The 2,000 seats at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, a landmark of LA architecture and a global temple of classical music, were filled with deep emotion and a grand lingering resonance earlier this month.
The historic joint concert ‘Building Bridges,’ co-hosted by the Korea National Chorus and the LA Master ChoraleβAmerica’s premier choral authorityβachieved a remarkable success with over 90% of tickets sold. The packed auditorium on the night of the performance drew enthusiastic spotlight from the mainstream classical music scene.
The pinnacle of the stage was undoubtedly composer Gunyong Lee’s ‘Bird Song’ (Saetaryong), which grandly reinterpreted Korea’s traditional emotional sentiment using modern choral techniques. Under the delicate and profound conducting of Artistic Director In-ki Min, the members of the Korea National Chorus perfectly executed multidimensional onomatopoeic expressions and diverse tonal colors on stage.
Director Min had planned the bird sound effects from the second-floor balcony, but even within the tight rehearsal schedule, he overwhelmed the audience through meticulous acoustic direction, placing four soloists at the very front of the stage. Transcending simple chirping, ‘Bird Song’ reinterpreted the sorrow and life’s tribulations of the Korean people into a surround-sound harmony. As it echoed through the Disney Concert Hall, spontaneous praise and exclamations burst from the audience. It was a moment where K-Classics, ringing through the Disney Concert Hall, left a profound elegance in LA.
The foundation for 100 top-tier choristers representing both nations to stand on one stage was laid by the special ties between the two choral leaders and the dedicated hard work of hidden protagonists. In-ki Min, General Manager and Artistic Director of the Korea National Chorus, and Grant Gershon, Artistic Director of the LA Master Chorale, are alumni of the USC Thornton School of Music and have long respected each other’s artistic depth.
The two reunited at the Jeju International Choral Festival in February 2024, opening the floodgates for South Korea-U.S. choral exchanges. Furthermore, Professor Jenny Kim of the Claremont Graduate University, who has served as a board member of the LA Master Chorale for 10 years, played a bridge-building role by securing an official recommendation letter from the California state government, successfully bringing this large-scale project to fruition.
Both choirs infused their deep respect for each other’s musical worlds into the performance program. The LA Master Chorale enthusiastically performed Korean folk songs and modern choral pieces such as ‘Kaejina Chingchingnane’ and ‘Gyeongbokgung Taryong’. In turn, the Korea National Chorus presented traditional American folk songs like ‘Shenandoah’ and the spiritual ‘The Battle of Jericho’ with flawless pronunciation and dense harmony, delivering an emotional oneness that transcended language and cultural barriers.
In particular, Director Gershon’s stagingβfeaturing numerous Korean-American members such as Gyu-young Lee, Woo-young Kim, Jun-won Park, Young-in Oh, and Jae-yeop Ji as soloists throughout the program, including ‘Kaejina Chingchingnane’βshowcased his deep consideration. This served as a profound respect for Korean musicians and elevated South Korea-U.S. choral diplomacy into a complete emotional unity.
The Korea National Chorus also invited Joshua Habermann, director of the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, to receive meticulous diction coaching, showcasing flawless English pronunciation and high-density choral singing. The joint performance of about 100 members on the grand finale, ‘Arirang’ composed by Woo-hyowon, delivered a magnificent thrill and deep resonance to the audience. This performance is set to evolve into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the two institutions, with plans to promote a return tour of the LA Master Chorale to the Seoul Arts Center in South Korea by 2029.
Despite managing a tight schedule of about 60 performances annually, the Korea National Chorus has continuously expanded its global network. The artistic leadership of Director Min, which led this stage to success, is expected to further broaden the horizons of South Korea-U.S. choral diplomacy in the future.
Earlier this month, top-tier South Korean national arts organizations including the National Chorus, the National Gugak Center, and the National Dance Company successively graced the LA stage, instilling pride in the Korean-American community and delivering a profound resonance of K-Classics to mainstream society. These capabilities and achievements in classical and performing arts demonstrate that K-Culture has firmly established itself as a mainstream global culture, extending far beyond the popular success ignited by K-pop and K-food.
We hope that support will be further expanded so that South Korean national arts organizations can continue their soaring flight of K-Classics on the global stage.
