the group this May.
“I’m unbelievably thrilled to be joining Kronos!” Yang says. “The Quartet has always been an inspiration to me, and I never dreamed that one day I would be part of this fantastic and unique ensemble. I’m looking forward to creating and sharing exciting music with my new colleagues.”
Zeigler’s departure is motivated by his desire to work on solo projects and new collaborations, and to begin teaching at Mannes College The New School For Music. He is relocating to Brooklyn, New York, where his wife, composer Paola Prestini, serves as Creative Director of the heralded new music venue OMW (Original Music Workshop).
Jeffrey Zeigler, photo Courtesy Jay Blakesberg
Zeigler said of Kronos, “I am deeply grateful to have had the opportunity to create music with some of the world’s most exciting artists in many of the world’s most prestigious venues. It has been an honor and a joy for me to share the stage with David, John and Hank. They are wonderful colleagues and will continue to be my friends. I would like to thank them and t
he entire organization for their tireless work and support over these past eight years.”
Ziegler’s last performances with Kronos will be May 10 and 11 at Peak Performances in Montclair, NJ, where the group will perform with violinist/performance artist/composer Laurie Anderson in Landfall, an evening-length collaboration. Yang will take the stage with Kronos for the first time on June 22, inaugurating the quartet’s 40th-anniversary season with a free concert featuring Chinese pipa player Wu Man at the International Festival of Arts & Ideas in New Haven, CT.
(—from the press materials)