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America's "Big Five" orchestras, clustered in the east and midwest, seem to be playing to an increasingly Asian hand. The Chicago Symphony plays under concertmaster Robert Chen of Taiwanese descent; the New York Philharmonic's assistant concertmaster is ethnic Korean Michelle Kim; the Cleveland Orchestra's assistant concertmasters are Yoko Moore of Japan and Jung-min Amy Lee of Korea; and the assistant concertmaster of the Boston Symphony is also a Korean, Elita Kang.
At the Philadelphia Orchestra, music director Christoph Eschenbach appears to be surrounded by Koreans, including concertmaster David Kim, first associate concertmaster and violinist Juliette Kang and principal violist Chang Choong-jin. With the Philadelphia Orchestra scheduled to perform here this weekend, we asked them about the strong Korean presence.
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From left: Philadelphia Orchestra concertmaster David Kim, first associate concertmaster Juliette Kang and principal violist Chang Choong-jin
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Chang attributed the phenomenon to the Asian zeal for education. "In piano, for instance, Asian students tend to practice far more than Western kids. Another reason is that Asian musicians who mainly practiced solo are increasingly turning to chamber music and the orchestra," he said.
Another contributing factor is that Asian graduates of the prestigious Juilliard School in New York and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia are naturally entering the local ensembles, such as the NY Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra.
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After rehearsal, Philadelphia Orchestra concertmaster David Kim (left) and principal violist Chang Choong-jin (center) speak with music director Christoph Eschenbach (right).
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Such was the case for Chang, who came to the U.S. at 13 and studied at Juilliard's pre-college division as well as at Curtis. Second-generation Korean American Juliette Kang also studied at both schools. Kang said it's almost become tradition now for Korean, Chinese and Japanese children to excel in music from early on in school. Curtis serves as a "supply pipeline" of talented musicians to the Philadelphia Orchestra, Chang said, and there's a strong solidarity between the school and the orchestra.
While the wall is still high for Asians hoping to enter prominent orchestras of Europe, which regards itself as the home of classical music, their American counterparts, accustomed to the melting pot culture, are seen as more open to accepting Asian members. Also, Confucianist Asians well fit into the organized culture of an orchestra.
"Of course one's talent is most important," Philadelphia Orchestra concertmaster David Kim says, but Asians in general tend to adjust very quickly to the team as they traditionally treat higher ranking or senior colleagues with deference, good manners and loyalty.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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