Performing viola and cello selections from Danzi, Beethoven, Clarke, Hindemith and Piston, violinist Caroline Johnston wows our holiday audience. Johnston, a Korean American adoptee, toured Korea as a young adult to widespread media acclaim. She has performed since across Asia, Europe and the United States, from Victoria Hall to Carnegie Hall, Alice Tulley, Kitara, and Symphony Hall Boston. Cellist Hamilton Berry, who has taught and performed from Sao Paolo’s favelas to Carnegie Hall, accompanies Johnston.
$10 Members, $20 Guests, $5 Students
Explorer/ YPN and above attend this program for FREE with Registration
5:30 PM | Registration
6:00 PM | Performance
The Korea Society is very pleased to present the traditional music and dance of the Chosŏn Kingdom courtesan, performed by Han TeRra, an extraordinary kayagŭm (12-string zither) player from Korea. Dr. Robert Provine, a renowned ethnomusicologist, will provide historical context for her performances, shedding light on the life and artistic world of a kisaeng.
The Korea Society proudly presents renowned p’ansori singer, Kim Sumi, in a rare New York performance of Korean traditional opera. P’ansori is a storytelling genre traditionally performed by a solo vocalist and a drummer playing a puk (barrel drum). The entire dramatic and narrative progression of the story rests on the singer who acts out all the characters, describes the scenes, and provides cultural and historical references. Kim Sumi will perform the “Song of Simch’ŏng, a classic tale of filial love in which a daughter sacrifices for her blind father.
Share in a musical global journey with virtuoso Mina Um, who took first at the Seventh Annual New York Music Competition and performed after at Carnegie Hall. She appeared as a soloist with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Boston Festival Orchestra and Farmington Valley Symphony. As a member of the Juilliard Orchestra, she performed again at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. Having appeared on ABC and in New York Magazine, Ms. Um performs works by Bach (Sonata No. 3), Paganini (Caprice No. 21, Op. 1), Piazzolla (Tango Etudes), and Yun Isang (Das Vogenchen from Li-Na im Garten). In preparing for her debut at TKS, Ms. Um hints, “My violin is my time machine. With it, I travel through time and around the world.”
The Korea Society proudly presents Barame Soop (Forest, Wind and Rain) performed by the Sonagi Project. One of the leading percussion groups in Korea, the Sonagi Project consists of five musicians led by Chang Jea Hyo. The group has created modern, original music on the basis of Korean traditional rhythms and chants. Barame Soop concerts are built around changgo (two-headed, hourglass shaped drums), ching (gongs), and p’ansori (narrative, story-telling folk opera), performed with an assumed liberty regarding the musical techniques and the forms of the ancient rhythms. Inspired by Korean Shamanism and the vocal art of p’ansori, Sonagi’s performances express exciting emotions from the deep bottom of the Korean heart with dynamic energy of Korean traditional music.
The music of rare and exceptional artistic expression from North Korea will be showcased at the Korea Society as part of its Korean Traditional Music Series. Eun Sun Jung, an award-winning and talented young kayagŭm (12 and 25 string zither) artist from Seoul, Korea, presents some of the folk music of North Korea, selected for its vibrant folk music style and its contemporary interpretation of older traditions.
Master percussionist Pak Vongku leads a recital of Korean buk and Japanese stringed koto, marrying the melodies of ancient Korea, Japan and India in a thoughtful zen/son-inspired performance for Asia Week New York 2012. Pak appeared recently for The Korea Society as part of its Seattle outreach program and has received rave reviews in New York City and nationally. Enjoy drummer Pak (janggu) and string-and-flute accompaniests Masayo Isigure (koto) and Steve Gorn (bansuri). The Contemplative Traditions series is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.