Korean student wins brass competition on Jeju Kim Hyun-ho, a student at the Baty Brass Academy run by the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO), won in the trumpet section of the 2017 Jeju International Brass Competition which was held Aug. 8 to 16 on Jeju Island.For the trumpet section, 66 trumpet players from around the world competed. Kim has been a student at the Baty Brass Academy since 2014 and entered the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMD de Paris) in 2015 as the first Korean brass instrument player. Baty Brass Academy is an academy run by leading trumpet player Alexandre Baty under his name since 2013. Baty has been with the SPO since 2011.The Jeju International Brass Competition has four competition sections _ tenor trombone, horn, trumpet and quintet. It is an international competition registered since 2009 with the World Federation of International Music Competitions. Aug 16, 2017
NGOSKA Fest takes to Sinchon's streets Wataru Buster, lead singer of Japanese band Oi-Skall Mates, points at someone while performing as the headlining act at New Generation of Ska Fest 2016 in Club SHARP on Aug. 27, 2016. / Korea Times photo by Jon DunbarBy Jon DunbarPromoting underground music is a labor of love, and nobody has labored harder nor loved more than the people behind Seoul’s fourth annual New Generation of Ska (NGOSKA) Festival.U.S. punk legends Suicide Machines will headline the show this Saturday, supported by Japanese ska bands Rollings and Coquettish and seven more Korean ska and ska-punk bands.“This year, Seoul City helped us out with some funding,” festival organizers said. “Every year we had to ask our friends for financial support, which we never really wanted to do since the first festival. Our minds are still the same as they were the first time.”The festival returns this year to Yonsei-ro, the car-free street running between Sinchon Station on Line 2 and Yonsei University’s front gate. It was there four years ago in 2014 when the Bruce Lee Band, fronted bAug 15, 2017
Pianist hopes PyeongChang Music Fest continues to thrive after Winter Games Pianist Son Yeol-eum poses during an interview in this Dec. 29, 2016 file photo / Korea Times By Lee Hyo-wonPYEONGCHANG _ Shortly after winning silver at the Tchaikovsky competition in 2011, pianist Son Yeol-eum gave a big homecoming concert at the PyeongChang Music Festival and School. "I just can’t believe I got to play for her tonight," Son had told The Korea Times at the time, about performing in front of her "idol," violinist and festival artistic director Chung Kyung-wha.Last year, Chung and her sister and co-director, cellist Myung-wha, named Son as deputy artistic director of the PyeongChang Fest. The 31-year-old pianist sat down with The Korea Times over the weekend as the 14th edition of the music event came to a close, to discuss how she's growing into her new role, her latest recording project and her hopes for the Korean classical music scene.“The position of deputy artistic director is something I never even imagined, and honestly, it’s still quite overwhelming. It really is such an honor,” the 31-year-old said."I haven't done much so far inAug 13, 2017
SHINee member Onew charged with sexual harassment Onew of SHINeeOnew, a member of the popular K-pop boy band SHINee, was charged with sexual harassment in Seoul on Saturday.The Gangnam Police Station in Seoul said they've booked Onew, whose birth name is Lee Jin-ki, without physical detention for allegedly sexually harassing a woman.Onew, 27, is suspected of forcibly touching a woman in her 20s at a club in southern Seoul around 7:10 a.m. Saturday.A friend of the woman's called the police, and Onew was apprehended on the spot.Onew apparently told police that he visited the club with his friends, and that he has no recollection of the alleged incident because he was too intoxicated.Police said they were also talking to the alleged victim and witnesses, and analyzing footage of closed-circuit television inside the club.S.M. Entertainment, SHINee's agency, issued a statement to apologize for Onew's actions but said the incident stemmed from "a misunderstanding.""Onew visited the club to congratulate a friend on becoming a DJ, and while he was dancing drunk, he made accidental physical contact with a person near him," the company Aug 12, 2017
Winner stumbles on quick return Winner members, from left, Kim Jin-woo, Kang Seung-yoon, Lee Seung-hoon and Song Mino pose before the press conference for their new mini album "Our Twenty For" at CGV Theater in Yeouido, Seoul, last Friday. / Courtesy of YG EntertainmentBy Kim Jae-heunYG Entertainment’s four-member act Winner seems to have failed to meet expectations with its new mini album “Our Twenty For” released last Friday in hopes to continue the success of their previous album.Winner returned quickly with a new album only four months after they released “Really Really” and “Fool” sweeping the local online music charts earlier this month.The K-pop group hoped to achieve the same results, introducing similar tropical house genre music “Love Me Love Me” and “Island.”“We received so much love with our song ‘Really Really’ and it suited well with the summer,” said Kang Seung-yoon of the band during the press conference at CGV Theater in Yeouido, Seoul. “The genre Tropical House goes well with the season and we wanted toAug 11, 2017
JJ Project returns to find startling success JJ Project / Courtesy of JYP EntertainmentBy Kim Jae-heunJJ Project has returned after a five-year hiatus, with the duo’s new mini-album “Verse 2” topping the iTunes Album Chart in 12 countries.The JYP Entertainment act’s new track “Tomorrow, Today” also topped Korea’s biggest online music streaming service Bugs upon its release, the day before the album’s release.The result was even more exciting for the two singers JB and Jinyoung, who are also members of K-pop group GOT7, as they had not expected their song to receive so much love.“We did not release the new album to make a big success. It was more of a stepping stone for GOT7’s next album,” Jinyoung said during a media appearance at a cafe in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul, Tuesday. “We did not expect our new music to top the charts. We only hope GOT7 can improve through our activity as duo JJ Project.”JB and Jinyoung first debuted as the project group in 2012 before they debuted as GOT7 two years later. Their first digital single “Bounce” released iAug 7, 2017
Pianist Cho Seong-jin draws largest audience to Lotte Concert Hall Pianist Cho Seong-jin, winner of the 17th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, performs during a competition winner’s gala concert at the Seoul Arts Center, Feb 2, 2016. / Courtesy of Credia By Park Jin-haiPopular pianist Cho Seong-jin, winner of 2015 International Chopin Piano Competition, has topped ticket sales for the Lotte Concert Hall, which celebrates its first anniversary Aug. 19. According to the concert hall, Cho’s recitals on Jan. 3 and Jan. 4 drew 4,009 people, the hall’s largest audience, reflecting the young pianist’s popularity among music fans. The number indicates that the 2,036-seat concert hall was almost filled to capacity for two consecutive days. Chinese pianist Lang Lang, often called a “musical superstar,” was second, drawing an audience of 1,995 to his Dec. 8, 2016, concert. Third was conductor Chung Myung-whun and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra’s November performance last year that gathered an audience of 1,991.Other high-ranking ticket sales concerts included French organist Aug 6, 2017
GFriend goes back to 'innocent and energetic' GFriend performs during a press showcase at Yonsei University in Seoul, Tuesday. / YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunK-pop idol group GFriend released their fifth mini-album “Parallel” Tuesday, returning with their original innocent pretty girl concept with powerful choreography.GFriend’s previous album “The Awakening,” released five month ago, attempted a new sexy girl-crush concept with the track “Fingertip,” which came as a surprise to their fans who liked the girl group’s wholesome image.“The Awakening” achieved certain success, debuting at No. 5 on Billboard’s World Album chart, but it was not entirely satisfactory as its title track did not go viral like previous hit songs “Rough” and “Navillera.” GFriend won their first music show award with “Rough” in February 2016 and stayed on top for 15 straight weeks. Their following digital single “Navillera” also achieved 14 music show wins, making them the girl group with the most wins in a year, 29, last year.GFriend member Umji said tAug 2, 2017
Suzy renews contract with JYP Entertainment Singer-actress Suzy has renewed her contract with her management agency JYP Entertainment, the company said Wednesday."We renewed our contract with Suzy whose seven-year exclusive partnership with us terminated recently," the company said. "We've reached an agreement to pursue various meaningful activities in the future."Suzy, who debuted through girl group missA in 2010, has become one of the top female entertainment stars in South Korea after her appearance in the 2012 hit film "Architecture 101."As her contract expiration approached, whether Suzy would remain with JYP or move to a new management company had drawn keen attention within the entertainment industry circle.Suzy will return to television in September via SBS TV's new weekday drama "While You Were Sleeping." (Yonhap) Aug 2, 2017
Wanna One to make debut after brutal survivor competition Wanna One / Courtesy of InstagramBy Ko Dong-hwanEleven survivors of the controversial TV competition show “Produce 101: Season 2” on Mnet released a track list of their debut album on Monday.Ahead of their debut on Aug. 7, Wanna One released seven tracks for the album “1X1=1,” including “Burn It Up,” “Energetic,” and “To Be One.”The album’s title refers to the band and its fans together making up the best K-pop group. The Mnet show that aired from April to June was criticized for promoting Korea’s underlying social norm of “preference for appearance” ― also known as “lookism.”The male contestants, who were ranked by viewers’ votes and dropped out accordingly, did all they could to attract fans, many of whom lampooned and voted out “ugly” ones.Winners of the show’s first season became members of girl band I.O.I.Wanna One, managed by YMC Entertainment, will release the album along with the group’s debut performance, known as “premier show-con,&Jul 31, 2017
