SAC, Kumho Asiana Launch Music Prodigy Program
By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
The inaugural edition of the Seoul Arts Center Music Academy & Competition for Talented Students took off Sunday and will run through Saturday at Seoul Arts Center and Kumho Art Hall.
The first in the country to combine a music academy and competition for young prodigies, the program aims to foster talents for the piano, violin and cello. South Korean nationals under the age of 20 are given the opportunity to receive lessons free of charge from top musicians, perform onstage and win cash prizes.
A total of 27 students ― nine per instrument/category ― were chosen through an audition in May. The group includes young champions of the 2009 Johansen International Competition, cellist Lee Sang-eun, 15, first prizewinner for cello and Lee Jae-hyeong, 16, second prizewinner for violin; and Chung Han-bin, a winner at the 2008 Ettlingen International Competition for Young Pianists, among others.
Participants will receive lessons until partaking in the competition Saturday at Kumho Art Hall. In each of the three sections, two top students will be awarded 2 million won and a chance to give a recital at Kumho Art Hall. The six winners will appear as soloists with the Korean Symphony Orchestra on Sunday, competing again for the Kumho Prodigy Grand Prize. The grand prizewinner will take home 5 million won as well as contracts to feature in Seoul Art Center's annual Orchestra Festival and give a recital at Kumho Art Hall.
Instructors for the piano include the great Ruth Slenczynska, who took lessons with Arthur Schanabel and played for Sergei Rachmaninov; Han Dong-il, the first Korean classical artist to debut overseas; and Kim Dae-jin, Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra artistic director and teacher of emerging musicians Kim Sun-wook and Son Yeol-eum (Korea University of Arts).
Young violinists will receive lessons from Curtis Institute of Music professor Aaron Rosand and Seoul National University professors Kim Young-uck and Baek Ju-young, who are active on the world stage.
In the cello section, veteran artists Chung Myung-wha (Korea University of Arts) and Cho Young-chang (Folkwang Hochschule fur Music, Essen, Germany) and the esteemed Laurence Lesser (New England Conservatory) will teach students.
The 3-billion-won project was conceived in honor of the late Kumho Asiana Group honorary chairman Park Seong-yawng. There are many music programs around the world that have educational and competitive features, such as the Aspen Music Festival and Hamamatsu International Piano Academy. But most of these are audition-style competitions rather than a full-fledged race like this newly launched program.
"In recent years young Korean students have fared well in international music competitions. This, however, led to some negative side effects, of forcefully trying to find and foster young talent. I hope this program will provide musical inspiration for the students rather than weigh in the pressure of finding the next child prodigy," Kim Dae-jin said during a press conference in Seoul, Thursday.
The two competition rounds will be open to the public. Admission is free of charge. Call (02) 580-1480~1 for more information.