Sierra Madre Playhouse celebrates Lunar New Year with the first public screening of Earl., Ty Kim’s award-winning documentary film chronicling the remarkable life and music of American composer Earl Kim, on Saturday, February 21, 4 pm. Earl, born into poverty, was raised by his Korean immigrant parents, who worked the fields of Dinuba, California. He learned to play the keyboard from free lessons by a church organist and later from a touring pianist and composer before studying with Arnold Schoenberg at UCLA. In 1941, Earl was drafted and served as a US combat intelligence officer during World War II, where he earned the rank of captain and sharpshooter, enduring racism by his fellow servicemen. He flew over Nagasaki one day after the atomic bomb was dropped, an experience that shaped his artistic vision. After the war, Earl taught at UC Berkeley. He stood up to McCarthyism and refused to sign The Loyalty Oath, which cost him his job. Earl subsequently taught at Princeton for 15 years and at Harvard for 23 years as the James M. Ditson Professor of Music. The documentary also spotlights Earl’s significant connection to writer Samuel Beckett and the innovative cross-over music it inspired. Interviews with such artists as the iconic violinist and conductor Itzhak Perlman, who recorded Earl's violin concerto with Seiji Ozawa and The Boston Symphony Orchestra, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Harbison, soprano Benita Valente, PBS television host and conductor Scott Yoo, and award-winning composers Paul Salerni and Anthony Brandt provide Insights into Earl’s life and considerable accomplishments. An official selection by multiple film festivals, Earl. has received several awards, including Best Director at the Cannes World Film Festival.
For tickets ($25) and information, please call 626.355.4318 or visit www.sierramadreplayhouse.org. Sierra Madre Playhouse is located at 87 West Sierra Madre Boulevard, Sierra Madre, CA 91024.
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