Hessler Street Duo building musical bridges
International chamber music duo performing and curating cross-cultural projects across Asia, the Middle East, and the United States.
Highlights from the Hessler Street Duo Silk Road Tour featuring performances in India, the United Arab Emirates, and Tajikistan.
About the Hessler Street Duo
The Hessler Street Duo (HSD) has performed across South Asia, the United States, the Middle East, and Central Asia, presenting international recital programs and cross-disciplinary collaborations in concert halls, cultural institutions, and academic settings. The duo’s international activities took place primarily between 2019 and 2021.
In May 2019, HSD toured the Silk Road, beginning in India and concluding in Tajikistan, with a stop in the United Arab Emirates. Over the course of ten concerts, the duo premiered works by living composers Elena Kats-Chernin, Yao Chen, A. Myco, and Austin Yip, and collaborated with visual artist Viraag Desai.
In October 2019, HSD returned to Tajikistan for a performance at the Tajik State Opera and Ballet Theatre and master classes at the Tajik State National Conservatory of Music. Following a pause due to the pandemic, HSD resumed performances in September 2021 with concerts in Washington, DC and West Virginia.
The Hessler Street Duo’s projects have included premieres of new works by living composers and cross-disciplinary collaborations developed during its international touring activity.
In May 2019, HSD toured the Silk Road, beginning in India and concluding in Tajikistan, with a stop in the United Arab Emirates. Over the course of ten concerts, the duo premiered works by living composers Elena Kats-Chernin, Yao Chen, A. Myco, and Austin Yip, and collaborated with visual artist Viraag Desai.
In October 2019, HSD returned to Tajikistan for a performance at the Tajik State Opera and Ballet Theatre and master classes at the Tajik State National Conservatory of Music. Following a pause due to the pandemic, HSD resumed performances in September 2021 with concerts in Washington, DC and West Virginia.
The Hessler Street Duo’s projects have included premieres of new works by living composers and cross-disciplinary collaborations developed during its international touring activity.
The Name
Both Heemstra and Yim attended the Cleveland Institute of Music, located near Hessler Street. The street, a historic center of Bohemian life in Cleveland, represents a formative time and place that shaped them into the musicians they are today.
Artists
Patrick T.S. YimViolinist
Honolulu-born violinist Patrick Yim has performed throughout the world at venues including Carnegie Hall, David Geffen Hall, Seoul Arts Center, Harpa Concert Hall, Severance Hall, Orchestra Hall, Teatro alla Scala, and the Musikverein. Yim made his solo debut with the Honolulu Symphony. He has performed chamber music with members of the Juilliard, Emerson, St. Lawrence, Pacifica, and Ying Quartets, and musicians from The Cleveland Orchestra and New York Philharmonic. Recent performances include a concert in Carnegie Hall with members of the Emerson Quartet, a collaboration with pipa virtuoso Wu Man in Lou Harrison’s Pipa Concerto, and a collaboration with Juilliard Quartet violinist Joel Smirnoff involving the premieres of two newly commissioned works. Yim has commissioned two dozen works and performed the works around the world as part of international music festivals, including Seoul International Computer Music Festival, New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival, Flatirons Chamber Music Festival, and Sulzbach-Rosenberg International Music Festival. His debut CD, "Memory", features world premiere recordings of works by Yao Chen, Michael-Thomas Foumai, Austin Yip, Kai-Young Chan, and Chen Yi. He is a graduate of Stony Brook University (DMA) and the Cleveland Institute of Music (BM, MM), and he is currently Assistant Professor of Music at Hong Kong Baptist University.
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Jennifer A. HeemstraPianist
Jennifer Heemstra, pianist and entrepreneur received the Young Alumni Award from Michigan State University (MSU) and was the Commencement Speaker for the MSU graduating class of 2017. Heemstra has performed as soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States, Europe, South and Central Asia and the United Arab Emirates. Select performance venues include: Indian Council for Cultural Relations (Kolkata, India), Smithsonian National Museum (D.C.), United Nations Rome, Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory, Aini Opera and Ballet Theatre (Tajikistan), the American University of Sharjah, and Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument (D.C.). Heemstra founded Kolkata Classics Trust in India, which provides free health services for trafficked women, educates children, and exposes the citizens of Kolkata to classical music. To date Heemstra has performed 100 concerts in Kolkata, India. In March 2020 she organized an accredited MSU Study Abroad Pilot Program, creating a once in a lifetime opportunity for graduate students. Heemstra founded the Pitch Pipe Foundation, a U.S. based nonprofit organization which links great artists to great need. Since inception Pitch Pipe Foundation has successfully organized 72 cultural events domestically and 56 events in the Middle East, South & Central Asia. She earned her Master of Music from The Cleveland Institute of Music & a Bachelor of Music with honours from Michigan State University.
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Selected Hessler Street Duo performances from international concert venues in India and Tajikistan.
