Sungji Hong
Encyclopedia
Sungji Hong is a South Korean
composer
. Her works have won many international prizes and have been performed at festivals and concert series in Asia
, Europe
and North America
. In 2008 she resides in Greece
.
at the Hanyang University
in Seoul, where she graduated with honors in composition. She subsequently completed an MMus with Robert Saxton and Paul Patterson at the Royal Academy of Music
in London and a PhD in composition with Nicola LeFanu at the University of York
. She has participated in various workshops and masterclasses such as Voix Nouvelles (Royaumont) and Darmstadt where she studied with Brian Ferneyhough
, Jonathan Harvey
, Theo Loevendie
, Tristan Murail
and Toshio Hosokawa
.
Hong has won the top honors in the European Competition of the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki, the Temple Music Composition Prize, the Crwth Competition, the international competition for original ballet music at the ISCM World Music Days – Slovenia, the Montserrat International Camera Music Composition Competition, as well as prizes in the 2008 Salvatore Martirano Composition Competition
, Dimitris Mitropoulos
International Competition, the Theodore Front Prize (IAWM), the Yoshiro Irino Memorial Prize (ACL), and a Christian Fellowship of Art Music Composers Scholarship.
Hong had works commissioned by the Fromm Music Foundation, the Tongyoung International Music Festival, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra
, Keumho Art Hall, the Foundation for Universal Sacred Music, the International Isangyun Music Society and the MATA Festival. Her works were performed at international festivals and in major concert series in Europe, the United States by the Soloists of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Nieuw Ensemble of Amsterdam, the Ensemble TIMF, the Ensemble Linea, the Brave New Works, the Arditti String Quartet, Earplay, Next Mushroom Promotion, the Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra of Belgrade, the Orchestra of Slovenian National Theatre Opera and Ballet, The Orchestra of Colours, Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, the Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra, the New York Virtuoso Singers, the BBC Singers
, and the New York Virtuoso Singers and Trio Mediæval
.
Hong's compositions have been recorded and released on the Dutton label and by ECM
Records. The ECM album includes "Missa Lumen de Lumine," a setting of the Roman-rite Catholic Mass ordinary for three voices, performed by Trio Mediæval.
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
. Her works have won many international prizes and have been performed at festivals and concert series in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. In 2008 she resides in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
.
Biography
Sungji Hong studied composition with Kyungsun SuhKyungsun Suh
-Biography:Kyungsun Suh was born in Seoul, Korea. She studied composition and theory at the Seoul National University, graduating with bachelor's and master's degrees, and at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. After completing her studies she took a position teaching at Hanyang University...
at the Hanyang University
Hanyang University
Hanyang University is one of the most prestigious universities in South Korea. In particular, Hanyang's School of Engineering is one of the oldest engineering schools in Korea. The main campus is Hanyang University at Seoul, located in the Seoul, with its branch campus, the ERICA campus , located...
in Seoul, where she graduated with honors in composition. She subsequently completed an MMus with Robert Saxton and Paul Patterson at the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
in London and a PhD in composition with Nicola LeFanu at the University of York
University of York
The University of York , is an academic institution located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the campus university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects...
. She has participated in various workshops and masterclasses such as Voix Nouvelles (Royaumont) and Darmstadt where she studied with Brian Ferneyhough
Brian Ferneyhough
Brian John Peter Ferneyhough is an English composer. His music is characterized by the extensive use of complex rhythmic tuplet notation which features in all his works...
, Jonathan Harvey
Jonathan Harvey (composer)
Jonathan Harvey is a British composer. He has held teaching positions at universities and music conservatories in Europe and the USA and is frequently invited to teach in summer schools around the world.-Life:...
, Theo Loevendie
Theo Loevendie
Theo Loevendie is a Dutch composer and clarinet player.Loevendie studied composition and clarinet at the Conservatoire of Amsterdam. Initially he concentrated on jazz music. As off 1968 he also wrote concert music, among which operas, concertos and chamber music...
, Tristan Murail
Tristan Murail
Tristan Murail is a French composer. His father, Gérard Murail, is a poet and his mother, Marie-Thérèse Barrois, a journalist. One of his brothers, Lorris Murail, and his younger sister Elvire Murail, aka Moka, also write, and his younger sister Marie-Aude Murail is a French children's writer...
and Toshio Hosokawa
Toshio Hosokawa
is a Japanese composer of contemporary classical music.-Biography:Hosokawa studied with Yun Isang at the Berlin University of the Arts. Since 1998, Hosokawa has served as Composer-in-Residence at the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. In 2004, Hosokawa became a guest professor at Tokyo College of Music...
.
Hong has won the top honors in the European Competition of the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki, the Temple Music Composition Prize, the Crwth Competition, the international competition for original ballet music at the ISCM World Music Days – Slovenia, the Montserrat International Camera Music Composition Competition, as well as prizes in the 2008 Salvatore Martirano Composition Competition
Salvatore Martirano Memorial Composition Award
The Salvatore Martirano Memorial Composition Award is an international composers' competition held annually in memory of Salvatore Martirano , who was an internationally acclaimed American composer and served as professor of composition at the University of Illinois from 1963 to 1995...
, Dimitris Mitropoulos
Dimitris Mitropoulos
Dimitri Mitropoulos , was a Greek conductor, pianist, and composer. Also known as Dimitris Mitropoulos.-Life and career:Mitropoulos was born in Athens, the son of Yannis and Angeliki Mitropoulos. His father owned a leather goods shop at No. 15, St Marks Street. He was musically precocious,...
International Competition, the Theodore Front Prize (IAWM), the Yoshiro Irino Memorial Prize (ACL), and a Christian Fellowship of Art Music Composers Scholarship.
Hong had works commissioned by the Fromm Music Foundation, the Tongyoung International Music Festival, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra
Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra
The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, founded in 1948, is one of the oldest and most famous orchestras in South Korea. Its first foreign tour came on a 1965 trip to Japan, followed by performances in Southeast Asia in 1977, the United States in 1982, 1986 and 1996, a 1988 tour of Europe before the...
, Keumho Art Hall, the Foundation for Universal Sacred Music, the International Isangyun Music Society and the MATA Festival. Her works were performed at international festivals and in major concert series in Europe, the United States by the Soloists of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Nieuw Ensemble of Amsterdam, the Ensemble TIMF, the Ensemble Linea, the Brave New Works, the Arditti String Quartet, Earplay, Next Mushroom Promotion, the Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra of Belgrade, the Orchestra of Slovenian National Theatre Opera and Ballet, The Orchestra of Colours, Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, the Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra, the New York Virtuoso Singers, the BBC Singers
BBC Singers
The BBC Singers are the professional chamber choir of the BBC. As one of six BBC Performing Groups, the 24-voiced choir has been in existence for more than 80 years. The BBC Singers have commissioned and premiered works by the leading composers of the past century, including Benjamin Britten, Sir...
, and the New York Virtuoso Singers and Trio Mediæval
Trio Mediæval
Trio Mediæval is a vocal trio established in Oslo in 1997, recording albums for the ECM label, and touring frequently in Europe and the US.The trio was put together mainly to sing medieval polyphonic works, but has since early in their career expanded their repertoire to also include contemporary...
.
Hong's compositions have been recorded and released on the Dutton label and by ECM
ECM (record label)
ECM is a record label founded in Munich, Germany, in 1969 by Manfred Eicher. While ECM is best known for jazz music, the label has released a wide variety of recordings, and ECM's artists often refuse to acknowledge boundaries between genres...
Records. The ECM album includes "Missa Lumen de Lumine," a setting of the Roman-rite Catholic Mass ordinary for three voices, performed by Trio Mediæval.