mOthertongue: Lived Experience
in Asian America

Three New Song Cycles, Premiering Fall 2024

Three new song cycles from Asian American composers Justine F. Chen,
Melissa Dunphy, & Kamala Sankaram, set to Asian American texts
Co-commissioned by soprano Jennifer Lien & Cincinnati Song Initiative
with generous support from the Minnesota State Arts Board Creative Individuals grant

Images of Asia have long sparked the European musical imagination. As described by European poets and composers, these images include exotic landscapes and fetishized female figures, stereotypes that remain even as the Asian diaspora has taken root and claimed citizenship all over the world. This recital asserts Asian American lived experience from the perspective of those of us who live it. These new songs describe the joys, pains, contradictions, and pride we experience as Asians living in this land we call home.

World Premiere: Oct 10, 2024, 12:00pm
Schubert Club Courtroom Concerts, St. Paul, MN
(Q&A after the concert)
with Lina Yoo-Min Lee, piano

Oct 25, 2024, 7:30pm
(Q&A after the concert)
Carleton College, Northfield, MN
with Lina Yoo-Min Lee, piano

Nov 15, 2024, 7:00pm
(Q&A after the concert)
Concordia College, Moorhead, MN
with Lina Yoo-Min Lee, piano

Feb 16, 2025
(Q&A after the concert)
University of Minnesota Morris
with Lina Yoo-Min Lee, piano

Mar 28, 2025, 7:30pm
(Q&A after the concert)
The College of St. Scholastica, Duluth, MN
with Lina Yoo-Min Lee, piano

May 12, 2025
Composers’ Roundtable: 2:30pm (auditor ticket required)
Recital: 7:30pm (open to public)
Cincinnati Song Initiative: Fellowship of the Song
with Christina Lalog Seal, piano

Jennifer Lien is a fiscal year 2024 recipient of a Creative Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage fund.