Haerim Elizabeth Lee - My Time Is Now (2019)

My Time is Now features the first ever recording of George Gershwin’s personal Steinway piano from his New York City apartment since it was recently restored by the Gershwin Initiative at the University of Michigan School of Music. Inspired by George Gershwin’s quote, “My people are American, my time is today. Music must repeat the thought and aspirations of the times,” Ms. Lee has created an album to reflect the current times of her generation. The album celebrates George Gershwin with new arrangements of his unfinished tunes as well as premiere recordings of contemporary works by distinguished American composers, Michael Daugherty, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, William Bolcom and Patrick Harlin who, much like Gershwin, incorporate their own distinctly American musical styles.

You will hear in the album, some of the current Gershwin music for violin and piano rearranged by Ms. Lee and Mr. Brown as well as improvisation on the part of Mr. Brown, drawing real parallels to the way Mr. Gershwin worked – with fluidity and spontaneity.

Included in the album booklet, are insightful notes from Dr. Mark Clague, Editor-in-chief of the Gershwin Initiative, as well as photographs of the Gershwin brothers that have not been previously publicly released from the Gershwin Archives.

Haerim Elizabeth Lee has been a guest soloist in symphonies with FilharmonieBohuslavaMartinu, Symphony of the Mountains, OrquestaSinfonica de la Unal, Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra, SNU Virtuosi and Winston-Salem Symphony in North Carolina. Recognized as a bright new star, she was invited to appear in the 38th Kennedy Center Honors concert to recognize Maestro Seiji Ozawa with Yo-Yo Ma (2015). She has chosen to work with Alex Brown, Grammy nominated pianist and composer and Jesse Lewis, Grammy Award winning producer to compile this historic and timely album.