On Sunday, October 28th, the USF School of Music will present a concert honoring the 

achievements of some of the most accomplished Korean women composers in the world.  One 

distinctive aspect of the concert is that the emphasis will be placed primarily on the presentation of 

music that will be Western hemisphere premieres, works composed by some of the most talented 

Korean women currently living and working within South Korea.  Included on the program will be the 

Western hemisphere premieres of compositions by Lee Gui-Sook, Park Eun-Ha, Paik Young-Eun, 

and Kim Eunhye.  Lee Gui-Sook (b. 1964), who received her doctoral degree in composition from 

Ohio State University, will be represented by her Spring for two pianos/eight hands, as well as by 

some of her songs for soprano and piano.  Paik Young-Eun (b. 1957), a well-known professor at 

Dankook University in Seoul, will be featured through her percussion quartet Story of Woods, while 

Park Eun-Ha (b. 1970), who did her graduate composition degrees in Japan, will be represented 

through her solo piano work St. Peter.  The concert event will conclude with the North American 

premiere of La Marche des Animaux for wind ensemble by Kim Eunhye (b. 1956), a professor at 

Suwon Univeristy and one of the few Korean women composers to do her advanced compositional 

training in France.  Songs by the oldest living Korean woman composer, Lee Young-Ja, will also be 

featured on the program.  



A variety of USF faculty and students will collaborate to present the compositions selected for 

inclusion in the program.  Professor Miroslava Panayatova and graduate student Kisun Lee will 

participate in the performance of Lee Gui-Sook s Spring.  Internationally-renowned soprano Kyoung 

Cho, an assistant professor of voice at USF whose research includes the songs of selected Korean 

composers, will be featured in performances of songs by two of the finest Korean women composers, 

Lee Young-Ja and Lee Gui-Sook.  Considered one of the most impressive percussion ensembles in 

the United States, the USF percussion ensemble will perform the music of Paik Young-Eun under the 

direction of professor Robert McCormick.  The USF wind ensemble, under the direction of professor 

John Carmichael, will be featured in the North American premiere of the wind ensemble composition 

by Kim Eunhye, a piece that is inspired by the Korean animals related to the signs of the zodiac.



In South Korea, approximately 70% of the composers are women, while 90% of the full-time 

composition professors are men.  Living within their patriarchal society, Korean women composers 

continue to consistently create some of the finest compositions written by any East Asian composers, 

in spite of the fact that most of them will never be able to find a full-time teaching position within their 

country.  Organized by USF professor John O. Robison, who is considered the world s leading 

specialist on Korean women composers, this concert will honor the achievements of some of the 

most accomplished women composers in South Korea.  With its focus on the Western hemisphere 

premieres of some of the finest compositions by some of the most talented women in Korea, 

Celebrating Korean Women Composers promises to be one of the most distinctive events of the 

semester.