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Korean jazz musician to perform in New York

March 13, 2014

Saxophonist Jung Sung-jo

By Chung Ah-young

Korean veteran jazz musician Jung Sung-jo will perform two “Arirang,” traditional Korean folk songs, in New York at the LeFrak Concert Hall and the Colden Auditorium on March 18 and 22.

The saxophonist will perform Haeju Arirang and Bonjo Arirang which will be arranged as jazz tunes, along with the Queens College Jazz Orchestra at a concert titled “Arirang, Knocking on the Heart of America!”

The concert was designed to commemorate the inscription of Arirang on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity program in 2012 and promote Korean traditional folk songs, which have numerous variations according to region.

Not only Jung, but other Korean traditional musicians such as Lee Chun-hee, Won Jang-hyun and Kim Kyu-hyung, will perform the folk songs in various genres.

During the finale of the show, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Anthony Lake, executive director of UNICEF, will be invited as special guests to deliver a congratulatory message to the audience.

Jung studied at Berklee College of Music in 1979, the first Korean student to do so. He influenced other Korean jazz musicians when he returned home. He participated in the production of original soundtracks for a number of Korean films.

He is currently teaching at the Seoul Arts College.