About the Composer:  

Dong-il Sheen was born in Seoul, Korea. He was described as “a quiet revolutionary who broke the barrier of classical music” (Culture and Me magazine 2006).

In a 2002 article in the New Music Composition and Critics journal, Professor Young-Han Heo of the Korean National University of Arts wrote, “Dong-il Sheen is a composer who filled the huge void in our lives with a new style of creative music. He explored music style that was ignored by other composers and now firmly established his own style.”

Mr. Sheen has been active in writing music in many different styles, including western European music, traditional Korean music, children’s music, film soundtracks, and musicals. He graduated Seoul National University and received his Master’s degree at the New York University Graduate School of Music. He worked as a reporter for the Cho-Sun Daily News in New York for a while before returning to Korea. Upon returning to Seoul, he collaborated with pianist Jung Hee Han in the album Blue Bicycle, which later received a critical acclaim. He started the new style music movement “Han-ma-dang” and “Music Composers-ma-dang.” In 2002, Mr. Sheen collaborated with writer-illustrator Jae-soo Liu in the CD-Book Yellow Umbrella, which was named as one of the 10 best illustrated books by the New York Times. His recent piano album World with Fun (2005) was republished by the Zen-On Music in Japan under the title World Full of Colors. Later, Japanese pianist Takako Takahashi made a CD of Mr. Sheen’s music in Japan.
He received numerous awards including the Best Young Artists of the Year award from the Korean Ministry of Culture & Tourism in 2003, and the Grand Prize of the Year in composers and conductors categories from the Korean Broadcasting Service (KBS) in 2004.

Mr. Sheen is a board member of the Association of Korean Musicians, President of the Composer’s Association (Jahk-gok-ma-dang), and Co-president of the Children’s Arts Production. Currently he is a lecturer at the Korean National University of Arts and Seoul National University Graduate School of Music.

About the Music:

Yang-San-Do for violin and piano – “Yang-San-Do” is a folk song from the Kyunggi Province. It originated during the late Chosun dynasty, sung by construction workers during the renovation of the Kyung Bok Palace in Seoul. Later on this tune was developed into a Sun Sori (folk song), sung with many variations of the verses. The rhythm of the song is in three beats.

The main melody of this piece is played by violin while the piano plays only the accompaniment. This music begins with the unmodified Yang-San-Do tune to introduce the audience to the original folk tune. Then the violin melody expands to a new level as it explores the melodic variations of the theme while keeping the general, upbeat feeling of the Yang-San-Do tune.

Hannah Selonick is a senior at Evanston Township High School in Evanston, Illinois. She has been studying the violin for eleven years, and is a student of Desiree Ruhstrat at the Music Institute of Chicago. For the past two years she has been Concertmistress of the ETHS Symphony Orchestra.  She has participated in the pit bands of many school shows. As a member of the Gioco Quartet, Hannah performed on the nationally syndicated radio show “From the Top” and was selected as a quarter-finalist for the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition. In 2002, she performed live with the quartet on WFMT for the station’s 51st Anniversary program.  Hannah performed as a soloist with the Mozart Symphonia, a professional community orchestra. In 2003, she participated in the Utah Music Festival. Hannah has won prizes and honorable mentions at the Musichorale Competition and at the Midwest Young Artists Competition. Hannah has also performed at a variety of venues including the Art Institute of Chicago and Chicago’s Orchestra Hall during Holiday and fund-raising events.