Ronn Branton Solo Piano Concert

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Contact for Tickets: 010-3817-7214

"An Elegant Fusion of Jazz and Classical"

Jazz Solo Concert

Ronn Branton’s <Poetry with Piano>

Special guest: Soprano Alex Doyaun Branton

"He doesn't play many notes, yet the music feels complete."

"A performance that balances structural beauty with improvisation, showcasing a sound where chamber music sensibility meets the swing of jazz."

"Reminiscent of John Lewis’s aesthetic but more modern, reflecting a deeper composer-like approach to performance."

"A pianist who contemplates jazz structurally, prioritizing restraint, balance, and form over emotional excess.

"Intellectual swing over exaggerated bravado; a calm yet deep groove that values the weight of every single note and harmony. A performance that chooses elegance over flashiness, and structure over mere spontaneity."

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Information

Date & Time: Saturday, June 6, 2026, at 3:00 PM

Venue: Kumho Art Hall Yonsei

Tickets: R-class: 55,000W / S-class: 44,000W / A-class: 33,000W

Presenter/Organizer: Musical Park

Sponsor: Sage Korea

Supporters: MMJAZZ / McCANN

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Contemplating Through the Piano

Ronn Branton does not view jazz as just flash or show. He is a pianist who sees jazz as the art of composition and performance – all held within a moment of time. Consequently, he is a musician better described as "craft conscious" rather than just "technically skilled." He refines the improvisation of jazz through the lens of classical skills — a meditative pianist who prioritizes the architecture and perfection of expression‎ that can be found in music. By weaving jazz spontaneity and classical structure into a single language, he favors formal completeness over flashiness and musical order over emotional eruption, designing every note and every silence as an integral part of the music. Through this solo stage, he will bring the contemplation and profound art of jazz together through the piano.

Ronn Branton’s Piano Never Rushes

Improvisation is a breath held, creating structure, and silence becomes a space to prepare for the next note. As the boundaries between jazz and classical music can blur, the audience experiences a shared musical meditation rather than just "listening" to a performance. This solo concert is a venue where that contemplation is most transparently revealed. Because he approaches jazz as a process where structure and interpretation are revealed spontaneously, his improvisation is free but never chaotic, and his classical thinking is rigorous but never rigid. Within the format of the piano, Ronn Branton will calmly unveil the clear, formal beauty and depth of what jazz can be.

Ronn Branton Chooses Hong Nan-pa

Ronn Branton favors music with nuance. Branton chosed 4 tunes of Hong Nan-Pa for Korean songs. The works of Hong Nan-pa feature short, vivid themes and simple yet formally closed structures; the emotions are direct without being excessive, offering melodies highly conducive to variation and expansion. Given Branton’s musical disposition, it is no surprise he chose Hong Nan-pa. Branton is a musician who has deeply explored things Korean, ranging from Trot to children's songs and art songs (Gagok).

Branton, however does not consider Hong Nan-pa’s writing as merely being comprised of "Korean sentimentality." His intention becomes clear when he refers to Hong as the "Schubert of Korea" and invites his daughter, soprano Alex Doyaun Branton — a doctoral student at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music — to join him in exploring the work of Hong. The structural clarity of Hong’s melodies and their resilience and artistic implications under variation provide the framework for Branton’s arrangements. Hong’s music stands tall even without accompaniment and remains intact even when deconstructed slowly, embracing silence and space—qualities that perfectly align with Branton’s aesthetic. In this performance, rather than simply giving Hong’s melodies a "jazz makeover," Branton meditates on the inherent emotional quality of Hong’s writing and how it can be expressed through the art of arrangement.

Special Guest: Soprano Alex Doyaun Branton

Studying for PhD in Opera Voice at Indiana University, Bloomington(Jacobs School of Music)