If This Kayagŭm Could Talk...

Details: Category: Performing Arts

"...It would speak to the seasons." Join us for a rich evening of time circling through the elegant sounds of Rami Seo's kayagǔm. Powerful at times, passive at others, Ms. Seo's stringed wonder takes us from spring through summer, to autumn's passing and wintry embrace...and back again to spring. Relax amid the contemplative sounds and relish the rich history of the kayagǔm.

Thursday, May 20, 2010
6:15 PM Check-in
6:30 PM Recital

"If This Kayagŭm Could Talk..."
Kayagŭm Recital

The Korea Society
950 Third Avenue @ 57th Street, 8th Floor
$10 for members and students; $20 for nonmembers
(Walk-in registration will incur an additional charge of $5)

For more information or to register for the program, please contact Heewon Kim or 212-759-7525, ext. 355.

About the Performer

Rami Seo is an accomplished kayagǔm artist who performs an expansive repertoire on the 12-string and 25-string kayagǔm. Her repertoire includes traditional Korean court music, sanjo epics, kayagǔm byong-chang, folk and contemporary compositions. She has performed in Korea, Japan, China and the United States, at venues that include Lincoln Center, Symphony Space, Avery Fisher Hall, Kaye Playhouse and the National Grand Theater of Korea.

If this kayagǔm could talk…

If this kayagǔm could talk
It might tell tales…
Of kings that ruled
In gilded courts,
Bent peasants
Out in the fields,
A nameless ki-saeng
With her private audience,
A famed musician
Whose song is legend;

Or it might tell
Of untried dreams,
And uncounted hours,
Unspoken truths,
And unshed tears…

If this kayagǔm could talk
You just might hear
The unstrung words
To my heart’s impetuous song;
Within each measure
My unrelenting pulse;
My palpable Joy
Resonating…
Beneath my weeping fingertips.

-Michelle C. Yoon

nysca