Gallery Concert - Music + Art

The Korea Foundation Cultural Center's 4th Anniversary Gallery concert
Date: 1st Sep & 2nd Sep 2009
Time: 7pm
Venue: Gallery Nuri, KF Cultural Center

I applied for the 2nd night as there was the famous jazz group and special performance by French painter Gerard Economos. First night was performed by Grupo Vocal Millennium (conductor, Lim Jae-Sik) and second night by Jazz Quintet Prelude and special performance by painter Gerard Economos.

The Korea Foundation has been promoting Korea and its culture worldwide through various international exchange activities since its foundation in 1991. And as part of these efforts, the Korea Foundation Cultural Center was established in downtown Seoul in 2005. It provides a venue for cultural exchange  through which Koreans and foreign residents in Korea can experience each others' cultures.

You can visit their homepage: http://www.kfcenter.or.kr/ for more information or visit them
Korea Foundation Cultural Center, JoongAng Ilbo Building, 1st Floor, 7 Sunhwa-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul 100-759, Korea Foundation.

Prelude
"Prelude" is a jazz band of 6 Berklee Music College graduates, led by pianist Heean Ko.
The band was started by 5 Koreans and 1 expat in 2003 and has rapidly expanded its presence on the Korean jazz scene with its debut album "Croissant" in 2995 and its 2nd album "Breezing up" released in 2007. Afterwards it reorganized as a quintet of a piano, bass guitar, drum and 2 tenor saxophones, as its altoist left the team. In face, what made the team unique on the Korean jazz scene was that brass is the core of its sound.

French Artist Gerard Economos

Gerard Economos is a French painter who has focused on Lyrical Abstraction Art with core elements of nature as the main theme of his works. He introduced the concept "Music to see, painting to hear" in the early 1980s and has presented painting performance to live orchestra music since then.

With the grand theme of nature and the world as his main motive, he also expresses his inspiration from the orchestra's performance. He has been performing in cooperation with various international music groups, including Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, and Beijing Opera. He presented his performance to the music of jazz band "Prelude" for this year's KFCC Gallery Concert.

It's hard to find the photos of this painter, so I got it

from the brochure.

Let's go to the live show on 2nd Sep 2009:
I didn't manage to record the videos of the first 3 songs - breezing up, croissant and funly shake. They're really nice!


1st photo with white blank background


2nd photo with starting of painting



3rd photo with unfinished painting

4th photo with finished painting! Bravo! Within about 1 hour he finished the amazingly beautiful painting!

I also attached here with the videos. Hope you enjoy them too!

KF Center`s 4th Anniversary Gallery Concert

After the summer concert on 29th June, Korea Foundation Cultural Center will organize another concert again:

KF Center`s 4th Anniversary Gallery Concert

Date: 1 & 2 September
Time: 7 p.m.
Venue: Gallery Nuri

The Grupo Vocal Millennium, a Spanish choir led by conductor Im Jae-sik will be featured on the first night of the concert, and on the second night there will be a performance by Prelude, a jazz ensemble composed of Berkeley College of Music graduates, and the French painter Gerard Economos’ painting performance.

If you wish to attend the concert, choose the date(September 1 or 2) you would like to come and send them an email(kfcenter@kf.or.kr) with your name, the date you have chosen and contact information.
Reminder: They are taking seat reservation from 17th of August until the 26th and they are giving out 2 seats per person.

homepage: http://www.kfcenter.or.kr/

Don't miss the chance!

Into the New Tradition

Continued with the previous post:
(All information are obtained from the outlet given on the performance day)


1. Gayageum Quartet Yeoul

Yeoul (a group of 4 beautiful girls) creates a beautiful harmony of gayageum (12-stringed zither), the most popular string instrument that represents traditional Korean music.


All "Yeoul" members are graduates of Ehwa Womans Universtiy. The music created by the gayegeum quartet spans a variety of regions and genres. Their repertoires range from classics through jazz and the incorporate Western tunes and chords into their music. However, one can easily feel 'Korea' in their music. And that is in some part attributed to the uniqueness of the instrument itself, while in other aspects, that comes from the unique sensibility the quartet creates.

The group's name, "Yeoul," means "rapids" in Korean. THat is exactly what "Yeoul's" music represents. While their music may seem calm and peaceful on the surface, there is immense energy running deep inside it.

Profile:

Hwang Byung-Ki, one of the most renowned gayageum players, was captivated by four young gayageum players. Recognizing their talent and potential, he suggested that they team up with each other, which they finally did, in 2003, when 'Yeoul' was established. The four gayageum prodigies, who had focused on their own world while attending the same middle, high, undergraduate and graduate school, finally combined their talents to present an entirely different kind of Korean traditional music - a crossover of Korean traditional music with contemporary appeal - under the name of 'Yeoul.'

The gayageum quartet has experimented with new sounds and genres, testing the potential and limist of the instrument. Their music is at the same time traditional and modern, static and dynamic, intellectual and emotional, and even provocative.

It is their success in creating inspiring transformations of Korean traditional music by incorporating a variety of music genres that has been enthralling audiences. They have presented a perfect blend of gugak 국악, or Korean traditional music, and contemporary pop music so that they provided an avenue through which gugak can appeal to audiences.

Trout

7th Train 08:30

Happy Birthday

Fly Me to the Moon

Boating Song

Stairway to Heaven

2. Group wHOOL

Ethnomusicologists say that traditionally Asia emphasizes melody, while Europe focuses on harmony, and Africa on rhythm. Yet the traditional music of Korea, a part of Asia, employs a variety of rhythms, unlike its neighbouring countries. People who have ever had a chance to listen or see to a Samulnori performance will certainly agree with this.

Meanwhile, wHOOL's music has its roots in Korea's traditional rhythms. But they neither limit themselves to percussion instruments, nor do they stick to the Korean traditional rhythms. Rather, they have tried to weave the traditional rhythms into the feel of contemporary pop music.

One of the hotspots for young and hip "Seoulites" is the vicinity of Hongik University. And here, you can see "wHOOL's" performances almost every day. Based on traditional Korean instruments or rhythm, "wHOOL" has invited many youngsters to join in creating music that is really "open" to audiences.

The group's name is "wHOOL" has various meanings in Korean. In English, its sound is similar to "whole," while for Koreans, "wHOOL" sounds like an adverb "hul-" or "hul hul"-, which has the connotation of completely getting rid of , or forgetting about, everything that bothers you.

Profile:

wHOOL is a team of six individual members that create and recompose traditional Korean music that is enjoyable to people of all ages living in this modern era. They use the changgu, small gong, pipe, taepyeongso and other traditional isntruments along with handsonics, synthesizers and other modern digital musical instruments.

After forming in 2003 wHOOL has sold albums in Germany where they are based out of, and has performed by invitation in France, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, and San Fransisco confident in representing Korean music through their music. wHOOL has designed their own instruments, developed a super changgu, composed and produced music with the help of Seoul National University professor Lee Don-weung.

At present they are performing a Koreans' Culture Party at the "Pink Blossom Party" monthly at the Blossom Land in the vicinity of Hongik University.

The videos of wHOOL which I recorded that night couldn't be used because its extreme loudness! So sorry.

Summer concert

The weather is getting so hot these days after the raining days of last week. It may rain next week or the week after. After that, the true "hot" and "wet" summer arrives Korea.

So what can you do in this summer? Other than traveling or sports, why not go for a night concert or performance? They have cool air-con and exciting shows!

I attended a concert which was hosted by the Korea Foundation and organized by the Korea Foundation Cultural Center.

Date: 29th June 2009 (Monday)

Time: 7.30pm

Venue: Seoul Namsan Gugakdang (Namsangol Hanok Village)

The Korea Foundation

Concert for Foreigners 2009

Theme: Into the New Tradition

Gayageum Quartet Yeoul 여울 & Group Whool 훌

This was the first time I visited Seoul Namsan Gugakdang - the National Music Auditorium. It has the special design of the Korean traditional house. I was amazed to be here for free!

Ok... let me tell you how I managed to attend this concert for free.

It is a program held every summer since 2003 to provide foreigners residing in Korea with the opprtunity to experience the diversity of Korean culture. It is presented by the Korea Foundation.

Because of this site, I came to know about this type of concert, which I missed for the past 3 years!
I reserved 3 tickets in advance as required in early June.

The program was as follow:

By Yeoul

1. Dreaming
2. Trout
3. 7th Train 08:30
4. Happy birthday
5. Forgotten Autumn
6. Fly me to the moon
7. Boating Song 뱃노래
8. Stairway to Heaven

Intermission

By wHOOL

1. Spirit of the Continent
2. Energy from the Sun and the Moon
3. Start
4. Boat ride 선유 (뱃노리)
5. Sujechun 수제천

by Yeoul + wHOOL

1. Blues wHOOL
2. Miryang Arirang

The whole concert was 2 hours long - fully calm and harmony for the first session, later exciting and passionate for the second session and the last truly combination of Korean traditional music and modern music.

This concert gives me a new insight of the modernized traditional musical instruments. Traditional is not really traditional at all, but it is a tool for both the old and the new to express their love and passion for music. The new can be linked with the old, also the old with the new. The Koreans are very creative that they modified the gayageum. Also, the wHOOL group combined the modern music instruments with the old.

I will introduce the two groups in the next post. Let's enjoy the photos of the concert!

Yeoul (4 members but I only managed to take 3 of them here)

wHOOL group (blur)

With a video here too: