Musical duo Yu&I has a fresh take on violin and guitar

FALLBROOK – Movie themes. Haunting gypsy songs. Popular refrains. Whatever is beautiful and lends itself to a soaring violin and an intricate guitar will be presented by YU&I Duo in Fallbrook Music Society's free concert Sunday, Nov. 12, at 2 p.m. Violinist YuEun Gemma Kim and Guitarist Ines Thomé captivate audiences with their charisma and virtuosity as they present arrangements ranging from traditional to boundary breaking. The program will feature music with popular influences and show the versatility of a violin and a guitar playing together, with selections ranging from Franz Schubert and Bela Bartok to Piazzolla and Morricone.

Winners of the Beverly Hills National Auditions, Korean-born Kim and German-born Thomé share a story that began a decade ago when they were two aspiring musicians from different corners of the globe. They became housemates while studying at University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music. Over the years, their artistic partnership has flourished, captivating audiences across the United States with their magnetic stage presence and consummate musicality.

Kim performs internationally as a soloist and chamber musician with a wide variety of repertoire. She has performed in the U.S., Asia and Europe and was a top prize winner at Boulder International Chamber Music Competition Art of Duo. She was a semifinalist at the Qingdao International Violin Competition in China and at the Michael Hill International Violin Competition in New Zealand. She recently received the Jeffrey Thomas Award from American Bach Soloists. During the coronavirus pandemic, she and her artistic director went on the road in a vintage Volkswagen bus to perform socially distanced concerts for farm workers, winemakers, random passersby and even an occasional ostrich.

Thomé's talent and dedication to music are evident through her numerous awards from international competitions in Germany, Italy and the United States, including first prizes at the Beverly Hills National Auditions, the International Guitar Competition in Walnut Creek and the American Guitar Society's Bickford Competition. She performs nationally and internationally as a solo and chamber musician. Thomé has a keen interest in historical performance practice and plays a variety of period instruments including the lute, theorbo and baroque guitar.

This concert will be held in Fallbrook's historic Mission Theater, 231 N. Main Avenue. Theater doors open for social hour at 1 p.m .; concert hall doors open at 1:30 p.m., and the concert begins at 2 p.m.

For more information, visit http://www,fallbrookmusicsociety.org or call 760-451-8644.

Submitted by Fallbrook Music Society.