Students from Sookmyung Women’s University, a national private university located in Seoul, South Korea, will perform at a guest chamber music recital at 8 p.m. Friday in Auer Hall.
The event, presented by the Jacobs School of Music, is free and open to the public.
The performance will feature 11 students.
The performance will feature a piano duo, a piano trio, a vocal duo and a wind quintet.
The concert is part of the Sookmyung College of Music’s USA Concert Tour.
According to a Jacobs School of Music press release, the collaboration with Sookmyung Women’s University began with Jacobs’ first Asian tour last March.
The 36 members of the IU Chamber Orchestra, led by Jacobs professors Jorja Fleezanis and Stephen Wyrczynski, played a series of four concerts in Seoul, according to the press
release.
The organizing faculty of the recital includes Jung Ae Sohn and Hideki Isoda.
Isoda, a professor of music at Sookmyung Women’s Univeristy, said the association between the two universities was influenced by his personal connection to IU.
“The whole thing is partly because I’m an IU graduate, so I’m taking my students back to Bloomington,” he said.
Isoda said the Jacobs School of Music is an excellent music school.
He said he is excited the two schools are coming together again.
“Having two music schools’ collaboration — that’s a wonderful thing,” Isoda said.
The press release described the collaboration as having “a spirit of cultural exchange.”
Isoda said about 8 percent of IU music students are Korean.
He said many Sookmyung alumnae choose IU for graduate school as well.
Isoda said touring around the world is an important experience for training musicians.
He said Sookmyung music students have traveled to countries such as Russia and Australia in the past.
The music school has a world tour twice a year.
Isoda said the selection of music includes a variety of pieces, giving the students the opportunity to showcase the skills they learn in the music school.
According to the Jacobs School of Music website, the repertoire includes the pieces “Suite No. 2 in C Major for two pianos, Op. 17” by Sergei Rachmaninoff and “‘Viens, Mallika ... Sous le dôme épais’ (‘Flower Duet’) from ‘Lakmé’” by LéoDelibes, “Trio pathétique in D Minor for piano, violin and cello” by Mikhail Glinka and “Serenade for wind quintet (1951)” by Ferenc Farkas.
The concert also features Dong Jin Kim’s “New Arirang for soprano and
piano (1942).”
This piece is an arrangement of a traditional Korean piece that will be performed by the vocal duo.
Isoda said he is looking forward to bringing Korean cultural music to IU.
He said he believed the piece will draw an emotional reaction from members of the IU Korean community who attend the concert.
“As soon as they hear the melody, some of them might have tears,” Isoda said.
Isoda said he is excited for the students to have the experience of performing outside South Korea and playing for a different audience at IU.
Isoda teaches students music entrepreneurship,
he said.
For students, going on tour throughout the world is a helpful step toward becoming a professional musician, he said.
Isoda said he hoped there is a large turnout for the concert, which features wonderful music from one of Seoul’s best universities.
“We hope the audience will really enjoy it,” he said.
