A Festival of Art Songs to Embellish Early Summer Nights... 'Hong Nanpa Gagok Festival' Concludes Successfully

Commemorating the 80th Anniversary of the Passing of Nanpa Hong Young-hoo: Live Performances Available Online from July 5 via JongnoTV YouTube Channel

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Jongno-gu (District Mayor Kim Young-jong) held the ‘2021 Hong Nan-pa Art Song Festival’ on the 3rd from 7 PM at the outdoor stage in front of the Hong Nan-pa House (38 Songwol 1-gil, Jongno-gu).

This art song festival is an event hosted and organized by Jongno-gu and the Hong Nan-pa House Association to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the passing of Hong Young-hoo Nanpa, a pioneer of modern music, and is sponsored by the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

The event featured commentary by Professor Yoon Wang-ro of Baekseok University, who has been dedicated to the development of Hong Nan-pa’s music; soprano Lee Hye-ji, who is gaining attention in Europe for her uniquely beautiful voice and sophisticated performance; and tenor Kim Jung-hoon, who was the first Asian to win an international vocal competition and is actively performing leading opera roles in France, the UK, and other European countries.

Additionally, the mixed chorus KWPC, composed of female vocalists Kang Jin-hee, Lee Da-mi, Lee Eun-hee, Shin Jin-hee, Choi Hye-young, and Shin Dong-a, as well as the Salvation Army Yeongcheon Youngmun Brass Band, made up of non-majors, performed to present beautiful harmonies.

To prevent the spread of COVID-19, the number of on-site audience members was limited to 50 people who made prior reservations. However, to allow many residents to comfortably watch from anywhere, the live performance will be freely available from July 5th via the Jongno TV YouTube channel and the district office website.

Meanwhile, the Hong Nan-pa House located in Hongpa-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, is a Western-style brick building built in the 1930s where composer Hong Nan-pa lived for six years until his death.

Recognized for its preservation value, it was designated as National Registered Cultural Heritage No. 90. In addition to exhibiting materials related to Hong Nan-pa, it has hosted various cultural events for residents such as house concerts and children’s song classes.

District Mayor Kim Young-jong said, “We aim to widely share the beauty of art songs and deliver messages of comfort and hope to residents going through difficult times due to COVID-19,” adding, “I recommend taking some time to heal while enjoying ‘Bongsunga,’ a pioneer piece of modern music.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.