Korean Pop Music 2007

Lately, I've found a renewed love in k-pop. yes, most of them have corny lyrics and are still lack of compositional/arrangement sophistics. but something connects my soul back to the basic, my cultural foundation: my childhood and youth, beautiful memories of great friendships and heartbreaks, too.

Although some groups I did not grow up with their music, I am still amused with those beautiful faces working so hard to survive in heated competition and industry of survival.

JYP's new music video

dbsk

shinhwa

choral concert @csula with dr. miyake

tonight was the night!

dr. miyake has conducted what he claimed to be his last concert. of course, i do not believe taht claim. we'll see about that.

i was recruited to come sing for him over the summer at csula. he was the mentor of while i studied masters in choral conducting. he has now retired and relocated to be with his wife's family in texas.

the program was very academic. renaissance(gallus), baroque(g.f.handel), classical(m. haydn), romantic(brahms), contemporary(britten), and a folk song (the water is wide) to wrap up the concert. i had a soprano solo in 'rejoice in the lamb' by britten. it was rather comical and playful.

i was fine until i saw katherine walking into the hall, then as if i were a young singer all over again, i got very nervous. i got through my solo fine though. katherine and i have not each other for over 6 years. last time i saw her, she was going through a painful divorce with her first husband.

now she's remarried to a wonderful indian dude, owns her own mortgage company, six weeks pregnant with her first child, and also a choir director at a local catholic church only few miles away from my work. what a small world. she said that she's preparing for a concert in cuba in memory of our late voice teacher, rené aravena. rené had died of cancer few years back. a great baritone who taught me to sing energetically.

tonight, i will listen to carmina burana to remember his beautiful voice.

Zoltan Kodaly I

The key concepts of Kodaly education are:

Method, or principles?
An educational philosophy
Music is part of universal human knowledge
When to start?
Not a torture but a joy
Train good teachers first
Active understanding through singing
Valuable art for children: folksongs as starting point
Open the soul to all peoples
Musical literacy
Relative solmization - fluent sight-reading
Part singing: hear and appreciate music
Creativity
Dance
Vocal music first, then instrumental
Constant practice required
The good musician's features

I am especially fond of his definition of the last item on the list.

The good musician's features:
A well-trained ear, intelligence, heart, and hand.

Playboy Jazz Festival

With Bill Cosby as Master of Ceremonies, 29th Annual Playboy Jazz Festival played its grand fanfare performed by Eagle Rock High School Jazz Band. The ambiance is very casual, the day is long, and people freely come and go. The festival was not as great as I've expected it to be, but definitely a great festival nonetheless! It's an experience for all LAers and its visitors.

Paul McCartney

His new album, 'Memory Almost Full' was played 24 hours at starbucks stores around the world today(6/8/07).

i've purchased a pre-order CD through iTunes. let me tell ya! iTunes is God's gift from above for modern technology junkies like moi. i am finally downloading the rest of the CDs as i type. i've never been a big fan of beetles nor paul mccartney in the past, but this album caught my attention. just hoping for a smooth ride~

before i log off...
i remember reading an article online about mccartney & lennon going at each other after both have gone their own way as soloists. Click here to get more info on McCartney's Latest Album.