Rin Seo

City Suite
Release Date: October 3, 2025
Label: Cellar Music Group

For many across America, New York City stands as a monument to the history, tradition, and spirit of America from its foundation. For New York-based Korean composer and conductor Rin Seo, New York City stands as a monument to personal trial, ambition, struggle, and triumph. Now, with ten years of reflection, craftsmanship, and artistic development, Seo presents City Suite, an opening statement that powerfully showcases her ability to blend influences of Western classical, jazz, theater, and Korean folk music to spin stories and tell tales that enrapture audiences. As legendary composer Jim McNeely says, “[Seo's] imagination and skill have produced a marvelous album” that features a “big-enough band…to provide power when needed but can also be very lyrical and flexible when changing textures.” Featuring a 14-piece ensemble with guest appearances by trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, the Rin Seo Collective poignantly brings to life every twist and turn of the tapestry that Seo has woven.  

The album’s title, City Suite, is derived from the name of the opening three-movement suite on the album. This tripartite work collectively reflects Seo's impressions of New York - the city in which she chose to pursue her dreams and lived for 7 years. The suite opens with “The Big Apple,” an upbeat, dynamic piece that portrays this city's characteristic fast pace and ambition. Next is “Cityscape,” a funky piece with a riveting groove which captures two parallel emotions: the first being the awe and dazzling beauty of New York's skyline by night, while the second being the sense of isolation and nostalgia spurred on by the urban life that such a skyline represents. The final movement in the title suite is “Alone, but Not Alone,” whose inspiration came to Seo while on a solitary walk. The piece embodies the sense of loneliness that accompanies chasing a dream in a city of such magnitude and pairs it with the hopeful realization that when surrounded by friends, family, and colleagues, one is never truly alone.

The storytelling nature of the title pieces makes City Suite an apt name for the album, as the remaining five pieces likewise evoke tales of New York that further expound upon the ideas presented in the suite. With four additional original compositions and a greatly reconstructed arrangement of Wayne Shorter's “Blues à la Carte,” Seo captures emotions, events, people, and places that have been a part of her life during her decade in the United States. 

The album's emotional journey continues with "Music for Dance No. 2," where Seo draws inspiration from the fluid movements and free expression of modern dance. Infused with vibrant Afro-Cuban rhythms, this piece serves as a musical tribute to New York City itself—celebrating the city’s vast cultural diversity, energy, and love that has shaped Seo's artistic vision. The album finds its poignant conclusion with "Riding a Bike," a fitting metaphor for life's inevitable ups and downs, falls and recoveries, and the resilience required to keep moving forward. Featuring the masterful artistry of trumpetist Ingrid Jensen, this closing piece encapsulates the overarching theme of perseverance that threads throughout Seo's debut work, bringing the listener full circle in their journey through both the city and the composer's soul.

A major part of the artistry of City Suite is Seo's vision in assembling just the right ensemble to intentionally and actively bring each piece to life. With melody at the fore while still utilizing artful counterpoint, rhythmic complexity, and stylistic blending, Seo's compositions required a crew that was a step above the rest in individual and collective ability. Notable to the band are musicians whose specific sounds Seo envisioned from the beginning of the compositional process. Most prominently of these are Ingrid Jensen. “My connection with Ingrid Jensen dates back to my master’s studies at Manhattan School of Music,” Seo says. “During a big band rehearsal, she spontaneously performed a solo on one of my pieces. Her playing that day felt like a surprising gift, and from then on, I dreamed of featuring her on my debut recording. I'm so thrilled that my dream became a reality.” The ensemble on City Suite comprises Rin Seo (composer, conductor); Steve Wilson, Ethan Helm, Dan Pratt, and Andrew Gutauskas (woodwinds); John Lake and Ingrid Jensen (trumpets); Adam Unsworth (horn); Nick Grinder (trombone); Joyce Hammann and Sita Chay (violins); Orlando Wells (viola); Jody Redhage Ferber (cello); Sebastian Noelle (guitar); Adam Birnbaum (piano); Matt Clohesy (double bass); Jared Schonig (drums, percussion).

From start to finish, City Suite is a standout work of brilliance. A remarkable debut, Seo's music  takes listeners on twists and turns as they are taken on a journey not just through New York, but through the heart and soul of the composer herself.