Clexical is a student-led nonprofit organization 501(c)(3) that aims to democratize access to contemporary music.
Clexical was founded in response to a young musician's personal struggles to discover and engage with contemporary repertoire.
This individual challenge echoed a broader, collective frustration over the lack of accessible resources for exploring modern music.
Motivated by this gap, the team created a platform devoted to expanding access to contemporary compositions.
Through Clexical, they spotlight emerging and established composers, host workshops and concerts for children with limited exposure to
contemporary classical music, and explore innovative trends shaping the future of the art form.
Their shared vision fuels Clexical's mission to make contemporary music more inclusive and accessible for all,
creating a space where individuals can explore, learn, and grow through the power of music.
This project is made possible with the generous support from
The Hong Kong Jockey Club Music and Dance Fund(2022),
Alex Nair Bahk Foundation(2023)
and National Federation of Music(2024),
as an awardee of their grants.
President / Co-founder / Head of Outreach Program
Hana Tsai
Hana Tsai, 17, is a violinist studying with Professor Elizabeth Chang at Juilliard Pre-College and has been a chamber musician in the New York Youth Symphony Chamber Music Program since 2021. In the summer of 2025, she attended the Kennedy Center’s National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute on a full scholarship. She is a 2025 National YoungArts Award winner and the New York State Winner of the 2024 MTNA Senior String Competition. Her other honors include awards from the Adelphi Orchestra Young Artist Competition, Prodigy International Music Competition, International Grand Music Competition, and the Bravura Philharmonic Concerto Competition.
Through Clexical, Hana conducts in-depth interviews with living composers. These conversations have reshaped how she approaches contemporary repertoire. Rather than new music as something abstract or distant, a living dialogue between composer and performer allows her to understand new works through the composers’ creative intentions, personal histories, and artistic decisions.
As a co-founder of Clexical, Hana is committed to bringing these perspectives to fellow young musicians by demystifying contemporary music and encouraging active collaboration with composers. Looking ahead, she aims to expand Clexical’s workshops and mentorship programs to further support students, including herself, in discovering, performing, and advocating for modern classical music.
About us
Vice president / Head of California Region and Enrichment Program
Minji Choi
Minji Choi is a 16 year-old violinist studying under the tutelage of Professor Margaret Batjer at the Colburn Music Academy, where she currently serves as the Concertmaster of the Colburn Music Academy’s conductorless chamber orchestra, Virtuosi. She previously studied with Chloe Chiu, and has also received guidance from renowned violinists including Donald Weilerstein, Stefan Jackiw, Yoojin Jang, Jessica Lee, Jinjoo Cho, Paul Kantor, Qian Zhou, and Bing Wang through masterclasses and lessons.
Since making her debut at age 13 with the Southern California Philharmonic, Minji has made appearances as a soloist with the Pasadena Community Orchestra, the Bellflower Symphony, and the Orchestra Collective of Orange County. In 2025, Minji was nominated as the Grand Prize Finalist in classical music and scholarship recipient at the 2025 The Music Center’s Annual Spotlight Competition, where she was given the opportunity to perform at the Ahmanson Theater in its Finale performance. She was also named a 2025 and 2026 National YoungArts Winner.
While having been constantly drawn to exploring the world of contemporary music, Minji’s deeper appreciation for the genre rooted from her experience as a participant of the Yellow Barn Young Artists Program, where she was given the opportunity to interact and work with modern composers. Being able to share musical ideas and concepts with the composer themselves and, as a result, fully understand and acknowledge the composer’s intentions in every note they write has become a core component of Minji’s beliefs as a musician. Through her involvement with Clexical, she hopes to create an environment that allows today’s classical music to become more accessible to all.
Clexical Leadership
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Clexical Ambassadors
Bergen/NJ Chapter Leader
Semin Chun, violinist
(Cresskil High School)
Contemporary Music Performance Log:
1.Astor Piazzolla - Tango Etude 3
Princeton/NJ Chapter Leader
Valentina Chen, violinist
(Princeton Day School)
Contemporary Music Performance Log:
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Shelly Washington- Middleground
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George Walker - String Quartet No. 1
Bergen/NJ, USA
Abijah Aranda, pianist
(Bergen County Academies)
Contemporary Music Performance Log:
1.Glinka - The Skylark
NYC/NY, USA
Claire Lee, violinist
(Spence School)
Contemporary Music Performance Log:
1. Michael Jeffrey Shapiro - Peace Variations No. 3 (2010)
Minnesota, USA Chapter Leader
Taeho Kim, clarinetist
(Bergen County Academies)
Contemporary Music Performance Log:
Silicon Valley/CA, USA
Jesse Kim, violinist
(Fremont High School)
Contemporary Music Performance Log:
Silicon Valley/CA, USA
Katie Kim, oboist
(Cupertino Middle School)
Contemporary Music Performance Log:
NYC/NY, USA
Larissa Lakner, cellist/compoeser
(Juilliard School Pre-college)
Contemporary Music Performance Log:
1. George Crumb - Sonata for Solo Cello, 1st movement
2. Sophia Dou - Dance of the Unconscious Particles and Awkward Ghosts (World Premiere)
Bergen/NJ Chapter Leader
Sejin Chun, cellist
(Bergen County Academies)
Contemporary Music Performance Log:
1. Andrea Casarrubios – SEVEN for solo cello (2020)
Bergen/NJ
Jinha Park, violist
(Academy of Holy Angels)
Contemporary Music Performance Log:
1. Zelter, K.F. - Concerto for Viola E flat major, 1st movement
Scarsdale/NY
Serena Li, cellist
(Scarsdale High School)
Contemporary Music Performance Log:
1. Muczynski-Gallery Unaccompanied Cello Suite (1966)
2. Rosner-Danses à la mode (1994)
NYC/NY
Jacky Chuang, violinist
(Special Music School)
Contemporary Music Performance Log:
1.
Florida
Robert Choi, violinist
(Bak Middle School of the Arts)
Contemporary Music Performance Log:
1.
Florida
Lydia Choi, violist
(Bak Middle School of the Arts)
Contemporary Music Performance Log:
1.
Young Ambassadors
Lielle Park
(Mentored by Alyson Lee)
Contemporary Music Performance Log:
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A Trumpet March edited by Himie Voxman (1955)
Anderson Lee
(Mentored by Edward Lee)
Contemporary Music Performance Log:
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Waltz No.2 by Dmitri Shostakovich (1938)
Leah Haejoon Woo
(Mentored by Hana Tsai)
Contemporary Music Performance Log:
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Toccatina by Dmitri Kabalevsky (1932)
Stella Kwak
(Mentored by Claire Kim)
Contemporary Music Performance Log:
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Prelude in C major Op.12,No.7 by Sergei Prokofiev (1960)
Chloe Taeyeon Kim
(Mentored by Minji Choi)
Contemporary Music Performance Log:
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L. Portnoff Concertino in E minor (1940)
Min Chae
(Mentored by Abijah Aranda)
Contemporary Music Performance Log:
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Ride Ride by Dmitri Kabalevsky (1932)
What we do
Industry News
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Makes contemporary classical music accessible to everyone.
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Ensures everyone has the opportunity to stay informed and engaged.
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Cultivates a more inclusive and diverse environment within the contemporary music landscape.
Composer Interviews
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Offers insights into composers' creative processes and perspectives.
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Humanizes their work, making it more relatable and accessible.
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Amplifies composers' voices, fostering greater diversity in classical music.
Enrichment Programs
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Provides students with practical skills and resources to deepen their understanding of contemporary music.
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Makes music education accessible to all, shaping a more diverse future.
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Empowers young musicians from all backgrounds to thrive.
"Clexical," as coined by Jinan Laurentia Woo, is indeed a blend of "classical" and "lexical.""Clexical" is a term used to describe a unique way of exploring modern classical music. It focuses on understanding the various musical elements, such as melodies, rhythms, and harmonies, almost like understanding the vocabulary of music. This approach emphasizes analyzing and appreciating the individual components of the music, aiming to engage in a dialogue with the composers through their compositions.
"Clexical," as coined by Jinan Laurentia Woo, is indeed a blend of "classical" and "lexical.""Clexical" is a term used to describe a unique way of exploring modern classical music. It focuses on understanding the various musical elements, such as melodies, rhythms, and harmonies, almost like understanding the vocabulary of music. This approach emphasizes analyzing and appreciating the individual components of the music, aiming to engage in a dialogue with the composers through their compositions.
Our goals
Industry News
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A monthly overview of three featured concerts
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Four to five reviews published each month
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Weekly updates on the contemporary music landscape
Composer Interviews
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Six interviews conducted each month
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Two interviews conducted monthly
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Podcast episodes released regularly
Enrichment Programs
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Bi-weekly contemporary music concerts held in public spaces
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Summer camp designed to inspire future generations
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Ambassador Program for music outreach
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Buddy Program providing mentorship and support
"We aim to inspire young people across the globe with our dynamic enrichment programs.
By forming strong partnerships with schools and institutions, we’re expanding our reach and impact. Our goal is to increase online audience engagement by 50%, connecting even more students
to the transformative power of contemporary music."
Founder
Jinan Laurentia Woo
Teen violinist Jinan Laurentia Woo, a Yale University student and Juilliard Pre-College graduate who studied under Itzhak Perlman, is the founder of Clexical, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing contemporary classical music. At 12, she commissioned Holo (2020) from Korean composer Shin Kim for the Menuhin Competition, honoring her Korean heritage. She later won Best Performance of a Commissioned Work at the 2022 Johansen Competition for her rendition of Jessica Krash's The Wisdom of Bella Pavis.
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.
Laurentia’s love for contemporary music extends to a diverse range of composers, from Arvo Pärt and George Crumb to living creators like Caroline Shaw and Jessie Montgomery. Most recently, she co-founded the Juilliard Pre-College New Music Ensemble, DERIVE with David Fulmer, aiming to further engage her community with innovative classical music.
