UWM Korea Day: A Concert with Seoul

Up the rain spattered steps of UWM’s Helene Zelazo Center, past the origami vending tables and traditional hanbok dresses sheathed in glass display cases, through the sea of audience members and into the Helen Bader Concert Hall, the members of the UWM Symphony Orchestra readies themselves for their impending Korea Day performance.

Yeng Thao, 21, holds his ear to his cello, sliding his bow from note-to-note. Thao, dressed in a crisp black concert tuxedo, recognizes the importance Korea Day holds for the UWM community.

“UWM is of course, the most diverse campus in the UW system. Not only do we have people with different backgrounds, but we express it through events like Korea Day,” says Thao. “UWM deserves to show off their students and faculty. Diversity starts when people notice that there are differences, accepting them, and then moving on to embrace them.”

Thao is but one member of Peck School of the Art’s 58-piece symphony orchestra which performed Nov. 7. The concert, titled “Yeol Eum Son plays Rachmaninoff,” marked the end of Korea Day at UWM, the second annual event which highlights Korean culture. The event included various educational events such as a Taekwondo demonstration, Korean popular music (K-pop) performances, storytelling and traditional percussion instrument performances in order to expose Korean cultures and traditions to the UWM community and area residents. Outside the events, free Korean food was offered as well as several booths selling and displaying Korean arts and crafts.

Among these venders is Seon Joo So, a UW-Milwaukee graduate and proprietor of “So Cool Crafts” paper folding studio in Shorewood. Hair slicked back in a tight bun and dressed in a puce-colored Korean gown, her table is filled with delicate origami displays. Each paper flower, star, and butterfly is encased in glass. Sharing the art of her homeland is a passion of So’s.

“Many American people don’t know about Korean culture, language, and arts,” says So. “I needed to introduce my culture in Milwaukee, especially the UWM campus. Korea has special things that are different from other cultures.”

At half past seven, the excited crowd, a patchwork of students, faculty, and community members nestled into their seats. Thao readied his sheet music, looking relaxed in his place among his fellow cellists. Walking to the front of the orchestra, Concertmaster Ernest Brusbardis leads short instrument tuning session. After a brief introduction, musical director and conductor Jun Kim enters the stage, garbed in a mandarin collared suit jacket.

With a flick of his wrist, Kim starts the concert with the much celebrated “A Night on Bald Mountain,” by Modest Mussorgsky and “Overture Il Nome Della Rosa,” by South Korean composer Jeajoon Ryu, the first of the night’s four Korean themed pieces.

In a flourish of glittering beadwork, Soprano You-Seong Kim enters the stage to lend her vocal talents to the “Korean Art Songs” portion of the set list. Kim flashes a small white smile and a bow before beginning “Sanyuhwa (Flowers on the Mountain),” composed by Sunnam Kim; a song whose lyrics suggest sentiments of human mortality. Dressed in a shimmering, chocolate-colored gown, Kim joins the symphony again presenting Ge-ri-un Geumgangsan, composed by Young-Seop Choi.

“Most people don’t realize that when you are accompanying a professional opera singer like You-Seong Kim, that the musicians have to be really sensitive to the balance,” says Thao. “In a classical work setting, usually the soloist is not using a mic. We cannot cover the vocalist. If we play too loud, then that ruins the idea of having a soloist.”

Before intermission, Thao joined the orchestra in playing Seong-Hwan Choi’s “Arirang Fantasy,” a popular Korean folksong. Some, like audience member and UWM student Jason Czubkowski, were more interested in the Yeol Eum Son piano performance than the night’s cultural offerings.

“I came to see the solo performer. I thought it’d be interesting to hear a worldly pianist rather than a local one,” says Czubkowski.

After much applause, the night’s esteemed pianist, Yeol Eum Son, sat down to the piano to begin the three part Concerto No. 2 in C minor by Sergei Rachmaninoff; an impressive marriage of both piano and orchestra. Son, a native South Korean and world renowned concert pianist, is best known for her achievements at the Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition in 2011. Stunning the audience with her graceful demeanor and versatile playing style, Son played through the piece with ease and precision. As the piece ends and Son beckons the orchestra to join her in one last bow, Yeng Thao is seen beaming from behind his cello.

“As cheesy as it sounds, my favorite part of the show is the last applause. It is always a great feeling when people are clapping and cheering on the symphony and their guest artists,” says Thao. “The musicians work very hard to bring a good concert and it shows.”