October 13, 2023
Parker performs and lectures at Korean Composers Festival
Craig Parker, associate professor of music, was a featured performer and lecturer at the inaugural Korean Composers Festival held Sept. 23-24 at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. Parker performed three compositions at the festival: "Endeavour" for trumpet, soprano and piano by HyeKyung Lee; "Sori 13" for unaccompanied trumpet by Young Jo Lee; and "Dear Mommy and Sister" for trumpet, soprano and piano, also by Young Jo Lee. All three of these compositions were commissioned and premiered by Parker. Assisting in the trio performances were soprano Jumi Kim, Oikos University in Oakland, California, and Koeun Grace Lee, Mattix Music Studio in Chicago.
In addition, Parker presented a lecture, "The 'Sori' of Young Jo Lee," which detailed a series of thirteen unaccompanied solos by one of Korea's most distinguished composers and pedagogues. These works meld the sounds of traditional Korean music with avant-garde Western compositional techniques and improvisatory passages.