Yonsei Academy students win 4 gold, 5 silver medals

Nine students from Saipan Yonsei Academy that joined the Tumon Bay Music Festival last Saturday in Guam have their picture taken with Yonsei Academy instructor Youngmi Han. (Contributed Photo)

Nine students from Saipan Yonsei Academy joined Guam Tumon Bay Music Festival last Saturday as soloists and small assembles. The competition was held in St. John’s Episcopal Church in Guam. About 90 students competed against each other to achieve bronze, silver, and gold medal.

The judges were international conductor Atsushi Yamashita, internationally acclaimed concert pianist Dr. Roman Rudnytsky, and international singer Andrew Fernando.

The competition was divided into three sessions from 10am to 9pm. The Yonsei Academy performers were Kevin Kang (Mount Carmel School, 6th grade), Gyuyeon Kim (Saipan International School, 6th grade), Kate Y. Ishida (Saipan Community School, 7th grade), Eric Kiser (SIS, 8th grade), Edward Y. Minami (MCS, 10th grade), Sharon Paek (Saipan Southern High School, 10th grade), Ju Hwan Bae (SSHS, 10th grade), You Na Lee (Marianas High School, 11th grade), and Donggu Hyon (SIS, 11th grade).

Yonsei Academy produced four gold medalists and five silver medalists. The gold medalists are Kevin Kang (piano), Gyuyeon Kim (piano), Kate Y. Ishida (piano), and Donggu Hyon (flute). The silver medalists are Eric Kaiser (piano), Juhwan Bae (piano), Sharon Paek (piano), Edward Y. Minami (piano), and You Na Lee (piano).

Among these performers, Kevin Kang, Kate Y. Ishida, Donggu Hyon, and You Na Lee were chosen to perform in the Judges’ Choice Showcase concert.

According to Yonsei Academy instructor Youngmi Han, all of these students are diligent and wonderful teenagers. Kate.Y.Ishida and Donggu Hyon perform at the Commonwealth Health Center every Sunday as volunteer work.

Donggu said: “It almost seemed impossible at first. When I decided to participate in the Tumon Bay Music Festival, the time was scarce. I barely had a month to prepare for my piece for the competition. ‘It’s too late,’ I thought, until my teacher told me, ‘Let’s give it a try.’ It takes several months to prepare a piece for big competitions like the Tumon Bay Music Festival. Since I knew that I lack practices compared to other participants, I sincerely devoted myself into practicing. I went to practice at dawn before school began and came back again at nighttime. Sacrifice was necessary, and it was my mom and Mrs. Han who sacrificed the most to help me go through rigorous practice schedule. My mom prayed every night and encouraged me that I can do it. Before the competition, I called mom with nervous feeling. She listened to my call patiently, and before I hung up she told me one thing: ‘Enjoy it.’ That’s exactly what I did on the stage, and I believe that’s how I achieved the gold medal. A gold medal is meaningful, but the consequences of achieving it was priceless.”

You Na said: “I am very honored to have been able to participate in this year’s Tumon Bay Music Festival. Because of the level of difficulty of my piece, I needed to practice it everyday. There were many sacrifices, sometimes including late night sessions with my teacher, Youngmi Han. At first, I didn’t really enjoy playing my piece. Everyday I came home sad and tired because of how much progress that I’m not making. It was my piano teacher that pushed me and encouraged me. I can really say that the hard work did pay off, because I started to express the music in my own way and feel the music. I felt like I was in a whole new world to myself. Even though I received a silver medal for my event, I didn’t participate in the competition to win a medal, but to express my joy in playing the piano. I was able to play my heart out to the audience, and I think that’s what matters. The effort I put in came out a great success, and I was able to get a silver medal. On top of that, I was also rewarded by the judges for honorable mention, which is the second highest to the Judges’ Choice. This year’s competition seemed to go by with a blur, and I am happy to say that I am excited to participate in the next one!”

Youngmi Han said: “As their teacher, I devoted all of my personal time to help them prepare for the competition, so I am very happy and proud to inform [everyone about] our student’s achievements [at the] the Guam Tumon Bay Music Festival. I feel great pleasure teaching and improving our students’ talents and interest in music.”