The Korea Times fetes spring with concert
.jpg?w=728)
Guests read the program in their seats before the start of the Korea Times’ Spring Music Festival at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul on April 1, 2014. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
Conductor Park Sang-hyun
Tenor Ryu Jung-phil
By Kwon Mee-yoo
The Korea Times will present its annual spring concert at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts at 7:30 p.m. Monday, celebrating the 65th anniversary of the oldest English daily in Korea.
The concert, conducted by the Mostly Philharmonic Orchestra’s Park Sang-hyun, will feature a wide ranging repertoire from classical music to musical theater songs and popular music from some of Korea’s top musical talent to warm up the mood despite the lasting cold snap sweeping the country.
Soprano Kim Soo-yeon will sing arias such as "Una Voce Poco Fa" from Rossini's "The Barber of Seville," and musical numbers from Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom of the Opera."
Kim graduated from the University of Music and the Performing Arts Vienna, Austria and has performed with many opera companies including the Korea National Opera.
She gained more popularity when she appeared on tvN's "Opera Star" as a mentor in 2011, training participants in the show.
Famed tenor Ryu Jung-phil will join Kim for duets including the theme from "The Phantom of the Opera" as well as solos "E Lucevan le Stelle" from Puccini's "Tosca."
Ryu, a graduate of Seoul National University and Parma International Opera Academy Orfeo, is an internationally established opera singer performing in various countries including Spain, Italy, Austria, Finland and Japan.
This year, singer and musical actress Sonya will grace the stage with her soulful voice.
Sonya, also known as Kim Son-hee, is biracial, born to a Korean mother and an African-American soldier stationed in Korea in the 1970s.
She began her career as a singer in the late 1990s, releasing a handful of solo albums and singles including "A New Life" and "True Breakup." She appeared in KBS' "Immortal Songs," reinterpreting famous Korean songs.
Sonya also is an established musical theater actress after her debut in "Fame" in 2000. She has starred in many hit shows including "Jekyll and Hyde," "West Side Story" and "Aida."
At the concert, Sonya will present solos from "Fame" and sing "I Will Always Love You" from the soundtrack of the 1992 film "The Bodyguard" as well as a duet with tenor Ryu, "A Love until the End of the Time."
Last but not least, veteran singer Choi Sung-soo will present his hit songs including "Encounters," "A Company" and "Love Grass."
Starting out in 1983, Choi's popularity hit its highest in the late '80s and early ‘90s when his song "Love Grass" was used for the athletes’ parade at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. He has continued his career as a singer, releasing his latest album "The Best -- History" in 2008.
Choi is also a professor of Utility Music at Jangan University in Gyeonggi Province.