2nd Korea International Organ Competition Lee Minjun Wins... Noh Seonkyung 2nd Place

by Kim Heeyun

Published 29 Sep.2023 12:24(KST)

Tom Liu and Choi Minji Tie for 3rd Place

Organist Lee Min-jun (25) won first place at the 2nd Korea International Organ Competition.

Four winners of the 2nd Korea International Organ Competition. (From left) Joint 3rd place Choi Min-ji, Tam Riu 2nd place No Seon-gyeong, 1st place Lee Min-jun.
[Photo by Lotte Cultural Foundation]

According to the Lotte Cultural Foundation on the 29th, Lee Min-jun won the competition final held at Lotte Concert Hall on the 26th. Second place went to Noh Seon-kyung (29), and third place was jointly awarded to Tom Liu (France, 26) and Choi Min-ji (31).

Lee Min-jun received a prize of 11 million KRW and the opportunity to perform in planned concerts at Lotte Concert Hall for the next two years.

The special awards were given as follows: the Apollon Contemporary Music Special Award to Tom Liu, the Club Apollon Audience Award to Choi Min-ji, and the Bach Special Award to Min Chae-won (17).

The second-place prize money was 5 million KRW, and the joint third-place winners shared 3 million KRW equally. Each special award carried a prize of 1 million KRW.

The Korea International Organ Competition was held at Lotte Concert Hall, which was the first concert hall in Korea to install a pipe organ. The first competition was held in 2020, but the winner was not announced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This competition featured 10 finalists who participated in orientation, preliminary, and final rounds starting from the 18th. In the final stage held on the 26th, participants performed a 50-minute program including designated pieces.

Lee Min-jun studied at Yewon School and Korea National University of Arts and is currently studying under Arpitte Gast at the L?beck University of Music in Germany. He won the St. Moritz International Organ Competition in Switzerland in 2021.

Noh Seon-kyung graduated from Yonsei University and Hamburg University of Music and Theatre in Germany and is currently enrolled in the highest performance course at Leipzig University of Music and Theatre. Choi Min-ji graduated from Seoul Presbyterian Theological University and Hamburg University of Music and Theatre.

Oh Ja-kyung, professor at Korea National University of Arts and chair of the competition jury, said, "Although this is only the second Korea International Organ Competition, the participants’ skills were as high as those in other international competitions. The organ is an attractive but very difficult instrument to handle. I applaud the participants who accepted this difficulty as a challenge and did their best."

Kim Seon-kwang, CEO of the Lotte Cultural Foundation, stated, “Like the nature of the organ, participants freely composed their programs, and even the same pieces were expressed in fresh and unique ways. It was a meaningful time to feel the passion of young musicians again through the competition.”