Welcome to my project Clexical!
My name is Laurentia and I am a violinist and contemporary music enthusiast.
"Clexical" is a term I coined to blend 'classical' and 'lexical' because I believe it captures
the essence of how I approach modern classical music. For me, clexical is about diving deep into the diverse elements of music – the melodies, rhythms, harmonies – much like delving into the vocabulary of a language.
Instead of simply listening to a piece, I aim to dissect it, understand its structure, and engage in a meaningful dialogue with the composer through their compositions. It's a unique way of experiencing classical contemporary music, one that allows for a deeper appreciation and connection with the art form.
This project is made possible with the generous support from the
The Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund(2022-24)
Alex Nair Bahk Foundation(2023) and National Federation of Music(2024),
as an awardee of their grants.
Shin KIM : "HOLO"(2019/2020) for Violin Solo World Premiere performed by violinist Jinan Laurentia Woo for the Menuhin Competition 2021 in Richmond, United States.
JESSICA KRASH : "The Imagined Wisdom of Bella Davis"(2022) for Violin Solo World Premiere performed by violinist Laurentia Jinan Woo for the 2022 Johansen International Competition for Young String Players
Jinan Laurentia Woo
Violinist Jinan Laurentia Woo is a student at the Juilliard School's Pre-College division and Columbia Preparatory School and the founder of Clexical.
At the age of 12, Laurentia commissioned “Holo”(2020) for solo violin from Korean composer Shin Kim for the Menuhin International Competition, commemorating her Korean heritage and culture. Additionally, Laurentia won the prize for Best Performance of a Commissioned Work at the 2022 Johansen International Competition for her performance of Jessica Krash’s
“The Wisdom of Bella Pavis”(2022). This led to her recording the piece for Krash’s upcoming album with Albany Records.
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From those insightful experiences, Laurentia realized that firstly, finding contemporary works written after 1960-which is becoming required at more competitions nowadays-was more challenging than finding works from other periods of classical music. This is because emerging classical works are not broadly publicized and as accessible to those without the knowledge to obtain it. Secondly, communicating with the composer of the work you were working on was an invaluable education in understanding the greater meaning of the piece and its role in shaping the scene of contemporary classical music. This inspired her to create Clexical to provide a platform to introduce new works along with commentary and insight from interviews
with composers.