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YouTube Exclusive Single – Jennifer Koh performs “Assembly” from Vijay Iyer’s Trouble for Violin and Chamber Orchestra
Cedille is excited to release an exclusive YouTube single of the sixth movement, “Assembly” from Vijay Iyer’s Trouble in a masterful performance by violinist Jennifer Koh and the Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble conducted by Timothy Weiss. Iyer’s work is featured in The Cool Blue Wind, a photographic collage and permanent installation at the Obama Presidential Center.
Vijay Iyer’s six movement concerto, Trouble — co-commissioned by the Ojai Music Festival, Cal Performances in Berkeley, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra (2017) — developed out of his conversations with Koh about the political climate following the 2016 election, the immigrant experience, and the high-profile injustices that have plagued U.S. history. A major impetus for the project was the story of Vincent Chin, the Chinese American man who was beaten to death in a racially motivated assault by two white men in Detroit in 1982. “Assembly” is an all-encompassing, folk-like, episodic finale with growing contrapuntal lines that gradually dissipate before building up once more: a metaphor for the political injustices shaping Trouble’s musical storytelling.
This summer, Cedille Records will release the first in a series of recordings based on Koh’s groundbreaking commissioning project, The American Concerto. Volume One features Iyer’s Trouble and the world premiere recording of Courtney Bryan‘s Syzygy, also performed with the Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble conducted by Timothy Weiss.
The American Concerto, Volume One will be available for download and streaming starting August 14, 2026.
Recommended
Pacifica Quartet’s final album in the American Collections trilogy – American Portraits. Bringing together touchstones of the American repertoire, American Portraits features some of the most canonical American chamber works alongside world premiere recordings of two newly commissioned works.
Winner of Cedille Records’ 2025 Emerging Artist Competition, Chicago-born oboist Oliver Talukder makes his solo recording debut with Briefly Gorgeous. Joined by pianist Moriah Trenk, Talukder presents an album inspired by themes of identity, love, family, and belonging. Drawing on his Mexican and Bengali heritage and his Chicago upbringing, the program explores where classical music intersects with Latino and South Asian traditions, creating a musical portrait shaped by Talukder’s unique story.
To celebrate the Oct. 9 release of American Portraits, the Pacifica Quartet‘s 18th album for Cedille, a playlist with a track from each of its Cedille albums, in chronological order, starting with its very first CD in 1999.