Five Students Perform at GSIS DP Recital

Mark Pash, High School Music Teacher

April 22nd was the first ever DP Recital in the history of GSIS. Five students have been working on music for several months in preparation for fulfilling part of their DP music requirements. Each student is required to perform 15 (SL) or 20 (HL) minutes of music that must be presented in a live concert. The music is recorded and then sent to the IB for external moderation.

Hillary Sang performed a solo unaccompanied piece on the violin, “Variations on La Folia” by A. Corelli. This piece requires the performer to master many different styles and techniques.  Hillary showed why she is considered to be one of the top high school violinists in Korea.

Louis Kim, cello, played J. S. Bach’s “Allamande from Suite #1”. This piece was also unaccompanied and Louis displayed good technique by playing in the low to upper register of the instrument with very good tone.

Monica Kim, alto, sang the Japanese love song “When the Cherry Blossom Colors Flutter”. The words of this song are quite beautiful and even though it was sung in Japanese, Monica expressed the words and their meaning with tenderness.

Randy Park, piano, played two pieces “Merry-go-round of Life” by Joe Hisaishi and “Pour le Piano Prelude” by Claude Debussy. Each piece required changes of mood and technical ability to perform them. Randy’s performance was filled with dramatic contrasts and expressive intuitive nuances.

Yeana Jang, cello,performed the Allegro con brio from Beethoven’s “ Sonata Op. 102-2 in D Major”. You could see in Yeana’s facial expressions the storm and stress that Beethoven faced throughout his lifetime. Yeana gave a very strong performance of this difficult work. 

It was truly a night to remember for these students, their parents and GSIS. Thank you to all that was a part of this special evening.