Sungji Hong was born in Seoul in 1973. She studied composition at the Hanyang University in Seoul and subsequently completed her MMus at the Royal Academy of Music in London and her PhD in composition with Nicola LeFanu at the University of York in the UK. She has participated in various workshops and masterclasses such as Voix Nouvelles (Royaumont) and in Darmstadt where she studied withBrian Ferneyhough, Jonathan Harvey, Theo Loevendie, Tristan Murail and Toshio Hosokawa, as well as the International mastercourse and workshop for conductors and composers with Peter Eotvos and Zsolt Nagy in Herrenhaus Edenkoben. Over the last decade, Sungji's music has been performed by leading players and ensembles in 42 countries and 162 cities. Her music has been widely broadcast in more than 17 countries (37 channels) and has been recorded and released on the Soundbrush, Elektramusic, Atoll, Dutton label and by ECM Records. Her music is published by M.A.P. Editions and SEEMSA. Her creative output ranges from works for solo instruments to full orchestra, as well as choral, ballet and electroacoustic music. Her works have been commissioned by the Fromm Music Foundation (Harvard University, USA), the Tongyoung International Music Festival (Korea), the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (Korea), the Keumho Asiana Cultural Foundation (Korea), the Foundation for Universal Sacred Music (USA), the International Isang Yun Music Society (Germany) and the MATA Festival (USA). With UMS 'n JIP, she is bringing up UMS 'n JIP's 'Korea Project' since 2015.

http://sungjihong.com

Nunc dimittis is part of Sungji Hong´s twenty-year, multi-work project focused on the life of Christ: “The Life of Christ”. SH: "While I was studying at the Royal Academy of Music in London, I often spent my time at the National Gallery. I have a strong passion for art which enables me to find new ideas and inspirations for my music. In the summer of 2000 there was an exhibition at the National Gallery in London under the title “The Life of Christ” and this was the catalyst for my twenty-year project - the subject of which is Jesus Christ. After visiting that special exhibition “The Life of Christ”, I went again, right next day, because I could not stop thinking about the artists who invested their passion and dedication for their whole lives. For them it was compelling subject and they had to express through their art. Although we live in a different era 700 years later or more, and I use different medium, music instead of painting, yet I share with them one common interest, Christ. I thought, “This is fascinating and I must express it via sounds.” My twenty-year project: “The Life of Christ” which includes both vocal and instrumental music, will have about twenty-six musical episodes depicting events in the life of Jesus. I did not work in chronological order, but I will put all the episodes in chronological order by the time when my project is done. I expect to write a few more episodes in order to complete the project. It is going to be interesting for me how I have developed my musical language during the last twenty years from the viewpoint of this particular theme."

A list of the completed episodes from Sungji’s “The Life of Christ”
1] The Annunciation (Luke 1:26-1:31): The Annunciation (2001) for ob & perc  
2] The Adoration of the Kings (Mat 2:10-12): The Adoration of the Kings (2002), fl, ob, mand, gui, hp, perc, vc, db
3] The Adoration of the Kings (Matthew 2:1-2): Vidimus Stellam (2020)* for flute
4] Nativity (Luke 2:1-21): Noel nouvelet (2017) for SATB a cappella
5] Mass: Missa Lumen de lumine (2002) for three female voices (SSA)
6] The Light of the World (John 8:12) for 12 solo strings (2008)
7] The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13): Pater Noster  (2004) for mixed voices (SATB)
8] The Uncreated Light (2 Corinthians 4:6) Shine (2015) for fl & electronics
9] The Light of Life (John 8:12): Lucem vitae (2017) for cl, vn & pf
10] The Light of the World (John 8:12): Lux Mundi (2018) for ob, vn, vc & pf
11] Jesus Presented at the Temple (Luke 2:29-32): Nunc Dimittis (2016) for brec & tenor
12] The Baptism of Christ (Matthew 3:13-17): Et Descendit (2015) for fl,va, hp
13] Jesus Cleanses the Temple (John 2:13-17): Exevalen (2019) for bass clarinet
14] The Transfiguration: O Nata Lux (2015) for three female voices (SSA)
15] The Transfiguration (Matt 17:1-13): Transfiguration (2017), alto flute and ensemble (picc, ob, cl/bcl, pf, vn, va, vc) with electronics
16] The Raising of Lazarus (John 11:38-43): Lazare veni foras ! (2016) for picc, cl/bcl, trb, pf, vn & db
17] Palm Sunday (John 12:12-18): Evlogimenos (2015) for cl, pf, vn, vc
18] The Lord's Supper (Last Supper) (1 Cor 11:23–24): O sacrum convivium (2019) for mixed voices (SATB)
19] Agony in the garden (John 17:1-5): Agonia (2019) for fl & pf
20] The Crucifixion of Jesus (John 19:16-22): Estavrosan (2020)* for fl, cl/bcl, pf, vn & vc 
21] The Death of Jesus (John19:28-37): Postea sciens Jesus (2016) for mixed voices (SATB)
22] Resurrection (John 20:1-10)*
23] The Ascension (Acts 1:1-10): Elevatus (2018) for fl/picc, cl/bcl, trb, perc, pf, vn & vc 
24] The Ascension (Acts 1:1-10): Epirthi (2018) for piano
25] The Pentecost (Acts 2:1-13): Osei Py(i)ros (2020) for trombone (in progress)

Junghae Lee was born in Tokyo in 1964 as a Korean citizen, she returned to Korea with her family at the age of six. There she completed her school education and began her studies in composition at Seoul National University with ByungDong Paik. She then continued her education in Vienna and Basel where she also trained as a harpsichordist. In the electronic studios at the 'Musikhochschule Basel' (Basel School of Music) Junghae Lee studied composition, focusing mainly on electronic music. Her compositions consist of acousmatic electronic tape, live electronic and acoustical music. A series of tape pieces reflects her search for strong and clear means of expression and led to their own idiom. After a phase of intensive activity in electro-acoustic music, she has once again turned her interest to instrumental composition. Special sounds and high expressivity characterize her work, both with and without electronic elements. In addition to composing she works at different concerts as an electronic music performer. In 2001 her composition 'Circulation' for electronic tape received a mention at the 'Priz Ton Bruynel' competition in Amsterdam. Her work has been performed at various festivals including the 'Tage für Live-Elektronische Musik Basel', the International Computer Music Conference', 'ISCM World Music Days' and 'Synthese' (Bourges, F), 'Gaudeamus Music Week', 'Asian Composers League', 'Pan Music Festival' in Seoul etc. She has lived in Basel since 1991.

Vokal Performance „mora-mori“. Seit langer Zeit verwende ich sprachliche Elemente in meinen Kompositionen. Die phonetischen Charakteristika eines Gedichts, die semantische Struktur eines Verses oder die Aufbauform einer Prosa beispielsweise, dienten oft als kompositorische Grundlage in meinem Schaffen, sowohl bei Vokalkompositionen als auch bei Instrumentalkompositionen. In meinem Vokal Performance „mora-mori“ sind die onomatopoetischen Elemente der Ausgangspunkt. Die Onomatopoeia (mimische Ausdrücke) ist in der koreanischen Sprache sehr entwickelt. Es gibt zwei Kategorien dieser Ausdrücke: die eine ist das Nachahmen eines bestimmten Klanges, die andere ist das Nachahmen eines bestimmten Zustandes oder eines Gestus. Die zweite Kategorie, die sprachliche Wiedergabe eines Zustandes, ist für mich ein sehr interessantes Gebiet. In der Vokalperformance „mora-mori“ verwandeln sich zahlreiche mimische Wörter in musikalischen Gesten. Die Phoneme, die in den Bereich zwischen dem Verbalen und dem Nonverbalem stehen, gewinnen Ausdrücke und Dramaturgie. Sie stehen in lockerem Zusammenhang und werden performativ dargestellt. Mit der Verwendung der Elektronik gewinnt die Solostimmenpartie Reichtum an Farbe und Gestus und die Monodie wird zur Mehrstimmigkeit erweitert.

Junghae Lee «mora-mori» (2009) performance vocale. Depuis longtemps, j’utilise les éléments du langage dans mes compositions. Les caractéristiques phonétiques d’un poème, la structure sémantique d’un vers ou l’architecture d’une prose, par exemple, ont souvent servi de base pour mes compositions, aussi bien pour les œuvres vocales qu’instrumentales. Les éléments onomatopéiques sont le point de départ de ma performance vocale «mora-mori». L’usage de l’onomatopée (dans le sens d’expressions mimiques) est très développé dans la langue coréenne. Il y a deux catégories de ces expressions: l’une est l’imitation d’un son spécifique, l’autre est l’imitation d’un état ou d’un geste particulier. La deuxième catégorie, le rendu vocal d’une situation, est pour moi un sujet très intéressant. Dans la performance vocale «mora-mori», de nombreux mots mimiques se transforment en gestes musicaux. Les phonèmes, qui se trouvent entre les domaines du verbal et du non-verbal, gagnent en expression et en dramaturgie. En relation distendue, ils sont représentés de manière performative. Avec l’emploi de l’électronique, la partie vocale soliste gagne en richesse de coloris et de geste, et la monodie est amplifiée jusqu’à la polyphonie.

 

Kunsu Shim’s compositional output cannot be separated from his activity as a performance artist in the tradition of Fluxus. Shim’s musical language unites the ideas of American experimental music and German avant-garde with the East Asian philosophy about the nature of sound and silence. Equally influential for Shim is – since the early 1990s – the cooperation with German composer Gerhard Stäbler, ranging from their original concept of „PerformanceMusic“, to joint compositions. Kunsu Shim was born as the son of re-migrants from Japan on September 15, 1958 in Busan, South Korea. The ocean provided the adolescent Shim with the experience of spatial openness and expanse. This notion can be seen later as the basis of his production. He twice won the first prize in a competition for young composers in Pusan, at age eighteen and nineteen respectively. From 1979 to 1983 he studied composition with Inyong La (amongst others) at the Yonsei University in Seoul. In 1982 he won the DongA Newspaper prize, followed by the JungAng Newspaper prize in 1983. In 1985, Shim arrived in Germany, where he studied composition with Helmut Lachenmann in Stuttgart (1987-88). Around this time, he met Gerhard Stäbler, with whom he lives and collaborates until today. In 1989, Shim moved to Essen to continue his education until 1992 with Nicolaus A. Huber at the Folkwang Hochschule. Huber's "simple, but strong" language attracted Shim. It was then, that his style moved in a new direction - last, but not least through an increased interest in New Music from the U.S. (notably John Cage and Morton Feldman), the visual arts and literature. He found his own characteristic language with the composition orchester in stereo mit fünf sinustönen. In 1992, he was awarded a prize at the Forum junger Komponisten/WDR. From 1992 onward, he was co-organizer of the Aktive Musik series in the Ruhr Area (Germany). Concert tours led him around the globe, and he has been artist-in-residence numerous times (such as "Djerassi"/California 1993; Ragdale/near Chicago 1995; or at Schreyahn/Germany 1996-97). From 1994 to 1999, he belonged to the composer's group wandelweiser, with whom he shared basic aesthetic positions such as silence and simplicity. He has been a lecturer at the Folkwang-Hochschule since 1993 several years. 1998 Kunsu Shim was awarded a grant by the Academy of the Arts Berlin. In the same year, he also was composer-in-residence at the Museum of Contemporary Arts, Chicago (USA). From 2000 to 2010 he was artistic director of EarPort, along with Gerhard Stäbler. The EarPort at the Duisburg Innenhafen was established by the two composers as a centre for the presentation of and discourse about New Music and for interconnecting the arts. Invited by the Goethe Institute, Shim and Stäbler created in 2000 the music theatre project futuressencexxx at the New Langton Arts Theater in San Francisco. In 2001 Kunsu Shim was featured at the Ultima Festival in Oslo (Norway), and 2002 at the Kore-Festival in Montreal, followed by concerts and lectures at the University of Toronto (Canada) and at the Columbia University in New York (USA). 2003 Kunsu Shim received the well-known Genko Uchida Fellowship-scholarship, which enabled him a three month visit to Japan, followed by concerts in 2004. 2004 he was portraited at the University of Dortmund, and was invited to present his work at the Evergreen State College (Washington State, USA). He also received a commission from the Foundation Wilhelm Lehmbruck Museum Duisburg for the sound installation Lichtrand for the project StadtLicht-LichtKunst at the Kantpark Duisburg. From 2005 to 2007 Kunsu Shim accepted invitations to present his compositional work in various concerts and master classes in the United States, Greece, South Korea, England, Australia, Singapore and in numerous German cities. 2008 he was commissioned to write the orchestra work Steinschlag·Zeit for being premiered at the project What you love of the Radio Festival WDR Fest Duisburg in Duisburg's former steel factory Landschaftspark in April 2008. In Summer the same year he gave a master class in composition on the Greek island of Crete, and in fall 2008 he was featured at the Sonic Fusion Festival in Edinburgh and in concerts and master classes in Lebanon's capital Beyrout. January 2009 Kunsu Shim received a grant to work at the Cultural Center of Andratx (Spain). In March he and Gerhard Stäbler created the audio visual project TRIALOG with the Korean artist Kyungwoo Chun in Seoul (South Korea) and lead a masterclass in composition at the Kyungsung University in Busan (South Korea). His work was also presented in various European and American cities. In March 2010 Kunsu Shim was invited to the Borealis Festival in Bergen (Norway) as composer-in-residence (commissions for numerous especially site specific works performed during the festival). In the same year, he organized the festival HörSinne in the Ruhr Area, and published the German-English-Korean art book bild·klang·los together with the Korean artist Kyungwoo Chun, and the composer Gerhard Stäbler. In February 2011 Shim was composer-in-residence at the festival Opening 11 Trier, where he is invited ever since. In April, his work After a hundred years for soprano and orchestra - a commission by the Essener Philharmonie - was premiered by the soprano Salome Kammer and the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Johannes Kalitzke. In May 2011 Shim's work Ensemble (Chor) was performed the first time in Venice (Italy). The John Cage centenary in 2012 led to numerous projects and concerts, with CAGE 100 (a project of the Tonhalle Dusseldorf) being the most prominent. Since 2012, Shim is regularly present at the Muziek Biennale Niederrhein. Together with Gerhard Staebler, he initiated in 2013/14 the concert series naturally beautiful! (with interactions between historic and contemporary music) in Benrath Castle, Duesseldorf, as well as the Winter Academy for new PerfromanceMusic in Duesseldorf. In the fall of 2014, the orchestra piece and here again – eine Perlenlandschaft was premiered to great acclaim by the Wuerzburg Philharmonic, as well as UM ZU HÖREN for string orchestra at the ZKM Karlsruhe. In October 2015 the EarPort Duisburg re-opened as a place for experimental encounters between different art forms. Since then Kunsu Shim realises his interdisciplinary concepts also in cooperation with partners like the Schlosstheater Moers (Frequenzen-Resonanzen), the prestigious exhibition GROSSE Kunstausstellung NRW at Kunstpalast Duesseldorf (Donnerhall) and the Diocese of Wuerzburg (Im Gegenüber). His latest orchestral composition wolken.blindenschrift for soprano, vocal ensemble and orchestra was premiered in June 2016 at the Wuerzburg Cathedral. Kunsu Shim resides permanently in Germany.