New Artistic Leadership

03/14/2022 —

The Friends of Chamber Music Kansas City is pleased to announce the appointment of Hyeyeon Park and Dmitri Atapine as their new Artistic Directors.

“We are thrilled to welcome Hyeyeon and Dmitri to the Friends,” states Leia Barrett, Acting Executive Director. “They are passionate, accomplished musicians who will bring outstanding performances and artists to Kansas City.”

Highly in demand both individually and as a cello and piano duo, Dmitri and Hyeyeon are frequent performers on some of the world’s foremost stages, including Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, Seoul Arts Center, Taipei National Concert Hall and the National Auditorium of Spain to name but a few. They are also regularly engaged by some of the leading presenters in the US and abroad, including the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Music@Menlo Festival and Chamber Music Northwest, among many others. Their performances are regularly broadcast on American Public Media and have been featured on PBS Live from Lincoln Center.

They have worked extensively with living composers, commissioning several new musical works and being the first to record all of Lowell Liebermann’s sonatas for cello and piano. Deeply passionate about the future of chamber music as an art-form, they are founders and artistic directors of Apex Concerts: a world-class chamber music series in Reno, Nevada, whose performances have featured the Emerson Quartet, the Borodin Quartet, Leon Fleisher, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center on Tour, David Shifrin, and Paul Neubauer. They also are the co-directors of the Young Performers Program at Music@Menlo Festival, where they nurture the next generation of brilliant chamber musicians.

“Hyeyeon and Dmitri were chosen from an impressive array of candidates through a nationwide search,” says Nancy Lee Kemper, Board Chair. “We know they will usher in an impressive new era for the Friends of Chamber Music.”

In addition to performing and presenting, Hyeyeon and Dmitri are already deeply involved in the Friends of Chamber Music programming for future seasons and have started making plans to expand the Friends’ community engagement and educational initiatives.

“To be selected as only the second Artistic Directors in the 45-year history of this incredible organization is a huge honor and a big responsibility. The Friends of Chamber Music is widely known as one of the leading organizations of its kind in the United States, with revered traditions.” states Hyeyeon.

Dmitri added: “We are so moved by the trust of the Board. We look forward to playing a crucial role in the future success of the Friends of Chamber Music, to nurture the series and build upon its significant legacy. This will be a labor of love and we make our mission to make many new Friends of Chamber Music in Kansas City and around the world!”