paulownia is an experimental zither trio. formed at new england conservatory in 2021, our music explores improvisation, electroacoustics, noise, and tradition.
yoona kim, ajaeng
yoona kim is a boston and south korea - based ajaeng performer, composer, and improviser who creates music based on traditional aesthetics inherent in korean music. her work focuses on the relationship between korean music, time, and absolute truth through sound.
she is the artist director of moderngagok, which is a creative music band. she has performed throughout india, vietnam, north america and europe.
she studied musicology and ajaeng performance at seoul national university in south korea. currently, she is pursuing a master’s degree in contemporary improvisation at new england conservatory in boston.
marie carroll, koto
marie carroll is a composer-improviser, electroacoustic musician, and koto player based in boston.
her work is influenced by natural phenomena and explores themes of liminality and transience. she enjoys using analog synthesizers and effects units. she has performed in japan, germany, england, and the US.
in 2020, marie completed her undergraduate degree at harvard, where she studied composition under claire chase, chaya czernowin, felipe lara, and hans tutschku. she is currently a graduate student at new england conservatory, studying composition under john mallia and stratis minakakis. presently, she is studying koto under masayo ishigure. her previous koto teachers are garei nakagawa and michiyo yagi.
anwei wang, guzheng
anwei wang is a guzheng player, composer, and improviser. her work is diverse and adventurous; she enthusiastically explores a myriad of musical styles from across the globe. anwei continously seeks new possibilities for the guzheng, a traditional chinese instrument, through her understanding of world music.
anwei earned a bachelor’s degree in guzheng performance from zhejiang conservatory of music and has previously taught at the chinese music center of middle tennessee state university. currently, she is a master’s student at new england conservatory and studies contemporary improvisation under hankus netsky and hui weng.
anwei was awarded the gold medal at the 2nd international guzheng competition in hong kong, and won the silver medal for solo performance at the japan international guzheng competition. she also participated in the 2018 hangzhou g20 summit performance.
