St. Olaf music professor to host Korean Composers Festival
This fall St. Olaf College Assistant Professor of Music April Ryun Kim ’11 will hold a Korean Composers Festival on campus to raise awareness and build more interest in music by Korean and Korean Diaspora composers and their works. There are very few conferences and festivals dedicated exclusively to highlighting Korean composers.
This festival, which will take place September 23–24, will be supported through a grant from the Korea Foundation and the Northeast Asia Council of the Association for Asian Studies. A full schedule of events is available on the festival’s website. The entire festival is open to all St. Olaf students, faculty, and staff, and registered participants and attendees. The concerts are free and open to the public.
“I hope that by providing this space to share works by Korean and Korean Diaspora composers, attendees will have the opportunity to learn and gain more knowledge of the composers and their works,” Kim says. “I am hoping that many composers attend the festival as well so that they can connect with fellow composers and musicians attending the festival.”
“I hope that by providing this space to share works by Korean and Korean Diaspora composers, attendees will have the opportunity to learn and gain more knowledge of the composers and their works.”
Assistant Professor of Music April Ryun Kim
St. Olaf offers a variety of Asian studies courses, but very few have components of Korean studies. This festival will provide an opportunity to shine a light on under-acknowledged Korean composers and musicians, Kim says.
Kim earned her Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree in piano performance. She now teaches a variety of courses — including applied lessons, piano class, and keyboard pedagogy — and coaches chamber music at St. Olaf.
Kim has vast musical performance experience and continues to collaborate with a multitude of musicians and composers. She is a regular performer in the 10th Wave Chamber Music Collective, a new music ensemble based in the Twin Cities, and has performed at the 3rd and 4th Composition in Asia Symposium and Festival and the New Music from Diverse Voices Recital at St. Olaf.
The Korean Composers Festival will feature not only musical performances, but also presentations, lecture-recitals, and a Korean cuisine–inspired dinner reception.
“This will also be a wonderful opportunity for the festival attendees, especially those coming from other parts of the country, to visit our beautiful campus and learn more about St. Olaf College,” Kim says.