K-Music Encounters II - Kyungso Park + Soona Park

Wednesday 4 November 19:00 | YouTube (Free)

The second guest in the K-Music Encounters series is Kyungso Park, a gayageum master and K-Music favourite. Park has been playing and composing on the gayageum for the last 16 years, in this broadcast she will tell her musical story before performing a small concert with Soona Park, a gayageum performer who has trained in both South and North Korea.

Kyungso Park is a composer, player and improviser of the gayageum, a traditional Korean stringed instrument that sounds like a cross between a harp, an oud and a theremin. She freely breaks down the borders between traditional and contemporary music and at K-Music 2016 she premiered an exquisite collaboration with British saxophonist, Andy Sheppard – ‘an engrossing improvisational encounter’ (The Guardian). She also participated in K-Music 2018 and again in 2019 with her band, SB Circle.

  - ‘She treated a rapt crowd to a wide swath of music, both cutting-edge original compositions and traditional numbers. As serious and meticulous a composer and player as she is, she’s also a very funny, engaging performer’ (New York Daily)

Gayageum performer Soona Park’s cultural background informs her colourful musical identity. Her travels and studies mean her music is established in Japan, North and South Korea. The strange yet overwhelming technique that stands out in her performance makes us measure the musical territory she has constantly expanded, touching the hearts of listeners, and is drawing attention for its outstanding performance.

  - ‘The familiar but unfamiliar sound stimulates the curiosity of the audience. Above all, her performance is based on a fast and dynamic sound, and is characterised by flamboyant techniques such as piano playing’ (Korea Art TV)