Compsition by SiHyun Uhm

Circus Suite for Clarinet, Violin, Cello, and Piano by SiHyun Uhm originated as a piece for solo piano. The composer reworked and expanded upon that wonderfully programmatic composition for enhakē in 2020.

The first movement (Monkey) begins with an unassuming introduction before the ensemble barrels into the Allegretto tempo that governs most of the remaining bars. As the group executes descending chromatic triads one easily gets a sense of the creature scurrying down various apparatuses. As they lunge forward with extreme crescendos, so too does the primate bound into action. The middle section oozes with mischievousness. Clearly this monkey is not a simple organ grinder’s companion. One final set of scampering figures concludes the movement.

Uhm paints another vivid picture with the succeeding movement (Clown). Half-step dissonances and off-beat accents abound as the obvious absurdities of the character are depicted. By bar eighteen one wonders if a “sad clown” has made its way to center stage. Glassy-sounding ponticello in the violin and a plethora of minor triads—many dressed up with grace notes—color the section. Col legno battuto and snap pizzicato are among the percussive devices employed by the composer here. A mini cadenza for the cello temporarily halts the action before a short, but eventful, coda ushers the troupe quickly off stage.

Most of us will never know what it would have felt like to have been one of the Flying Wallendas. Uhm gives us a sense of what it’s like to watch such an event, though, in this effective third movement (Trapeze). It is disconcerting to see the flyers and catchers swing at different speeds, I think. The composer represents this tension and lack-of-togetherness by spreading complicated polyrhythms—three-against-four, four-against-five, etc.—around the ensemble all the while alternating time signatures from bar to bar. When the players do meet it is as unexpected as when the two, off-set human pendulums safely grasp wrists high within the Big Top. It’s an imperfect world, of course, and by bar 22 we hear at least one flyer fall to the safety net; perhaps another one hurtles towards the ground five bars later too. The conclusion is sheepish at best. Perhaps a slightly embarrassed celebration of survival is all that they can muster.

The Lion isn’t anywhere close to being the largest land animal. They’re not even the largest cat—sorry kids—but they’re still the king. [Given the fact that the females do all the hunting for the pride, perhaps we should be talking about her majesty, though.] The closing movement (Lion) strikes an appropriate amount of fear into the hearts of the onlookers. Quickly ascending and descending chromatic scales in the piano imitate roars—like Camille Saint-Saëns’ treatment
in his Carnival of the Animals. Tension builds from bars 59 through 66—as if we’re approaching a moment of repose—only to start again. [A lion tamer must always be on their guard, after all.] A dramatic piano cadenza sets up the end of scene as the spotlights fade and the performers disappear from view.


Written by Brent Williams

Circus Suite

SiHyun Uhm Music

Stirring of a Sparkle

Performance in Perigee Hall in 2016 
Piano by Tae Wung Yoo
Composition by SiHyun Uhm

Holding a Breath for Solo Piano

Concert in Perigee Hall in 2016
Composition by SiHyun Uhm

Two Movements for Cello and Piano: II. Doleful Hazy

Concert in Perigee Hall in 2017
Composition by SiHyun Uhm

Two Movements for Cello and Piano: I. Allegro Moderato

Ladybug In The Room is an orchestra piece written during November in 2018. It was based on a special story when the ladybug got in to my room and lived almost---throughout the winter. Send me any questions you have :)Thank you

Ladybug In The Room

SiHyun Uhm is a composer, pianist, and multimedia producer currently based in New York and South Korea. Her works have been commissioned by US AirForce Academy Band, YAMAHA, Rice University(Sviatoslav Richter Fund), Columbia Digital Audio Festival, Five by Five Ensemble, Josun Palace Hotel Pilates Series, and Enhakē Ensemble. She is a Composer Fellow with American Composers Orchestra, Really Spicy Opera, Nashville Symphony Composer Lab, Universal Artists Festival, Daegu MBC Orchestra, Intimacy of Creativity, Red Note Workshop, and has received prizes from President’s Own Marine Band, Luna Nova, JMI, Korean Wind Ensemble, Pyeong Chang Olympic Celebration, Howard Hanson Orchestral Prize, Louis Lane Prize, Leopold Auer, Future Symphony, NY Composers’ Circle, Next Notes, National YoungArts, Golden Key Festival, Avalon, and MTNA.

Her distinctive and interactive musical style is recognizable to audiences, and since the release of her first album in 2017, the listenership of her music has continued to grow. She not only works as an audio engineer but also as an active pianist and accompanist. She also is an established producer/arranger in many different genres (electronics, pop, rock, film/game music) and an electronic music enthusiast making music with launchpad in her free time. 

She is currently attending The Juilliard School studying with Prof. Beaser. She recently graduated from the Eastman School of Music in NY, studying with Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon, David Liptak, Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez, and Vincent Lenti. She graduated from Walnut Hill School for the Arts in MA, where she studied composition with Whitman Brown and piano with Mana Tokuno from New England Conservatory. SiHyun was born in Seoul, Korea, where she went to Yewon School.

Two Movements for Cello and Piano: I. Allegro Moderato

SIA (SiHyun Uhm)