Music Review: GIC May Concert

By Emma Dooley
Photos by Choi Han-na (GIC Media Team)

On an overcast afternoon in May an air of excitement pervaded the area around the Small Theater at Gwangju Art and Culture Center. Gwangju residents of all ages were gathering for the 10th annual GIC May Concert and being greeted warmly by GIC staff as they arrived. The theatre was packed, the stage dominated by an enormous Steinway grand piano. The concert began promptly at 5 p.m. to the strains of an orchestral version of “You Raise Me Up” and the audience was treated to an introductory video detailing the history of the event since 2003.
Following the video, Professor Shin of the GIC welcomed the audience and before we knew it, the concert had begun. A trio of flute, cello and piano opened proceedings with a lively piece by Weber, and were swiftly followed by the soprano Lee Myeong-Jin, who stunned the audience with the unusual combination of a Mozart number and a folk song from New Zealand, during which she was accompanied a small but perfectly formed ladies choir.

A violin due came next with a rousing  piece by Polish violinist and composer Wieniawski and then the soprano Park Gyeong-Suk  took to the stage. Accompanied by piano and cello, she wowed the crowd with two songs: Darogoy Dlinnyu by the20th century Russian composer Fomin, and Ocharovana Okaldovana by Zbejinsky.

One of the high points of the show marked the halfway point: a complex and wonderful four-handed piano piece by Schubert. The third and final soprano of the evening followed with an aria by Mozart and a song called “I Will Magnify Thee, O God” by German-American musician Joseph Mosenthal.

The tone of the concert was then changed with the appearance on stage of the jazz duo of Park Su-Young (saxophone) and Park Jong-Hwa (piano). They played an astoundingly beautiful piece called “Wave” by Brazilian composer, arranger, pianist and singer Antonio Carlos Jobim, who is known as the composer of the world-famous song “The Girl from Ipanema”, as well as force in the creation of the “bossa nova” style of music.
After a short pause, the grand piano took a back seat and the final act of the evening came onstage. A stream of children marched onto the stage, smiling widely and clad in matching blue and gold brocade jackets. It was the GFN Children’s Choir and they performed a selection of songs from The Sound of Music. The songs, of which there were six, were pitch perfect and several of the kids acted as narrators, explaining the story of the Von Trapp family in between songs. There were several solos; particularly notable was the one by a teenage member of the choir during “Edelweiss.” The choir ended their performance with “Climb Every Mountain,” but not before the young narrators drew attention to the plights of disadvantaged people throughout the world. It was a heart-warming performance and several audience members were moved to tears. For me at least, it was the highlight of the whole show.

The concert was entertaining, fun and most importantly, it raised a lot of money for the associated charities. Here’s to next year!