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Inspired by: Ten Kings of Hell

at the Cleveland Museum of Art

Saturday, October 10, 2026

11:30 PM

Location shared upon purchase of ticket(s).

Plymouth Church UCC, Herr Chapel 

2860 Coventry Rd, Shaker Heights, OH 44120

In dialogue with the Cleveland Museum of Art's exhibition Ten Kings of Hell: The Afterlife in Medieval Korea, this recital presents a program of evocative music that confronts mortality, moral reckoning, and the possibility of transformation. Soprano Anna Rathbun, pianist Irwin Shung, and harpsichordist Qin Ying Tan collaborate on a dramatic program featuring Fazıl Say's Black Earth, Messiaen's time-suspended La Colombe, and songs by Schubert, Britten, and Ives. At the heart of the program lies Liszt's Dante Sonata, in which one seems to hear the moans of the damned, as well as catch a glimpse of heaven's splendor.


Sooa McCormick, Korea Foundation Curator of Korean Art, will offer remarks about how this program connects with her remarkable upcoming exhibition.

See hors d’oeuvres menu

In dialogue with the Cleveland Museum of Art's exhibition Ten Kings of Hell: The Afterlife in Medieval Korea, this recital presents a program of evocative music that confronts mortality, moral reckoning, and the possibility of transformation. Soprano Anna Rathbun, pianist Irwin Shung, and harpsichordist Qin Ying Tan collaborate on a dramatic program featuring Fazıl Say's Black Earth, Messiaen's time-suspended La Colombe, and songs by Schubert, Britten, and Ives. At the heart of the program lies Liszt's Dante Sonata, in which one seems to hear the moans of the damned, as well as catch a glimpse of heaven's splendor.


Sooa McCormick, Korea Foundation Curator of Korean Art, will offer remarks about how this program connects with her remarkable upcoming exhibition.

See hors d’oeuvres menu

Program

Variaciones del fandango español Félix Máximo López 

 

Harpsichord Sonata in G major  Marianne Martinez

Sonata El jardín de Aranjuez José Herrando

Sonata in G minor G 29 op 5 no 5 Luigi Boccherini 

Folia Variations Pedro Lopes Nogueira  

Canarios Gaspar Sanz, arr. Brian Kay

TAKING LEAVE I

Black Earth   Fazil Say

BWV 170, III. Wie jammeren mich doch   Johann Sebastian Bach 

La Colombe     Olivier Messiaen


VISIONS

Couperin The Wandering Shades    François Couperin 

Gruppe aus dem Tartarus   Franz Schubert 

At the Round Earth's Imagined Corners  Benjamin Britten

General Booth Enters into Heaven   Charles Ives 

Black Pearl Variation   Johann Sebastian Bach 

Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue, BWV 903  Johann Sebastian Bach 

Dante Sonata  Franz Liszt 


TAKING LEAVE II

Arirang  arr. Irwin Shung


Artists

Jung-eun Oh (Anna Rathbun), soprano

Anna Rathbun, soprano

Jung-eun Oh (Anna Rathbun), soprano, has appeared as a soloist for recitals, concerts, and operas including solo works such as the Mahler's Fourth Symphony, Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, and David del Tredici’s Pulitzer Prize winning Child Alice: In Memory of a Summer Day. In 2010, she received Honorable Mention in the Heida Hermanns International Competition, and in 2006, she won first place in the Leopoldskron vocal competition in Salzburg, Austria. Her voice can be heard in collaboration with Richard King (The Cleveland Orchestra) and Orli Shaham in the album Chamber Music for Horn, distributed by Albany Records. Rathbun holds Doctoral and Master of Music degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music and served as a member of the voice faculty at her alma mater from 2008 to 2012.


Anna holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard University and is also an investment professional with both the CFA and CAIA designations. Her expertise spans global markets, interest rates, economic and monetary policy, and new technologies, including AI in investment management. Anna is a regular guest on Bloomberg TV/radio and Reuters, and a frequent contributor to the BBC, the Wall Street Journal, among others.  Rathbun is the founder and CEO of a wealth management firm, Grenadilla Advisory LLC and hopes to engage the intersection of the arts and asset management.

Irwin Shung, piano

Irwin Shung, piano

-“…lets the notes ring, as if painting with the reverberation.  Like a gradually cresting wave, the intensity peaks…”

Cleveland Classical


Dr. Irwin Shung, whose playing has been praised by State Magazine for its “ease, technique, and musicianship,” has performed throughout North America, Europe, and Asia.  Shung teaches keyboard ensembles at Case Western Reserve University, in addition to serving as Artistic Director of The Resonance Project since its founding in Seattle.  He maintains an active musical profile both on the American West Coast and in Northeast Ohio, where he was recently selected as Heights Arts’ Artist of the Month.  As President of the Northeast Ohio Music Teachers Association, Shung oversaw the development of dynamic new programs for hundreds of regional precollegiate music students in Cuyahoga, Geauga, and Lorain Counties.


Shung received his D.M.A. in Piano Performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music in 2015, where he studied with Dr. Daniel Shapiro. Other teachers include Marian Hahn (Peabody Conservatory), Leon Fleisher (Peabody Conservatory), Herbert Stessin (Juilliard School), Gabriel Chodos (New England Conservatory), and Victoria Bogdashevskaya (Moscow Conservatory). Awards received include the Pauline Favin Memorial Award from the Peabody Conservatory of Music and a win in the Darius Milhaud Competition.  Shung recently premiered his work for solo piano, Seven Chinese Characters, alongside a live painting by the internationally renowned artist Li Qian.  In October 2026, he will present a recital inspired by with the Cleveland Museum of Art in conjunction with its upcoming exhibition Ten Kings of Hell.

QinYing Tan, harpsichord

QinYing Tan, harpsichord and artistic direction

Lauded by Cleveland Classical as "an excellent soloist, a compelling performer who is equally comfortable handling long strings of notes... and singing through emotive melodies with her instrument…” Dr. Qin Ying Tan currently serves as faculty at Cleveland Institute of Music and Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory of Music.  As co-artistic director of The Resonance Project Cleveland and CLE Concierto, Dr. Tan has helped lead a highly successful inaugural season, marked by sold-out premium seating and critical acclaim for its bold programming, intimate performances, and unwavering commitment to musical excellence. Together with pianist Irwin Shung, they have brought fresh energy to Cleveland’s classical music scene by fostering cross-cultural collaborations and reimagining the concert experience for 21st-century audiences.  The Resonance Project has been featured on Ideastream Public Media, as well as opened the Cultural Concert Series at the Cleveland Metropark Zoo.

Dr. Tan has appeared in concerts in Singapore, Shanghai, Germany, France, and has performed extensively across the United States of America.  This season sees engagements with Hudson Historical Society and Library, Music from theWestern Reserve , ​the Historically-Informed Performance Practice Department at Case Western Reserve University, the Resonance Project, Rush Hour Concert Series at Fairmount Presbyterian.  In addition to her commitment to early repertoire, Tan regularly presents new music to her audiences and has premiered several pieces, most notably Cenk Ergun's sound installation piece, "Fomare" at the Cleveland Museum of Art and “Are You You” by Michi Wiancko with City Music.   As a pedagogue, Dr. Tan continues to cultivate an interest in historically-informed performance at the pre-college and college level in her role as a board member of the Northeast Ohio MTNA and as the harpsichord faculty at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory.  Her passion for sharing historical music has also led her to lead dynamic workshops on baroque dance and historical keyboards in Southeast Asia where accessibility to period music is rare.

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