This Sunday, Bienen and Weinberg freshman Sean Jang will perform the violin at the 20th anniversary concert hosted by the Sejong Cultural Association at Galvin Recital Hall on campus. Korean American Cultural Association based in Chicago.
Chan has been playing the violin since he was 4 years old, and will perform with Kyung Soon Lee, professor of violin music at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, who has taught violin for many years.
“I’m where I am today because of Lee,” Chan said. “She’s an honor to play with.”
This is Jang’s first involvement with the Sejong Cultural Association. He was invited to perform by Lee Park and Lucy Park. Executive Director of the organization.
Park said the Sejong Cultural Association’s purpose is to bridge the cultural gap between Koreans, Korean Americans and Americans in the United States.
“Our mission is to introduce Korean culture to American audiences, and our focus is on youth and the younger generation,” Park said.
2015 Sejong Cultural Association Violin Competition Winner Carisa Chiu I also perform at concerts.
Chiu currently holds a master’s degree in violin performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music and has been involved with the Sejong Cultural Association for over 10 years.
“I first attended Sejong in 2010 when I was 10 or 11 years old,” Chiu said. “I was in the junior division at the time, and since then I have participated every year until 2015, when I won the senior division.”
The Sejong Cultural Association also works toward its mission through other programs such as piano, violin, composition, writing, and most importantly, poetry tone competitions.
The ancient writing style has been prevalent in Korean culture for centuries. Sejong Center for the Performing Arts seeks to bring Siseong to a wider audience here in the United States
“The biggest program is to write poetry in Korean, poetry in English, and poetry in English, so that it immediately becomes part of American culture and enriches American culture,” Park said.
David Ludwig, Dean and Director of Music at The Juilliard School, I share this feeling.
Mr. Ludwig first became involved with the association as a judge for a music competition at Mr. Park’s request, but has now returned as the keynote speaker for the 20th anniversary concert. He is scheduled to speak at the event via Zoom.
“There’s something really beautiful about the idea of building bridges between cultures and finding ways for people to find common ground and communicate,” Ludwig said. “And I think that’s the ultimate goal of this organization.”
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