Date/Time
Date(s) - 05/16/2021
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Location
Old First Presbyterian Church
Category(ies)
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Kim Juk Pa (1911-1989) Scattered Melodies (Kim Juk Pa Gayageum Sanjo)
Sanjo, which translates to ‘scattered melodies’, is a form of music in which an organized rhythmic progression of movements is performed on a solo instrument. It was inspired by the popularity of improvised instrumental shaman music and narrative storytelling in the late 19th century in Korea. It was first developed for the gayageum and later written for many other instruments. In ‘scattered melodies’, the sections move from the slowest rhythm, taking up to half of the total performance time, followed by the increasingly faster movements. Kim Juk Pa’s Scattered Melodies has its roots in the music of her grandfather Kim Chang Jo (1856-1919), who pioneered the sanjo form. In her work, she proudly contributes to the ongoing vitality of sanjo, accomplishing extreme beauty through the tension of altering rhythmic cycle and sequence.
Hwayoung Shon, a gayageum performer, was praised by Seong-Chun Lee, former director of the National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts, as an outstanding performer who appears once in several decades. Hwayoung Shon made her public debut at the age of 10 in 1986 with Korean Broadcasting System. She graduated from Seoul National University and is the winner of 11 national Korean music competitions. At the age of 17, she was awarded the grand prize at the national gayageum competition, the most prestigious gayageum competition in Korea. It was featured in newspapers, TV and acclaimed by media as the most beautiful and gorgeous-sounding performer despite her young age. She was also the first gayageum performer to collaborate with a K-Pop band on TV in Korea.
As a soloist, she has been invited to many distinguished concert halls such as Herbst Theatre and performed on many prominent stages. She also performs in the United States, Japan, Europe, and her performances were broadcasted nationwide by KBS, MBC, EBS, SBS in Korea.