Synergy: Namureyoung X Rami Seo’s World Music Ensemble

WHAT: Joint performance of Korean traditional, world, and fusion music

WHO:  Groups Namureyoung and Rami Seo’s World Music Ensemble

WHEN:  Sunday, October 31, 2021 at 2:00 p.m.

WHERE: The National Sylvan Theater located on the National Mall (Independence Ave. SW & 15th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20024) 

HOW:  Free admission; no registration required; general lawn seating only; face coverings, social distancing, and proof of vaccination required

The Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C. (KCCDC) proudly presents Synergy: Namureyoung X Rami Seo’s World Music Ensemble, a special joint outdoor concert featuring Korean traditional, world, and fusion music from two outstanding ensembles—Namureyoung from Korea and the New York-based Rami Seo’s World Music Ensemble—taking place at the National Sylvan Theater located in the shadow of the Washington Monument on the National Mall on Sunday, October 31.

The program draws its title from the synergy of two different musical groups within the Korean performance tradition, each of which blend traditional inspiration with their own unique style and contemporary stage presentation. Situated on the National Mall, the performance also invites the local community to celebrate Washington, D.C.’s cultural diversity in a safe, outdoor setting while enjoying the full cathartic energy of Korean creative music.

Both featured groups will perform individually as well as in a combined format.

Namureyoung founder and director Namyoung Kim, a trained classical musician and performer of the Korean haegeum, a two-stringed instrument resembling an upright fiddle, combines the healing power of traditional instruments with meditation. Kim’s Tradirapy performance project, for example, invites the audience to reilluminate their routine daily life through a musical breath of fresh air, and the melodies of the Korean haegeum exhibit a harmonious beauty designed to create a sensuous space the necessary for such meditation.

Drawing inspiration from the global rise in Korean popular culture known as Hallyu, Rami Seo’s World Music Ensemble will present music from their creative project Korean Fever: Returns. By incorporating different global traditions and instruments the project exudes a collective hope to enjoy a time of prosperity and growth once again. The group’s dynamic and energetic live music aims to both coexist with and communicate with the audiences about the wider world.

Participation is free and no registration is required, but proof of vaccination, face coverings, and safe social distancing are required.

Program

Cheongseonggok | Namureyoung

Pyeong-nong | Namureyoung

Running on the Grass | Rami Seo’s World Music Ensemble

Dynamite (Arrangement) | Rami Seo’s World Music Ensemble

Ryu | Namureyoung

The Slope of Andalusia | Rami Seo’s World Music Ensemble

Peaceful Mind | Namureyoung & Rami Seo’s World Music Ensemble

A Sinawee for Korean Fever (Arrangement) | Namureyoung & Rami Seo’s World Music Ensemble

About Namureyoung

Namureyoung is a non-profit arts company based in Korea that focuses on presenting traditional Korean performing arts in unconventional, boundary-breaking ways, including multidisciplinary collaborations. The group’s mission is to make music an art form that is enjoyed by all through clear communication between performer and audience. Their project Regression: Back to the Roots was selected as a recipient by the Emerging Artist Project Fund in 2017 and was supported by the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture. In the group’s signature format, four musicians take turns performing one by one, highlighting iconic Korean sights and sounds: haegeum (vertical fiddle with two strings), gayageum (plucked zither with 12 strings), daegeum (large bamboo transverse flute), and jeong-ga vocals (the singing of traditional songs or classical sijo poetry).

Namureyoung | Musicians 

Haegeum | Namyoung Kim

Jeong-ga | Uisun Cho

Daegeum | Myeonggyu Park

Gayageum | Hyeontak Choo

About Namyoung Kim

Namyoung Kim is a graduate of Dankook University (B.A.), Sookmyung Women's Graduate School (M.A., Master of Traditional Arts). Ms. Kim has appeared on m.net and EBS TV, performed at the 2018 Winter Olympics, and in numerous performances including the 2021 Namsan Gugakdang production performance New Meditation Method: Tradirapy. She participated in the Indonesia Boneka Festival in 2020 performing Time and Space Exhibition: Regression. Her work Time and Space Exhibition for One Person: Reversion was selected by the Korean Culture and Arts Committee’s Youth International Advancement Project in 2020, her performance Tradirapy was selected by NEWWAVE Art Lab and supported by Surim Cultural Foundation, and her online Tradirapy music concert was selected by the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture in 2020 and the PAU HANA Artist Talk Showcase of the Hawaii State Art Museum in 2020. She was awarded the Jangwonin prize at the 14th Ji Young-hee Korean Traditional Music Contest in 2015.

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About Rami Seo’s World Music Ensemble

From the time of the 1988 Seoul Olympics to the 2000s, Korea enjoyed remarkable economic growth and a renaissance in the cultural and artistic world. Korean Fever: Returns by Rami Seo’s World Music Ensemble is a project designed to showcase the hope and desire to enjoy a similar time of prosperity and growth once again, following the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic Games. This world tour began in Korea and took the group to shows across the United States, Africa, Asia, and Europe, where they cultivate positive dreams and provide healing experiences to audiences. While much has been lost due to the coronavirus, this time of great difficulty has also proven to be an opportunity for Korea to demonstrate its potential as a leader in the future of economy, culture, and medical science. Gayakeumist Rami Seo was unable to continue her world tour as planned in France and South Africa in 2020, but through this new platform for performing music she hopes to provide healing and comfort to all those who love and appreciate Korean culture around the world. Rami Seo’s World Music Ensemble is comprised of top New York musicians who aspire to share an appreciation for life and art with audiences. Moreover, Korean heritage communities around the world will be able to relate to the joys and sorrows embedded in the music that Rami Seo has herself experienced as an immigrant artist.

Rami Seo’s World Music Ensemble | Musicians

12&25 stringed Gayakeum l Rami Seo

Guitar l Hokyung Choy

Contra Bass l Jeong Hwan Park

Saxophone l Dongguk Pak

Drum l Peter Manheim

Vocal l Dayea Oh

About Rami Seo

Her major performances and collaborations include those at and with the National Grand Theater of Korea, Korean Traditional Orchestra of Seoul, Korean National Orchestra for Traditional Music, Chung-Ang Orchestra, 212 Chamber Orchestra, 1988 Seoul Olympics Anniversary Commemoration, YoYoMa’s Silk Road Project for World Music, World Music Virtuoso Concert at Lincoln Center, Isaac Stern of Carnegie Hall, Weill Recital of Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, the United Nations, various Embassies of the Republic of Korea and Korean Cultural Centers, Asia Society, Korea Society, National Folk Festival in Richmond, Va., Jeff Fairbanks Jazz Orchestra Concert, Futurism on the Occasion of the 100th Anniversary of Marinetti’s Manifesto, the American Festival of Microtonal Music, La Mama, Flushing Town Hall, Symphony Space, The DiMennar Center, The Kennedy Center, Bryant Park, Time Square, Blue Note, Smalls, the Smithsonian Institution, Museum of Arts and Design, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2018 Pyeongchang Night to celebrate the adoption of the UN General Assembly resolution, and the Cannon House Office Building at the Capitol. To date, Ms. Seo has released albums and singles including First Morning, Fallen Leaves, Kaya Song with Fred Ho and her Asian Jazz Fusion Concert recording in collaboration with the Jeff Fair banks Jazz Orchestra. A passionate and inspiring instructor, she is a frequent guest speaker and lecturer at local schools, colleges, cultural workshops, and events. A community activist who believes in making the world a better place through music, Ms. Seo is also the founder and music director of GEMiNY, an emerging gayakeum ensemble for young artists, and the ever-popular band Rami Seo’s project World Music Ensemble. She is currently a popular DJ of AM1660 K-Radio "Radioholic" (Mon.-Fri. 2-4 p.m.) and The Dignity of Life (Sun. 4 p.m.). The project Korean Fever: Returns featuring Rami Seo’s World Music performed a full-scale world tour in 2019-2022.