• Sign In
  • ACDA.org
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
ChoralNet

ChoralNet

The professional networking site for the global online choral community.

  • Home
  • Blog
  • ACDA News
  • Events
  • Community
    • Announcements
    • Classifieds

CJ Replay: Building a Foundation: Interviews with International Exchange Program Conducting Fellows

November 29, 2021 by Amanda Bumgarner Leave a Comment


The May 2021 issue of Choral Journal is online and is a focus on international activities. This issue features an article titled “Building a Foundation: Interviews with
International Exchange Program Conducting Fellows” by T. J. Harper with Jeffery Ames, Jihoon Park, Sara Durkin, Rodrigo Faguaga, Julie Yu, and Ken Wakia.
 You can read it in its entirety at acda.org/choraljournal. Following is a portion from the article.

_________________

What insights have you gained about your country of residence through the ACDA International Conductors Exchange Program?

Jihoon Park: Through my interactions with the American choral conductors, I recognized how valuable and powerful Korea’s music, history, and heritage is. I firmly believe that Korean culture has the ability to bring positivity and light to the world. It is a culture that has depth, and once tapped into, my heritage can provide a non-Korean a special kind of experience. Having cultural interactions between the United States and Korea, I am certain both nations can establish meaningful musical relations.

Jeffery Ames: The country of Korea dealt with several tense occupations (Japanese, Russian, American, and a civil war). The Korean culture knows what it means to experience the joy and pain of the human experience. This can be heard in its music. It’s passionate. It’s filled with emotion. It’s filled with ecstasy. In many ways, I see and hear a correlation between the folk music of Korea and the Negro spiritual. In the same manner of some purely American music, we know how to sing and play about joy and pain. American music is passionate and filled with emotion. It’s amazing to see the connectivity from one culture to others.

Julie Yu: I remember driving by one of the largest slums in Nairobi (the largest urban slum in Africa). My host explained that there are government projects in place to provide support for these people and get them out (some websites estimate the Kibera could have 500,000 to 1 million people living there). I asked why wouldn’t people leave there if they could. He said, they have a complete social structure inside this community. Some don’t want to leave. Many have been born there, raised children, and died there.

I had a major epiphany in that moment. My privilege makes me assume that they would want to leave and are suffering so much, and my god complex makes me immediately want to help and fix. That’s what has stuck with me coming back to the States. I want to make a difference in the world, but it is not my privilege or my wealth that will help me. It is instead understanding that no matter what the circumstances of a community, they will create a social structure to survive, and it is not my job to “fi x it” but to understand it, appreciate it, and learn from it. And through relationships we share musical and artistic experiences that go both ways.

______________

Read the full article in the May 2021 issue of Choral Journal at acda.org/choraljournal


Filed Under: Choral Journal Tagged With: ACDA Membership Benefits, ACDA Publications, Choral Journal, CJ Replay, icep, International Activities, International Initiatives

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

  • ACDA.org
  • The ChoralNet Daily Newsletter
Advertise on ChoralNet

On This Day
July 7

George Frideric Handel’s “Utrecht Te Deum and Jubilate” was given its first performance at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London on this day in 1713.

Would you like to submit a blog post for consideration?

Are you interested in becoming a regular ChoralNet blogger? Please contact ACDA Director of Membership & Communications Sundra Flansburg at .

RSS JW Pepper

  • 5 Things to Consider When Buying Color Guard Equipment
  • PYO Music Institute Presents the 9th Annual Ovation Award in Partnership with J.W. Pepper, Jacobs Music, and WRTI 90.1 FM
  • 10 Easy-To-Learn Funky Tunes for the Stands
  • Zoom F3 Field Recorder Review: The Easiest Way to Get Pro Audio for Your Music Ensembles
  • J.W. Pepper Names Eric King as New Chief Financial Officer
  • The Music Teachers’ Guide to Recording an Ensemble: The Samson C02 Mics Review
  • The Zoom Q8n-4K Handy Video Recorder Review
  • Directors & Parents: Download Our New Contest & Festival Checklist
  • If You Love West Side Story, Listen to These!
  • The Music of Rita Moreno, a West Side Story Icon

RSS NAfME

  • 2021-2022 Tri-M® Music Honor Society National and State Chapters of the Year Announced
  • From One End to the Next: Will We Be Ready?
  • Scott R. Sheehan Begins Term as NAfME National President, 2022–2024
  • National Association for Music Education Awards Two, Two-Year Research Projects
  • Recruiting and Maintaining a Diversified Teacher Workforce
  • Assessing the Standards: An Exploration of the Respond Model Cornerstone Assessment
  • Nearly Half of the 2023 GRAMMY Music Educator AwardTM Quarterfinalists Are NAfME Members
  • Reevaluating Professional Practice
  • The Importance of Knowledge Transfer in Music Education
  • Star-Songs and Constellations: Lessons from the Global Jukebox

Footer

Connect with us!

  • Home
  • About
  • Help
  • Contact Us
  • ACDA.org

Recent Blogs

  • Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Sumer Is Icumen In
  • ChoralEd: Classroom Management, Part 2
  • Recharge: Worship, Community, and Justice
  • An Introduction to Jennifer Higdon’s Choral Works
  • Round and Rounds We Go In Concert!

American Choral Directors Association

PO Box 1705
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
73101-1705

© 2022 American Choral Directors Association. All rights reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy