YSU Dana Chorale announces South Korea performance tour in May

The Dana School of Music at Youngstown State University announced today that the Dana Chorale, under the direction of Hae-Jong Lee, will embark on a musical and educational tour to South Korea May 8 to 19.

It is believed to be the first time that an ensemble from Dana has performed in Asia.

The group is scheduled to visit Seoul, Cheongju, Samcheok, Changwon and Busan, and will perform at Sejong University, Chungbuk National University, Changwon National University.

Twenty-five YSU students and four faculty members will travel to Korea for cultural exchanges, performances and student recruitment.

The tour of South Korea stems from the Chorale’s performance in April 2016 at the Ninth Scholarship Benefit Concert for Young Musicians at the Prairie Center for the Arts in Chicago. The repertoire included both classical and traditional Korean selections.

“The Korean audience and the news media were impressed with our performance and strongly recommended that we plan a Korea tour with a similar repertoire,” Lee said. “Since then, I have been developing the Dana Chorale Korea Tour.”

The Chorale will perform joint concerts with Sejong University in Seoul, Chungbuk National University in Cheongju and Changwon National University in Changwon. The group also will perform two informal church concerts in Busan and Changwon, and one high school concert at the Korea International Christian High School in Incheon.

Major support for the tour is from the College of Creative Arts & Communication, Dana School of Music, YSU and the Office of International Programs at YSU. Lee noted that Dr. Nathan Myers, associate provost for International Programs, visited Korea, Japan, Taiwan and China last year, and requested Lee accompany him to South Korea on a university tour. Lee had already been scheduled to direct the Busan International Choral Festival and Competition and Youth Chorale in October 2016, and solidified the plans for a Korea tour with the four universities.

The final Dana Chorale concert before the trip to Korea will be Friday, March 31 at St. Columba Cathedral, 159 West Rayen Ave., in Youngstown. The concert is free and open to the public.

To view the video of the announcement, visit: www.facebook.com/youngstownstate/videos/1267878349933792/.

For more information, call 330-941-2307.